Athletes of the Week for the week ending May 15th
Boys’ HS Track Athlete of the Week
Patrick Gregory, Butler HS
While the top finishers in the Dream Mile did plenty of damage this week, Gregory was in the shadows doing serious damage twice last week. Remember, the Butler standout is just a freshman and you will notice the similarities between his performances and those of last year’s freshman phenoms: Jacob Thomson and Tretez Kinnaird. At the Louisville City Championships, Gregory was 2nd to Thomson in the 800 meters, posting a new PR of 1:58.47 and only adding to the beast that has become Butler’s 4x800 meter relay once again this year. Gregory followed that with a 5th place performance in the Dream Mile, where he ran 4:22.09 for the full mile and converted to 4:20.57 for 1600 meters. The 1600 time is 3rd in the country among freshman, while the 800 meter time has him 10th based on our database, and after what we’ve seen the two aforementioned individuals achieve already, we can only start to imagine what Gregory is in for over the coming years.
Boys’ HS Field Athlete of the Week
Dustin Linthicum, Greenup County
While Isaac Bowling increased his state lead in the shot put, Linthicum continued to perform the same way he has all year and we finally took notice. At the KOVCCT Conference Meet, he launched to a 44-3.5 performance to win the triple jump and a 21-5 performance to win the long jump. After that, we still had enough left to take the high jump with a leap of 6-0; just below the 6-2 he would reach at the Area 7 Championships later in the week, where he claimed the same three titles. Linthicum ranks 3rd, 3rd, and 5th in Class AA in the long, triple, and high jump respectively and appears to be hitting his stride, in the horizontal jumps especially, at just the right time.
Girls’ HS Track Athlete of the Week
Maya Spalding, Central
Spalding was a terror for the ladies of Central last week at both the Louisville City Championships and the North Hardin Invitational. She posted a state-leading 15.59 to win the 100m hurdles at the LCCs and won the 400m as well, hitting 1:00.25 in the process. On Saturday, she claimed two more wins as she again took the 100m hurdles and then took down Elizabethtown’s Jessica Gabhart to win the 300m hurdles in a smoking time of 47.57. Spalding and her teammates will be looking to have a strong showing at this week’s regional before making a run at the two-time defending state champs from Highlands in the Class AA championships.
Girls’ HS Field Athlete of the Week
Katie Bell, Scott HS
With several throwers battling for the state lead, there had been a clear leader in the state in both jumps up until this week, when Bell popped off a huge PR to take over the state lead. Bell’s lead of 17-8 at the Scott Classic just barely edges out Rockcastle County’s Michaela Hunter for the state lead, but it makes Bell the new frontrunner in Class AAA where her lead over Amelia Baylon of DuPont Manual is now nearly a foot.