‘Great group of girls.’ LexCath wins 2A track title, plus other highlights from state meet.

Last year, Lexington Catholic’s girls ended a drought of more than 50 years between track-and-field titles. This year, they affirmed they aren’t stepping aside soon.

The Knights on Friday successfully defended their team trophy at the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Class 2A Track and Field Championships, giving them three overall. With just a handful of seniors on their way out of the program, they’ll be well-positioned to win it all again come 2025.

Take for instance the 4-by-400 meter relay team, which claimed the day’s final event with a time of 4:01.92. Those four girls fell short of their goal — breaking four minutes — but will return. And Caroline Beiting will be the only senior of the quartet.

Beiting was part of four wins, helping account for 40 of the Knights’ 93 points. She won the 800 and 1,600 — breaking her own state record in the former by more than two seconds — and helped Catholic kick off its banner day with a convincing win in the 4-by-800 relay. LexCath bested Bourbon County by 24 seconds in the opening event.

“It’s a little bit of pressure when you have high expectations, but we just come out here and do the best that we can no matter what anyone else thinks,” Beiting said.

Cate Conklin, one of LexCath’s few seniors, was part of the 4-by-800 win and ran second to Beiting in the 1,600 run. She also broke through for her first win in the 3,200 — a nice feather in the cap before embarking on a college career that’ll start this fall at the University of South Carolina.

She sees no signs of slowdown on Clays Mill Road.

“We’ve definitely grown over the last few years,” Conklin said. “We’ve gotten a lot of new, young runners, and it’s a great environment and great group of girls to be around. And our guys team helps us out, cheers us on when we need it and we’re always there for them. It’s just amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to be part of a team.”

State’s best sprinter

On the subject of LexCath’s boys, junior Kaylib Nelson firmed up his case as Kentucky’s top sprinter with wins in the 100 and 200. His time in the latter, :21.25, bested the Class 2A record set just last year by Mercer County’s Beau Brown.

Nelson, who entered the week with the best two times in both events by any Kentuckian this season, technically was a defending state champ in the 200; he won it last year while he was at Paul Laurence Dunbar, a Class 3A program. He’s intent on running track at the next level and is strongly considering four schools: Kentucky, Texas, UCLA and Miami (Florida).

“Now that I know I’m going to be going to college for track, I’m taking it more serious now,” Nelson said. “ … Time-wise, for next year, I want to hit :20.9 (in the 200) and :10.3 (in the 100).”

Surgery to podium

Boyle County’s boys walked away with one event victory in spite of some incredible odds.

The Rebels’ time in the 4-by-100 relay, 43.23 seconds, was the fastest in Class 2A all season. Boyle County didn’t have its anchor runner, Geordon Brown, back on the track until mid-May — he was recovering from shin surgery.

“They had to put metal plates on my shins,” Brown said. “The way that my foot hits the ground, my bone was weak and it shattered them. I couldn’t walk, I was in a wheelchair and was out for about two months.”

Brown — the runner-up in the Class 2A 100 last year — didn’t compete in any other events Thursday but looked spry despite the long layoff.

“I’m definitely pretty close to 100 percent, but I’ve got a lot of work to go,” Brown said. “A lot of strength to build back up.”

Central Kentucky hurdlers

Franklin County’s Mariah Jackson and Bourbon County’s Marleigh Estes won the girls 100 and 300 hurdle events, respectively. Both are sophomores.

Jackson was the lone 100 hurdler to break 15 seconds, finishing the race in 14.96. Teammate TaZyriah Miley, a junior, was runner-up. Neither of them competed in the event before this season.

“We’ve just been sticking together this whole time, practicing hard together, pushing each other and keeping God by us,” Jackson said. “We started this last year. We ran over some hurdles as a ‘joke’ and we were like, ‘What if we do hurdles next year?’”

Estes, who ran fourth in the 100 hurdles, took the 300 edition with a :45.73, less than a second in front of Jackson. She too is new to hurdles, having not tried them until last season. Competitive cheerleading was her first love.

“I have a lot of flexibility from cheer, so I think that helps tie into it,” Estes said. “I feel like it’s made me a pretty good runner.”

Throwing it around

Lincoln County sophomore Germani Crosby rolled in the girls throwing events, sweeping both for the first time.

The shot put title was her third, but discus had eluded Crosby before now. She didn’t qualify for state last season and finished 14th in the event as an eighth-grader in 2022.

“It means a lot,” Crosby said. “I’ve been wanting this since eighth grade but unfortunately I didn’t get it in both. … My goal next is to get the state record for both shot put and discus, next.”

Her discus distance on Friday, 134-01, was a personal best and a little more than 14 feet away from the record set in 2022 by Grant County’s Brooklyn Hammons. The state’s top shot put mark, held by Bryan Station’s Carla Prewitt since 1994, could be in jeopardy as soon as next year; Crosby’s personal best, a 41-1, is about 2 feet short of that.

Notes

▪ Covington Catholic’s boys won their first team title since 2009, when they were last competing as a Class 2A school. The Colonels previously were in Class 3A; they finished 11th in those standings a year ago.

▪ Brett Smith, a junior out of Letcher County Central, became that school’s first champion in any track-and-field event when he won the 400. He’d never run track before this season. “I didn’t think I’d be good at it, and then my coaches were like, ‘You need to do it, you’d be good at it,” Smith said. “The first time I did it, I did pretty good so I just kept doing it. And every time I did I got better.”

▪ Caroline Lucas became the first girl in Breckinridge County history to win a track title when she won the 100, then followed that up with victories in the long jump and 200. “I put in a lot of work between region and now,” said Lucas, who wasn’t the top seed in either sprint event.

Class 2A results

x-state meet record

BOYS:

Top 20 teams: 1. Covington Catholic 75, 2. Mercer County 52, 3. Boyle County 42.5, 4. Lexington Catholic 34, Taylor County 31, 6. Corbin 30, t7. Paducah Tilghman 25, t7. Bourbon County 25, t9. Russell 24, t9. Union County 24, 11. Thomas Nelson 23, 12. Harlan County, 13. Harrison County 21, 14. Bardstown 20, t15. Hopkinsville 19, t15. Greenup County 19, 17. Warren East 17.5; t18. Mason County 16, t18. Butler County 16, t20. Adair County 15, t20. Letcher County Central 15

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Corbin (Coleman Anderson, Ethan Slone, Ben Teague, Connor Messer) 8:04.52; 2. Mason Co. (Bryant Curtis, Ed Brannon, Peyton Ullery, Dashawn Overly) 8:10.71; 3. CovCath (Jack Salyers, Nolan Bonta, Luke McLane, Will Sheets) 8:12.54. 110 hurdles—1. Tanner Tumey, Harrison Co., 14.82; 2. Jordan Piazza, Mercer Co., 15.24; 3. Ian Rossario Alicea, Hopkinsville, 15.40. 100—1. Kaylib Nelson, LexCath, 10.72; 2. Ethan Long, CovCath, 10.98; 3. Luke Kelly, Harlan Co., 11.20. 4-by-200 relay—1. CovCath (Ethan Long, Jake Heitker, Garrett Gallagher, Jackson Schmid) 1:29.73; 2. Taylor Co. (Cross Watson, Darrion Mills, John Gholston, Dalyn Williams) 1:29.93; 3. Franklin Co. (Taurean Smith, Elijah Pollard, Carter Richardson, Delano Collins) 1:30.17. 1,600—1. Riku Sugie, Thomas Nelson, 4:11.10-x; 2. Will Sheets, CovCath, 4:20.26; 3. Brice Nelson, Webster Co., 4:21.97. 4-by-100 relay—1. Boyle Co. (Brock Driver, Eli Short, Geordon Brown, Andrew Nason) 43.23; 2. Taylor Co. (JaQuon Coulter, Cross Watson, Darrion Mills, Dalyn Williams) 43.57; 3. LexCath (John Moses, Danny Nguyen, Cole Space, Kaylib Nelson) 43.75. 400—1. Brett Smith, Letcher Co. Central, 49.15; 2. JD Cooly, Boyle Co., 49.90; 3. Kylen Ware, Paducah Tilghman, 50.48. 300 hurdles—1. Isan Rossario Alicea, Hopkinsville, 39.35; 2. Asher Mattox, Bourbon Co., 39.44; 3. Matthew Henderson, LexCath, 39.84. 800—1. Connor Messer, Corbin, 1:55.86; 2. Parker Smith, Butler Co., 1:56.23; 3. Coleman Anderson, Corbin, 1:58.18. 200—1. Kaylib Nelson, LexCath, 21.25-x; 2. Ethan Long, CovCath, 21.70; 3. Luke Kelly, Harlan Co., 22.65. 3,200—1. Riku Sugie, Thomas Nelson, 9:18.11-x; 2. Will Sheets, CovCath, 9:31.04; 3. Joe Mayer, CovCath, 9:37.04. 4-by-400 relay—1. CovCath (Luke Meagher, Jake Heitker, Ethan Long, Jackson Schmid) 3:27.84; 2. Bourbon Co. (Jacob Ezell, Jesus Mendoza-solis, Asher Mattox, Mark Perraut) 3:28.02; 3. Boyle Co. (Connor Young, JD Cooley, Maximus Kilby, Colin Lay) 3:29.73. Shot put—1. Luke McQueen, Casey Co., 58-03.50; 2. David Harless, Russell, 51-11; 3. Izack Messer, East Carter, 51-02. Discus throw—1. David Harless, Russell, 161-09; 2. Allen Cooper, East Carter, 151-06; 3. Andrew Sparks, Garrard Co., 149-05. Long jump—1. Solomon Stonebraker, Adair Co., 22-11.5; 2. Koleby Schroeder, Union Co., 19-08.5; 3. Donovan Wright, Mercer Co., 21-02.75. Triple jump—1. Titus Gay, Mercer Co., 43-08; 2. JaQuon Coulter, Taylor Co., 42-11.75; 3. Isaiah Summer, Warren East, j42-11.75. High jump—1. Tykeem Taul-Williams, Bardstown, 6-06; 2. Eli Adkins, Greenup Co., 6-04; 3. Donovan Wright, Mercer Co., 6-02. Pole vault—1. Cooper Crowdus, Union Co., 13-06; 2. Jayce Brown, Harlan Co., 13-00; 3. Andrew Lockhart, Boyle Co., j13-00.

GIRLS:

Top 20 teams: 1. Lexington Catholic 93, 2. Christian Academy-Louisville 65, 3. Franklin County 55, 4. Bourbon County 49, 5. Mason County 40, 6. Fleming County 34, 7. Breckinridge County 32, 8. Elizabethtown 30, 9. Lincoln County 28, 10. Calloway County 27.5, 11. Corbin 26, 12. LaRue County 25, 13. John Hardin 22.5, 14. Shelby County 18, 15. Warren East 17, 16. Thomas Nelson 14, t17. McCreary Central 10, t17. Paducah Tilghman 10, 19. Harlan County 9, t20. Ashland Blazer 8.5, t20. Bath County 8.5

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. LexCath (Anna Dawahare, Cate Conklin, Abigail Turner, Caroline Beiting) 9:30.32; 2. Bourbon Co. (Bethany Simpson, Sarah Scott, Macey McKinzie, Addison Felty) 9:54.53; 3. Calloway Co. (Vayla Carlisle, Jaidan Koch, Sadie Lilly, Reese Settle) 10:00.21. 100 hurdles—1. Mariah Jackson, Franklin Co., 14.96; 2. TaZyriah Miley, Franklin Co., 16.08; 3. Maddie Jo Russell, Corbin, 16.28. 100—1. Caroline Lucas, Breckinridge Co., 12.31; 2. Kalynn Pease, Fleming Co., 12.59; 3. Taylor Touche, CAL, 12.64. 4-by-200 relay—1. Franklin Co. (Deon Echols, Kate Alvis, Hailey Hill, Deloris Boateng) 1:44.62; 2. CAL (Taylor Touche, Lydia Turoso, Ava Moore, Kelsea Burkhead) 1:44.99; 3. LexCath (Joanna Bryant, Kelly Lennon, Ally Nowlin, Taylor Riordan) 1:46.31. 1,600—1. Caroline Beiting, LexCath, 4:55.20; 2. Cate Conklin, LexCath, 5:05.16; 3. Baili Hoten, Thomas Nelson, 5:08.09. 4-by-100 relay—1. CAL (Kylie Moore, Taylor Touche, Ava Moore, Ella Mast) 50.11; 2. Franklin Co. (Deon Echols, Deloris Boateng, TaZyriah Miley, Bria Wilson) 50.39; 3. Ashland Blazer (Anaya Waddell, Kenleigh Woods, Hannah Allen, Sadie Chaffins) 50.52. 400—1. Kalynn Pease, Fleming Co., 57.23; 2. Joanna Bryant, LexCath, 59.87; 3. Kate Alvis, Franklin Co., 1:00.63. 300 hurdles—1. Marleigh Estes, Bourbon Co., 45.73; 2. Mariah Jackson, Franklin Co., 46.64; 3. Maddie Jo Russell, Corbin, 47.99. 800—1. Caroline Beiting, LexCath, 2:12.15-x; 2. Abigail Turner, LexCath, 2:15.30; 3. Alexis Dotson, Rockcastle Co., 2:20.24. 200—1. Caroline Lucas, Breckinridge Co., 24.94; 2. Kalynn Pease, Fleming Co., 25.10; 3. Jolana Schenkel, McCreary Central, 25.54. 3,200—1. Cate Conklin, LexCath, 11:09.07; 2. Anabelle Plummer, CAL, 11:18.37; 3. Baili Hoten, Thomas Nelson, 11:24.13. 4-by-400 relay—1. LexCath (Caroline Beiting, Joanna Bryant, Abigail Turner, Taylor Riordan) 4:01.92; 2. Bourbon Co. (Bethany Simpson, Addison Felty, Marleigh Estes, Sarah Scott) 4:07.43; 3. Elizabethtown (Rachel Bell, Adelyn Inman, Miyah Courtney, Noelle Garcia) 4:10.65. Shot put—1. Germani Crosby, Lincoln Co., 40-02.5; 2. Kayleigh Rice, John Hardin, 35-08; 3. Haley Angel, Estill Co., 34-01. Discus throw—1. Germani Crosby, Lincoln Co., 134-01; 2. Claire Springsteen, Elizabethtown, 112-09; 3. Delilah Martter, Warren East, 110-00. Long jump—1. Caroline Lucas, Breckinridge co., 18-09.5; 2. Kalynn Pease, Fleming Co., 17-10; 3. Madison Howard, Mason Co., 17-00. Triple jump—1. Scout Patrick, LaRue Co., 35-04.25; 2. Ella Mast, CAL, 34-07.25; 3. Ralasia Piazza, Mercer Co., 34-05. High jump—1. Kylie Moore, CAL, 5-04; 2. Gracie Wilder, Bell Co., 5-00; 3. Alec Rodgers, Calloway Co., j5-00. Pole vault—1. Maddi Reed, Shelby Co., 12-00; 2. Ava Thompson, Mason Co., 11-06; 3. Ava Hernandez, Bourbon Co., 11-00.

Paris High School track star sets two state meet records before heading to compete for UK