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

Briley Cline proudly wears a Paris High School uniform but has never ran on the school’s track. It doesn’t have one — yet.

The Greyhounds will install a track as part of a large overhaul of its football field (they’ll also be installing orange-colored turf), but that won’t be of use to Cline, who next year will train and compete regularly at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex. The future Kentucky Wildcat made herself at home during the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Class A Track and Field State Championships, breaking meet records in the 100- and 200-meter runs.

Cline finished in 12.12 seconds to topple her own meet record in the 100, set last year. Her time in the 200, 24.78, was 0.04 seconds faster than the previous Class A mark held by Fulton County’s Sharika Smith since 2007. It was a personal record.

“My 100 was the one I wanted, but I’m glad I could PR in the 200,” said Cline, who ran her best two times in the 100, 11.88 and 11.89, at last June’s Adidas Outdoor Nationals. “I’m hoping to come back for nationals in a couple weeks, bigger and better. I felt a little tight today, so I’m hoping over the next couple weeks I’ll lay off on the training so my legs can become a little more fresh.”

Since Paris doesn’t have a track of its own, Cline throughout her career has trained at the facility of in-county rival Bourbon County and Lexington Athletic Club, which has an indoor track.

An athlete of Cline’s stature could easily have moved to a larger school with a more robust program — or even just one with a bona fide track facility — and few outside the walls of Paris High School would have batted an eye. The thought never crossed her mind — Greyhound trumped all the hurdles.

“It’s challenging but I’ve learned to work around it,” Cline said. “I’ve been there since kindergarten. I like the people there and the environment.”

LCA’s distance champ

Kennedy Moughamian, an eighth grader at Lexington Christian Academy, earned the city its lone win in the small school meet. She convincingly won the 3,200-meter run; her 11:18.16 was more than 20 seconds faster than runner-up Emmie Underwood, a Fort Campbell seventh grader who won the Class A cross country title in the fall.

Moughamian lapped eight of the other 22 competitors before crossing the finish line. She was nervous coming into the day but felt good despite never having ran the 3,200 at state before.

“It’s such an honor to be here as an eighth grader and be here with all these amazing athletes,” Moughamian said. “All of these girls, they’re like my idols. I’m so thankful.”

Moughamian was runner-up in the 1,600 earlier in the day, improving from her eighth-place finish in 2023. The Eagles placed third-place runners in both events and boasted another runner-up in Annie Sewell, who took second in the 800.

Overall, LCA’s girls collected 76 points, good for a third-place team finish behind Beechwood and Bishop Brossart. Those programs finished ahead of them in the same order in 2023.

Leslie County history

LCA didn’t have the only Eagles soaring to big heights on Thursday.

Five runners from Leslie County — population 10,513 as of the latest census, in the state’s bottom fifth — combined to win two events, the school’s first state titles in any sport.

Emily Roark, Eden Melton, Hayley Smith and Iris Napier ran the 4-by-200 meter relay in 1:46.88 to give the Eagles their first win. Just a few events later, Roark and Smith joined Iris and her sister Ava to take the 4-by-100 relay (49.95 seconds).

Smith later also challenged in two of the sprints, finishing third in both the 200 and 400. Iris and Melton were joined by Jaelyn Johnson and Gabriella Ostrander for the 4-by-400, the day’s final event, and ran a 4:12.39 in the second of three heats. Their time was better than all but two in the “fastest” heat.

Leslie County is perhaps best known as the home of quarterback Tim Couch, a former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.

“Our school has never been a state champion before, so it feels great,” Iris Napier said. “It would be nice to, hopefully, be known for something else.”

The Napiers, Roark and Smith all are basketball players as well. Most everyone on Leslie County’s track team is a multi-sport athlete — some play upwards of four throughout the school year.

“We pretty much go nonstop,” Iris said.

Beechwood sweep

Beechwood’s boys compiled enough points to win their first team title, joining the girls, who won their third (2019, 2023). They became the first Class A school to sweep the team titles since St. Henry accomplished the feat in 2012.

Luke Erdman, a junior, factored into three of the Tigers’ victories on the boys side. He won the 100 and 200 and was the anchor leg in their 4-by-100 relay win.

“I knew I had it in me, I just had to find it,” said Erdman, who significantly improved on his runner-up sprint times from last year’s meet. “It’s a perfect day, not too hot but it’s warm. My body’s loose and I had all the correct motivation and correct people behind me.”

CLASS A RESULTS

KHSAA state track and field championships

x-state meet record

BOYS:

Top 20 teams: 1. Beechwood 81, 2. Collegiate 68, 3. Bishop Brossart 57, 4. Green County 50.5, 5. St. Henry 39, 6. Fort Campbell 38, 7. Bethlehem 27, 8. Newport Central Catholic 24, 9. Shelby Valley 19, t10. Model 18, t10. Mayfield 18, 12. Caldwell County 17, 13. Nicholas County 16, 14. Williamsburg 15, t15. Louisville Holy Cross 14, t15. Floyd Central 14, t17. Prestonsburg 13, t17. Edmonson County 13, 19. Danville Christian 11, t20. University Heights 11, t20. Lexington Christian Academy 11

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Bishop Brossart (Nick Heck, Griffin Hill, Brennen Callahan, Ryan Clines) 8:07.53-x; 2. Bethlehem (Jack Ballard, Grant Greenwell, Logan Bennett, Isaac Riggs) 8:14.67; 3. Beechwood (Samson Weldemichael, Drew Kidman, Robert Wilke, Christopher Robereaux) 8:20.63. 110 hurdles—1. Oliver Veliquette, Collegiate, 15.18; 2. Julien Veliquette, Collegiate, 15.28; 3. James Noble, St. Henry, 15.31. 100—1. Luke Erdman, Beechwood, 10.77; 2. Anthony Cole, Model, 10.80; 3. Keith Hadley, Louisville Holy Cross, 10.84. 4-by-200 relay—1. Fort Campbell (McKenzie Andrews, Mateo Cerritos Gatto, Maurice Moore, Ja’Caryous Perryman) 1:29.61; 2. Shelby Valley (Peyton Combs, Giovanni Jones, Cody Strurgill, Jonathan Fields) 1:31.36; 3. Mayfield (Joe Kason Cash, Xavier Biggers, Trey Wesley, Jutoriaus Starks) 1:31.40. 1,600—1. Roman Sierpina, Collegiate, 4:13.80; 2. Nathan Ruth, Bishop Brossart, 4:14.53; 3. James Gurley, Collegiate, 4:15.18. 400—1. Emmanuel Dut, Danville Christian, 48.66; 2. Maurice Moore, Fort Campbell, 49.14; 3. Riley Morris, Williamstown, 50.31. 4-by-100 relay—1. Beechwood (Brody Aylor, Nathan Pabst, James Cusick, Luke Erdman) 43.28; 2. University Heights (Griffin McCoy, Harlow Hampton, Ryan Luckey, Clayton Lester) 43.72; 3. Mayfield (Mehki Dumas, Xavier Biggers, Malik Kirby, Jutoriaus Starks) 43.75. 300 hurdles—1. Oliver Veliquette, Collegiate, 39.32; 2. Julien Veliquette, Collegiate) 39.48; 3. Josh Brockman, St. Henry, 40.71. 800—1. Nathan Ruth, Bishop Brossart, 1:56.88; 2. Christopher Rober, Beechwood, 1:57.57; 3. Ryan Clines, Bishop Brossart) 1:57.65. 200—1. Luke Erdman, Beechwood, 22.02; 2. Keith Hadley, Louisville Holy Cross, 22.16; 3. Charlie Ford, Newport Central Catholic, 22.44. 3,200—1. James Gurley, Collegiate, 9:39.24; 2. Robert Wilke, Beechwood, 9:52.44; 3. Isaac Riggs, Bethlehem, 9:56.16. 4-by-400 relay—1. Fort Campbell (McKenzie Andrews, Mateo Cerritos Gatto, Samuel Atoubi, Maurice Moore) 3:25.37; 2. Newport Central Catholic (Alex Dance, Brayden Leger, Owen Roeder, Ryan Desmond) 3:28.12; 3. Collegiate (Julien Veliquette, Roman Sierpina, James Marshall, Oliver Veliquette) 3:28.96. Shot put—1. Kasey Webb, Edmonson County, 53-01; 2. Kelson McKinney, Green County, 51-08.5; 3. Cooper Mobley, Caldwell County, 50-05. Discus—1. Kelson McKinney, Green County) 169-08; 2. Keanu Ziolkowski, St. Henry) 155-05; 3. Xavier Campbell, Beechwood, 144-05. Long jump—1. Anthony Cole, Model, 21-09.50; 2. Braden Moore, Floyd Central, 20-09.75; 3. Octavius Mckeage, Russellville, 20-08. Triple jump—1. Alex Koeder, Nicholas County, 45-08; 2. Lucas Schroeder, Bishop Brossart, 42-04.5; 3. Timothy Bennett, Mayfield, 42-01.75. High jump—1. Nate Goodin, Williamsburg, 6-06; 2. Isaiah Ballard, Bethlehem, 6-04; 3. Braden Moore, Floyd Central, 6-02. Pole vault—1. Josh Brockman, St. Henry, 12-06; 2. Austin Squires, Green County, 12-06; 3. Noah Everett, Bishop Brossart) 12-00.

GIRLS:

Top 20 teams: 1. Beechwood 91, 2. Bishop Brossart 81, 3. Lexington Christian 76, 4. Leslie County 57, 5. St. Henry 37, t6. Murray 33, t6. Walden School 33, t8. Frankfort 28, t8. Green County 28, 10. Raceland 21, t11. Paris 20, t11. Somerset 20, t11. Williamsburg 20, 14. Fort Campbell 16, 15. Newport Central Catholic 15, 16. Sayre, t17. Monroe County 10, t17. Russellville 10, t19. Mayfield 8, t19. Bethlehem 8.

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Beechwood (Charlie Gerrein, Lily Parker, Annie Harris, Catie Hazzard) 9:49.02; 2. Bishop Brossart (Peyton Trauth, Tessa Hafer, Alia Thomas, LArah Callahan) 9:57.36; 3. Lexington Christian (Violet Griese, Jenna Raye Hopper, June Karls, Annie Sewell) 10:07.90. 100 hurdles—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden School, 14.69; 2. Sophie Maynard, Raceland, 15.30; 3. Layla Green, Murray, 15.59. 100—1. Briley Cline, Paris, 12.12-x; 2. Katie Norman, Frankfort, 12.33; 3. Mahari Crump, LCA, 12.59. 4-by-200 relay — 1. Leslie County (Emily Roark, Eden Melton, Hayley Smith, Iris Napier) 1:46.88; 2. Beechwood (Maddy Brauch, Lily MacDonald, Caroline Nordman, Lana Holt) 1:47.37; 3. Bishop Brossart (Hadley Eviston, Mackinley Scott, Kaitlyn Krmer, Lexi Braun) 1:47.68. 1,600—1. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 5:05.00; 2. Kennedy Moughamian, LCA, 5:12.66; 3. Hadley Raisor, LCA, 5:15.47. 4-by-100 relay — 1. Leslie County (Hayley Smith, Ava Napier, Emily Roark, Iris Napier) 49.95; 2. Mayfield (Anijiha Tucker, Camea Hunt, Ameeria Rouse, Sanaa Anam) 51.16; 3. Caldwell County (Mariah Merritt, Avery Wells, Addison Middleton-Mobley, Haley Dalton) 51.17. 400—1. Maryah Counts, Beechwood, 57.48; 2. Caroline Nordman, Beechwood, 58.15; 3. Hayley Smith, Leslie County, 59.04. 300 hurdles — 1. Sophie Maynard, Raceland, 45.69; 2. Lylah Mattingly, Williamsburg, 45.74; 3. Layla Green, Murray) 46.35. 800 — 1. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 2:18.80; 2. Annie Sewell, LCA, 2:20.23; 3. Larah Callahan, Bishop Brossart, 2:25.02. 200 — 1. Briley Cline, Paris, 24.78-x; 2. Maryah Counts, Beechwood, 25.62; 3. Hayley Smith, Leslie County, 26.18. 3,200 — 1. Kennedy Moughamian, LCA, 11:18.16; 2. Emmie Underwood, Fort Campbell, 11:41.28; 3. June Karls, LCA, 11:49.34. 4-by-400 relay — 1. Beechwood (Maddy Brauch, Maryah Counts, Ruby Fries, Lana Holt) 4:05.97; 2. Bishop Brossart (Peyton Trauth, Larah Callahan, Mackinley Scott, Lexi Braun) 4:12.18; 3. Leslie County (Jaelyn Johnson, Iris Napier, Eden Melton, Gabriella Ostrander) 4:12.39. Shot put—1. Ava Walters, Bishop Brossart, 34-06.25; 2. Amyah Robinson, Frankfort, 34-05; 3. Mayani Montanez, Sayre) 34-03.5. Discus—1. Anna Guard, St. Henry, 132-07-x; 2. Scout Brockman, Green County, 115-09; 3. Logan Boyd, Highlands Latin, 112-00. Long jump—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden, 17-07.5; 2. Grace Burgess, Somerset, 17-02; 3. Layla Green, Murray, 16-07.25. Triple jump—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden, 36-06; 2. Grace Burgess, Somerset, 34-11; 3. Lizzie Casey, St. Henry, 34-07.75. High jump—1. Ansley Ova Turner, Monroe County, 5-04; 2. Hayden Harlan, St. Henry, 5-00; 3. Cariann Williams, Edmonson County, 4-10. Pole vault—1. Cate Coppola, Green County, 11-00; 2. Kensey Clayton, Bethlehem, 9-00; 3. Emily Roark, Leslie County, 9-00.

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

‘This is a generational moment.’ Reed Sheppard, Trent Noah put 13th Region back on map.

Kennedy’s ‘big night,’ Hammond’s shutout lead LexCath to 11th Region softball title

Back-to-back champ: Lexington Catholic tops Franklin County for 11th Region baseball title