Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Long-jump winner Michaela Hunter of Rockcastle County. (Maloney photo)

North Oldham takes the final event of the boys’ 2A State Track Meet, as well as the overall team title.

North topped Central for the team title, 73-63, and in the relay, 3:27.30 to 3:28.37. Tilghman finished third in team points with 55.

Covington Catholic’s Will Torbek won the pole vault at 12-9.

* Boyle County wins the final event of the girls’ 2A State Meet, getting its second relay victory of the meet in the 4-by-400, while Highlands wins the overall team standings.

Natalie Settle, Tabitha Evans, Kate Carman and Logan Arnold combined for Boyle’s 4:08.97 victory. Central was runner-up in 4:09.40.

Highlands, third in the relay, finished with 100 1/2 points. Central took second with 92. Elizabethtown edged North Oldham for third place, 55-50.

* South Warren’s Jared Skrabacz, who earlier won the 1,600 meters, added the 3,200 title (9:31.27).

Runner-up Colin Grandon picked up eight big points for North Oldham, though, giving his team a 63-55 lead over Central with two events left to go.

* The Highlands girls have reclaimed the team lead with 17 of 18 events completed. The Bluebirds have 94 1/2 points to Central’s 84. Elizabethtown is third with 53.

Highlands picked up seven points in the triple jump with a 5-6 finish by Lisa Patterson and Taylor Rosenhagen. Rockcastle County’s Michaela Hunter picked up her third win of the day with a distance of 36-11 1/4.

Highlands also scored six points in the 3,200-meter run with a third-place finish by Lauren Ossege. Caterina Karas of Collins, who earlier took the 1,600 title, won that event in 11:26.76.

* Tilghman’s J.D. Harmon, who won the triple jump earlier in the day, has taken the long jump (22-2 3/4).

With three events remaining, Central and North Oldham are tied for the team lead with 55 points each. Tilghman is third with 44.

* Zach Evans’ triumph in the 200 meters has pulled North Oldham into a first-place tie with Central in the boys’ 2A team standings, 55 each with four events to go.

Evans covered the half-lap sprint in 22.25, trailed by 100-meter winner Ryan Timmons of Franklin County in 22.71.

* A 3-6 finish in the 200 meters by Kayla Forrest and Maya Spalding has pushed Central into the team lead, 84-81 1/2 over Highlands, with three events remaining in the girls’ 2A meet.

Alisha Adair of Western Hills won the event in 25.90, followed by 400-meter/long jump winner Michaela Hunter of Rockcastle County.

* With 14 of 18 girls’ events scored, Highlands leads Central in the 2A team standings 81 1/2-75. Elizabethtown is third with 53.

Caterina Karas of Collins dominated the 1,600-meter run (5:17.87) and North Bullitt’s Chelsey Slayton snared the 800 (2:23.44).

Central’s Maya Spalding, who already won the 100-meter hurdles, also won over the 300-meter barriers (46.86), ahead of West Jessamine’s Abby Wiggins.

Lindsey Scaggs of Highlands won the pole vault by a foot at 9-6.

* With 13 of 18 boys’ events completed, Central leads North Oldham 49-45 in the 2A team standings. Tilghman is third with 34, followed by Lexington Catholic with 27.

North Oldham’s Jeremy Rice just won the 800 meters in 1:57.78. Central’s Keon Scott captured the 300-meter hurdles (39.48) and Bullitt East’s Trevor Troutman won the discus (164-11).

* With 12 of 18 events completed, Highlands has opened an 81 1/2-59 lead over Central in the 2A girls’ team standings. Elizabethtown is third with 48.

Rockcastle County’s Michaela Hunter, who won the long jump earlier in the day, repeated as champion in the 400 meters (58.60). She was the only competitor to break one minute as runner-up Alisha Adair of Western Hills clocked 1:00.19.

Other recent girls’ winners include: Hart County’s Lindsey Burd in the shot put (36-0); and Highlands in both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relays.

The adapted (wheelchair) shot put went to Butler County’s Kayla Spurgeon (10-8).

* Central leads Paducah Tilghman 39-26, with Franklin County third with 25 points after 10 of 18 boys’ events.

Mercer County junior Isaiah Burrus successfully defended his title in the 400-meter dash. Burrus finished in 50.10, followed by Lexington Catholic’s Brian Babbage in 50.32.

Other recent boys’ winners include: Tilghman’s J.D. Harmon in the triple jump (46-5); South Warren’s Jared Skrabacz in the 1,600 (4:20.54); Franklin County in the 4-by-200 relay (1:31.48); and Central in the 4-by-100 relay (43.02).

The exhibition adapted (wheelchair) 100-meter dash went to Fleming County’s Lucas Cannon in 22.91.

* Highlands senior Ashley Collinsworth, daughter of TV personality and former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, wins the girls’ 100-meter days in 12.60. Alisha Adair of Western Hills takes second in 12.70.

Elizabethtown’s Clayton Patton takes the boys’ 110-meter high hurdles (15.28) over Bullitt East’s Jacob Duvall (15.57).

* Elizabethtown and North Oldham are tied for first place in the boys’ team standings through five events with 18 points each. Franklin County is third with 13.

Recent boys’ champions include: Ryan Timmons of Franklin County in the 100 (11.02); Tyler Bray of Lloyd Memorial in the high jump (6-8); and Letcher County’s Dakota Cornett in the shot put (52-6 1/2).

* Rockcastle County’s Michaela Hunter won the girls’ long jump with a leap of 17-10 1/4. Central’s Kayla Forrest was runner-up at 17-8 1/2.

Other girls’ winners include Central’s Cha’Niquia Gore in the high jump (5-2), Elizabethtown’s Denisha Nichols in the discus (114-2) and Central’s Maya Spalding in the 100-meter hurdles (15.91).

Through five of 18 events, Central leads the team standings with 31 points, five ahead of Elizabethtown.

* North Oldham takes the boys’ 4-by-800-meter relay in 8:12.40, followed by Hopkinsville in 8:16.84. Taylor Sanders, Colin Grandon, Alec Horn and Jeremy Rice ran for the winners.

Now, there is a two-hour break before the next event on the track.

* The first event completed in the Class 2A State Track and Field Meet goes to Boyle County’s 4-by-800-meter relay team. Eighth-grader Nikki Coffey led off, followed by junior Maddie Kriz, senior Rachel Ditto and sophomore Logan Arnold. Time for the “metric two-mile” was 9:57.57. North Oldham was runner-up in 10:01.16.

Fleming County’s Lucas Cannon won the boys’ adapted shot put with a distance of 15-11 from his wheelchair. This is the first year for the exhibition event.

* A thunderstorm has pushed back Thursday’s scheduled 1 o’clock start for the Class 2A State Track and Field Meet at the University of Louisville.

However, the sky has cleared and athletes have now resumed warmups.

When conditions allow, the boys’ shot put, girls’ discus and girls’ 4-by-800 relays will be first to begin at Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park.

The pre-season roster of athletes on the Women’s Watch List for The Bowerman is made up entirely of juniors and seniors.

The Bowerman is the most prestigious individual award for collegiate track and field. The men’s watch list was released Wednesday.

Three of the 10 women listed are from Texas A&M — sprinters Jessica Beard, Gabby Mayo and Jenebe Tarmoh. Mayo also hurdles.

The first women’s watch list of the season, with name, class, school, event(s) and hometown:

Joanna Atkins, sr., Auburn, sprints, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Jessica Beard, sr., Texas A&M, sprints, Euclid, Ohio
Ti’erra Brown, jr., Miami (Fla.), hurdles, Hampton, Va.
Semoy Hackett, jr., LSU, sprints, Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago
Amber Kaufman, sr., Hawaii, jumps, San Jose, Calif.
Gabby Mayo, jr., Texas A&M, sprints/hurdles, Raleigh, N.C.
Sheila Reid, jr., Villanova, distance, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Jeneba Tarmoh, jr., Texas A&M, sprints, San Jose, Calif.
Brianne Theisen, sr., Oregon, combined events, Humboldt, Sask., Canada
Kim Williams, sr., Florida State, jumps, Kingston, Jamaica

Gay, Phillips among T&FN’s top 10 in world

Tyson Gay

Dwight Phillips

Lexington’s Tyson Gay finished fourth in Track & Field News magazine’s voting for Men’s Athlete of the Year. Former University of Kentucky competitor Dwight Phillips ranked ninth.

Kenyan middle-distance runner David Rudisha was a unanimous pick for the men’s award.

Croatian high-jumper Blanka Vlasic took women’s honors.

Other winners included hurdler David Oliver (U.S. men’s athlete), sprinter Allyson Felix (U.S. women’s athlete), Rudisha for his 800-meter world-record 1:41.01 (men’s performance of the year) and Polish hammer-thrower Anita Wlodarczyk for her world-record 256-11 (women’s performance).

After Rudisha, the men’s rankings saw Americans take the next three spots: Oliver, shot-putter Christian Cantwell and Gay. Gay’s long-time rival, Usain Bolt of Jamaica, finished 15th.

Felix was the top American woman, second to Vlasic.

Event-by-event world rankings had Gay first in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 globally, 1-3 nationally, where he also was seventh in the 400.

Reese Hoffa

Danielle Carruthers

Phillips ranked No. 1 in the world and nation in the long jump, while Louisville native Reese Hoffa was second to Cantwell in the shot put.

Paducah Tilghman graduate Danielle Carruthers ranked fifth in the nation and ninth in the world in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

Other men’s national rankings had St. Xavier graduate Bobby Curtis fourth in the 5,000 and 10,000, and Ballard graduate Ray Sharp fourth in the 50-kilometer walk.

Former UK standout Allison Grace ranked ninth nationally in the 10,000.

Of course, I’m talking about the indoor track and field season kicking into gear.

The University of Kentucky Invitational is set for Friday and Saturday inside Nutter Field House.

Along with UK, men’s and women’s teams from Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State, Louisville, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Michigan State, Western Carolina and Alabama will compete. Florida A&M will compete in men’s events only. Central Florida, Marshall and Vanderbilt will send only women’s teams.

Friday’s competition, limited to the weight throws and triple jumps for men and women, plus men’s high jump and women’s pole vault, begins at 6 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule starts at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s high jump and long jump. The first track event, semifinals of the women’s 60-meter hurdles, is set for 12:30 p.m. The final event, the men’s 4-by-400-meter relay, is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

First Bowerman Watch List released

The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee, in conjunction with the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, released its first crop of candidates for collegiate track and field’s most prestigious award. All three of last season’s finalists have graduated.

The list of possible successors includes 2009 finalist German Fernandez and three sophomores. Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson is on the list for a record ninth time.

One, Alabama’s Kirani James, is scheduled to compete at UK this weekend.

The preliminary watch list, in alphabetical order, with athlete, year, school, event(s) and hometown:

Jeshua Anderson, sr., Washington State, hurdles, Woodlands, Calif.
Robby Andrews, soph., Virginia, distance, Englishtown, N.J.
Sam Chelanga, sr., Liberty, distance, Nairobi, Kenya
Charles Clark, sr., Florida State, sprints, Virginia Beach, Va.
Jeff Demps, soph./jr., Florida, sprints, Winter Garden, Fla.
German Fernandez, jr./soph., Oklahoma State, distance, Riverbank, Calif.
Mason Finley, soph., Kansas, throws, Salida, Colo.
Walter Henning, sr., LSU, throws, Kings Park, N.Y.
Kirani James, soph., Alabama, sprints, Gouyave, Grenada
Christian Taylor, jr., Florida, jumps, Fayetteville, Ga.

Kentucky connections on T&FN annual list

Tyson Gay at the Beijing Olympics.

Track & Field News magazine’s annual lists of Top 40 performers in the nation for the 2010 season is loaded with Kentucky connections. In addition to the top 40 nationals, T&FN tacks on a list of foreign collegians.

Event leaders included Lexington’s Tyson Gay in the men’s 100 and former UK competitor Dwight Phillips in the men’s long jump. Gay had six of the 10 fastest times by an American in 2010, including the top three. Phillips had the top 11 best jumps by an American last season, ranging from 27-9 1/4 to 27-2.

Here are the Kentucky connections listed.

WOMEN
100-meter hurdles — 5. Danielle Carruthers (Paducah Tilghman) 12.68.
Mile — (foreign collegian) Janet Jesang (WKU) 4:41.57.
3,000 — (foreign collegian) Janet Jesang (WKU) 9:11.09.
5,000 — 24. Allison Grace (UK) 15:49.10.
10,000 – 11. Allison Grace (UK) 32:54.99.
Half-marathon — 22. Allison Grace (UK) 74:20.
4-by-200 relay — 18. UK 1:35.23.
4-by-400 relay — 32. UK 3:35.14.
Shot put — 8. Ashley Muffet (UK) 57-3 1/2; 17. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 55-9 1/4; 36. Chinwe Okoro (Russell, Lvl.) 52-7 1/4.
Discus — 8. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 188-1; 13. Ashley Muffet (UK) 181-10; 32. Mary Angell (UK) 173-0; 37. D’Ana McCarty (Lvl.) 171-5.
Hammer throw — 11. Kristin Smith (UK) 212-7; 19. Jere’ Summers (Lvl.) 207-4; 29. D’Ana McCarty (Lvl.) 204-2; 40. Lindsey Cook (Lvl.) 195-9.
Javelin — 10. Dana Pounds Lyon (Lexington) 172-6.
Heptathlon — 22. Precious Nwokey (UK) 5,543.

MEN
100 — 1. Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 9.78; (foreign collegian) Rondel Sorrillo (UK) 10.19 (10.05 wind-aided).
200 — 1. (tie with Walter Dix) Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 20.29; (foreign collegians) Rondel Sorrillo (UK) 20.29; Gavin Smellie (WKU) 20:46.
400 — 7. Tyson Gay (Lafayette) 44.89.
800 — 36. Sharif Webb (UK) 1:47.64.
3,000 — 29. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 7:57.28; (foreign collegian) Soufiani Bouchikhi (EKU) 7:59.20.
5,000 — 10. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 13:18.97.
10,000 — 4. Bobby Curtis (St. Xavier) 27:33.38.
20K walk — 15. Ray Sharp (Ballard) 1:46:24.
50K walk — 4. Ray Sharp (Ballard) 4:31:04
3,000 steeplechase — (foreign collegian) Matt Hughes (Lvl.) 8:34.18.
4-by-100 relay — UK 39.62.
4-by-200 relay — 18. WKU 1:24.36; 21. UK 1:24.72.
4-by-400 relay — 34. WKU 3:06.99.
Triple jump — 19. Andre Black (Lvl.) 53-4 1/4.
Long jump — 1. Dwight Phillips (UK) 27-9 1/4; 23. Wesley Smith (Lvl.) 25-8; 28. Tone Belt (Lvl.) 25-6 1/4; (foreign collegian) Rudon Bastian (Lvl.) 25-10.
Discus — 10. Chase Madison (UK) 201-0; 22. Rashaud Scott (UK) 193-8; 28. Colin Boevers (UK) 192-1.
Shot put — 2. Reese Hoffa (Lvl. native) 72-8 1/2; 11. Jeff Chakouian (UK) 65-11; 29. Steve Hnat (Lvl.) 62-6 3/4.
High jump — 30. Grant Lindsey (UK) 7-2 1/2.

What a way to start the University of Kentucky’s indoor track and field season.

Competition was simply outstanding in the Kentucky Invitational, with eight Southeastern Conference schools (UK, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt), two from the Big Ten (Michigan State, Ohio State), two from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Georgia Tech, Miami) and three in-state visitors (Louisville, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky). Add to that post-collegiate Olympians such as Reese Hoffa, Perdita Felicien, Hazel Clark and Dee Dee Trotter, to name a few.

Hoffa, a world champion indoors and outdoors, as well as a two-time Olympian, blasted the Nutter Fieldhouse record in the shot put with a final-attempt distance of 69-6 3/4.

Nutter records also fell to Florida’s Mariam Kevkhishvili in the women’s shot and Western Kentucky’s Janet Jesang in the women’s 3,000 meters.

Don Weber

“An excellent field for an early season meet,” said Don Weber, UK head coach. “Obviously, very few if anybodyis where they want to be at this time of year, just coming back from Christmas break. To be competitive in a variety of events is certainly an encouraging start. So I feel pretty good about it, and when you look at some individual situations, (there has been) some significant development from one year to the next.”

Most noteworthy, he said, is Kristin Smith, who set a school record of 64-1 3/4 in Friday’s weight throw.

“She said, ‘as a freshman, rather than just focusing on me, I worried about how good everybody else was and that really was intimidating to me, and interfered with my development’,” Weber said.

No more, which is a lesson the coach hopes the rest of his team will get after a competition such as the one this weekend. Focus on improving your own performance rather than worry about what someone else.

Some event-by-event highlights from Saturday, with ladies first:

60-meter hurdles — Felicien (8.13) prevailed in a photo finish over Danielle Carruthers (8.1311) and Vonette Dixon (8.1391).

“I totally didn’t react to the gun,” said Felicien, the 2003 world champion, eight-time Canadian national champion and former University of Illinois standout. “I’m happy to come out with a win. First race of the season.”

Felicien was the Olympic gold-medal favorite going into the 100-meter hurdles finals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, she clobbered the first hurdle and fell. She missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to a foot injury.

“We don’t need to talk about that. That was six years ago,” Felicien said of her Athens mishap. “There’s always going to be motivation, but it’s been so many years and I’ve done well since then that I’m not using that as a centerpiece or focal point of my season or my career. Just race my race.”

Her light at the end of the tunnel this season is the Indoor World Championships, March 12-14 at Doha, Qatar.

“The plan is to go there, be ready for Doha, be on the podium,” Felicien said.

Danielle Carruthers

Carruthers, a former Kentucky high school (Paducah Tilghman) and Big Ten (Indiana) champion, is Felicien’s club teammate (Speed Dynamics) and training partner. Carruthers lives in Atlanta now, but spent the last week training at Naples, Fla., due to cold weather.

“We’ve been training really hard,” Carruthers said. “I had some great sessions before I came (up) here. … We did a lot for about a week and a half, every day — hard, hard, hard! Then I drove 10 hours back to Atlanta, had Thursday off, drove five hours here, and race the next day. I’m just trying to get in shape and get ready for Millrose.”

60 — Carruthers also competed in Saturday’s 60-meter dash, placing second in the consolation heat and ninth overall (7.53). 

Sheniqua Ferguson

Auburn junior Shaniqua Ferguson won in an NCAA provisional-qualifying 7.28, ahead of Speed Dynamics’ Ebonie Floyd-Broadnax (7.34).

Janet Jesang

3,000 — WKU’s Jesang, a senior from Uganda, blazed to an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 9:11.09. New Balance’s Sarah Bowman, who won the NCAA mile title for Tennessee last March, was a distant second in 9:28.63.

4-by-400 relay — Kentucky got its lone win of the day from the foursome of Jenna Martin, Jazmyn Shorter, Brittany Cabbler and Precious Nwokey, 3:39.94 to Florida’s 3:39.96. All are juniors except for Nwokey, a sophomore from Houston. 

Precious Nwokey

Nwokey had the Wildcats’ fastest split, 54-flat, and was recognized by Weber as someone who has made “dramatic improvement” since last season.

High jump — Chaunte Howard, a 2004 Olympian out of Georgia Tech, topped former Auburn star Raevan Harris, 6-2 to 6-0 3/4. Howard barely missed at 6-4, which would have tied the fieldhouse record. 

Mariam Kevkhishvili

Shot put — Florida’s Kevkhishvili, with a put of 60-7 1/4, won by exactly six feet over Tennessee’s Annie Alexander. Kevkhishvili also set a national record for the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. (No, not the Bulldogs.) UK had a good showing as Ashley Muffet and Jennifer Svoboda placed 4-5, just ahead of Louisville’s Jere’ Summers.

Long jump — Miami (Fla.) got its only win from Deandra Doyler (20-4 1/4). Rachel Gehret, who placed fourth in the high jump, and Louisville teammate Amaka Omenyinma placed 2-3 at 19-10 1/4 and 19-8 1/4.

                            MEN’S EVENTS
60 hurdles — Eric Mitchum (7.72), an all-American out of Oregon, bested former Tennessee standout Karl Jennings (7.85).

D'Angelo Cherry

60 — This was an SEC trifecta. Mississippi State sophomore D’Angelo Cherry zipped to the win (6.65), trailed by Alabama senior Ray Jadusingh (6.69) and Auburn sophmore Harry Adams (6.73). After Miami’s Cory Nelms in fourth, SEC sprinters from six schools took the next nine spots.
200 — More SEC domination of the sprints here. Ex-Seton Hall blazer Obra Hogans, fourth in 21.44, was the only non-SEC runner to crack the top eight. Georgia sophomore Torrin Lawrence ruled in 21.29, followed by Tennessee senior Evander Wells in 21.20. Both are provisional qualifying marks.

800 — Things got crazy here when a photographer strayed onto the track near the finish line with a lap left, triggering a collision that knocked out a pair of runners. Kentucky junior Sharif Webb, a junior college transfer, avoided the pileup and went on to win the first heat in 1:51.07.

Sharif Webb

Mile — Former Tennessee performer Andrew Dawsom (4:11.52) won out over a pair of Michigan State runners, freshman Isaiah VanDoorne (4:12.12) and Spencer Beatty (4:12.35).

3,000 — One of the more exciting finishes came with Louisville junior Matt Bruce (8:13.50) holding off UK sophomore Luis Orta (8:14.11).

4-by-400 relay — Florida led from the second exchange on and finished in 3:06.40, fourth-best in Gators history. Mississippi State (3:09.80) rallied for second, followed by UK (3:11.64). A dropped baton on the final straightaway cost Alabama a chance to hold off Mississippi State.

Shot put — Hoffa led all the way despite a worthy challenger in Shore Athletic Club’s Rhuben Williams, the runner-upat 65-11. Georgia senior Israel Machovec was third (58-1 1/4), followed by UK junior Colin Boevers (57-6 1/2).

Colin Boevers

“It was a good opener. I threw well,” Boevers said. Doug Reynolds, UK throws coach, “told us to execute what we do in practice, and I feel like I did it pretty well. I didn’t quite connect on any throws, so I know there’s more in the tank.”

Boevers was impressed by Hoffa, a two-time Olympian and a world champion indoors and outdoors.

“Reese Hoffa, he’s really a hero in this sport and he’s incredible to watch,” Boevers said. “This is my first time competing with him. I was kind of jittery at first, but I settled in. I did my thing and he ended up with a great throw, and it was an honor to compete with him.”

Reese Hoffa

Hoffa would like to add a World Championships indoor gold to the one he won in 2006. (He won silver medals in 2004 and 2008.)
“World Indoors in Doha, that’s where my eye’s on right now,” said Hoffa, who represents the New York Athletic Club.

Hoffa says he’s better equipped now than he was in 2008, when he won the U.S. Olympic Trials but finished seventh at the Beijing Olympics.

“I think I’m more comfortable being in a limelight position,” Hoffa said. “Beijing, although I had had some success, it was nothing like having everybody have their eye on you. And, if you’re not used to that, there’s no way to prepare for that. You’ve just got to experience it, live through it and learn from it.”

Long jump — How about a 1-2-3-5 finish for Louisville? Wesley Smith, a sophomore, led the pack at 25-4 1/2. Tone Belt, who won Friday’s high jump, was second (25-2 1/2), followed by Rudon Bastian (25-1 1/4), UK’s Keenon Hall (24-7 1/4) and Friday’s runner-up in the triple jump, Andre Black (24-3 1/2).

“It was pretty good. That’s our second meet,” said Jake Jacoby, U of L’s jumps coach. “We’re still working on things and they’re dialing in fairly well. I was very happy with the way we performed tonight.”

Daily competition in practice keeps Jacoby’s group sharp.

“They’re jawing all the time,” he said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. They challenge each other in the weight room and on the track, and it makes for a good, solid corps.”

Pole vault — Florida junior Eric Foran won in a jumpoff, clearing 16-2 3/4 after tying with Georgia sophomore Allen Brandon at 16-0 3/4. Third-place Logan Lynch of Michigan State also cleared 16-0 3/4, but had one more miss.

 

 

Covington Catholic’s and Highlands’ girls won the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Meet Friday night.

CovCath scored 67 points, six more than Louisville Central. West Jessamine was another six points back, followed by eight-time defending champion Tilghman with 48.

Highlands eked past Lloyd Memorial, 62.5-61 for girls’ honors. Louisville Central had 53, followed by Rockcastle County with 48.

Initial post

It hasn’t taken long for some surprises at the Class 2A State High School Track and Field Championships, which are underway at the University of Louisville.

Tilghman’s Denzel Powell, the defending champion in the boys’ 100, false-started.

Tilghman’s DeAudrea Horne, defending champ in the girls’ 100, placed second to Abigail Torian of Trigg County — last year’s winner in Class A.

Torian clocked in at 12.44 seconds, Horne at 12.60.

Tilghman did pick up a 10-point victory in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles. Caric Denson, a junior, defended his title in 15.04, ahead of Louisville Central’s Diaz Bolden (15.17).

Johnson Central senior Andy Lewis took advantage of Powell’s absence to win the boys’ 100 in 10.97. Stephon Robinson of Louisville Central was second in 11.02.

Other early winners include Calloway County in the boys’ 4-by-800 relay (8:11.35), South Oldham in the girls’ 4-by-8 (9:51.46) and Nathelie Zetrenne of Central in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles (15.56). In the latter event, defending champion Sarah McKinney of Rockcastle County wound up fifth.

A West Jessamine sweep

West Jessamine seniors took both the boys’ and girls’ 1,600-meter runs.

Adrianne Shearer built a 20-yard gap on the field over the first 400 and maintained about the same gap throughout the race. Shearer finished in 5:22.93, with South Oldham’s Jessie Murner second in 5:26.11. Defending champ Helen Heines of North Bullitt took sixth.

West’s Will Stratford employed a different tactic to win the boys’ 1,600. Sitting comfortably off the pace for the first 1,000 meters, Stratford surged with a lap-and-a-half left. He held off Franklin County’s Robert Sandlin, 4:27.20 to 4:27.56.

Other boys’ winners include Tilghman in the 4-by-200 relay (1:30.22) and Calloway County’s Tyrell Willis in the shot put (50-9.25).

Rockcastle County’s Samantha Smith won the girls’ long jump (17-2.75) and Jackie Stevens of Bullitt East won the discus (111-5). Trigg County’s girls swept the 4-by-200 (1:43.68) and 4-by-100 (49.72) relays.

Late events

Anna Goetz was the only individual winner for Highlands, taking the triple jump (35-3.75).

Western Hills eighth-grader Alisha Adair won the 200 (25.26), beating defending champion Horne (25.31) and Trigg’s Torian (25.66).

Other girls’ winners included: Donnell Nocero (Lloyd), high jump (5-4); Bullitt East’s Stevens in the shot (37-9.5); Cheyenne Evans (Boyle County), 800 (2:19.83); Jessica Gabhart (Elizabethtown), 300 hurdles (45.25); Erica Mills (Boyle County), pole vault (9-0); Michaela Hunter (Rockcastle County), 400 (59.33); Tenny Ostrem, Powell County (11:42.37); and South Oldham in the 4-by-400 relay (4:06.63).

CovCath’s lone individual title came from Alex Connelly in the high jump (6-4).

Other boys’ winners included: Robert Sandlin (Franklin County), 3,200 (9:38.21); R.J. Fields (Harlan County), long jump (22-5); Greg Phillips (Knox Central), pole vault (12-6); Thomas Washington (Logan County), triple jump (45-4); Ken Holbrook (Western Hills), 129-11; Andy Lewis (Johnson Central), 200 (21.78); Stephon Jackson (Louisville Central), 400 (49.88); Thomas Canary (Lexington Catholic), 800 (1:54.94); Chip Clark (Fleming County), 300 hurdles (39.85); Tilghman, 4-by-100 relay (43.67); and Highlands in the 4-by-400 relay (3:26.16).

Former Villanova standout Bobby Curtis, who dominated Kentucky high school track during his days at St. Xavier, is keeping busy at a variety of distances this season.

Bobby Curtis

Thursday, at Minneapolis, Curtis placed third in the inaugural USA 1-Mile Road Championships.

Curtis, now based out of Ardmore, Pa., and Darren Brown hung with Jon Rankin as they broke from the pack at 1,200 meters, according to reports from USA Track & Field.

Also lurking, though, was David Torrence, who overtook Rankin to run the first sub-four road mile ever in Minnesota and earn a bonus of $10,000. First-place prize money, before the bonus, was $4,000.

Torrence, from Oakland, Calif., was timed in 3:59.3. Rankin took second in 4:01.7, followed by Curtis in 4:02.0. Brown was fourth in 4:08.0. John Richardson, the former Southeastern Conference champion for Kentucky, placed seventh in 4:10.1. 

Shannon Rowbury, the Olympic Trials 1,500-meter champion, took the women’s mile in 4:33.4. Sara Hall was runner-up in 4:39.1, followed by Sara Vaughn in 4:41.3.

Just about two weeks before heading to Minnesota, on April 24, Curtis turned in a sensational 5,000-meter victory in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Berkeley, Calif.

Curtis, sponsored by Reebok, clocked 13:29.12. Ben St. Lawrence (New Balance) edged Jorge Torres (Reebok) for second, 13:30.18 to 13:30.65, followed closesly by Scott Baughs (adidas) in 13:30.85. Further back in the international field was former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky standout Thomas Morgan (ZAP Fitness), 18th in 14:31.16.

Morgan’s ZAP teammate, former UK runner Allison Grace, took seventh in the women’s 5K (16:12.50).

Spanning the globe

Reese Hoffa

Danielle Carruthers

Louisville native Reese Hoffa was among several American winners Friday in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix at Doha, Qatar.

Hoffa, the 2007 World Outdoor champion and a two-time Olympian, took the men’s shot put with the longest toss in the world this season, 71 feet. Poland’s Tomasz Majewski, gold-medalist at the Beijing Olympics, took second (69-7 1/2). Two-time Olympic silver-medalist Adam Nelson of the U.S. placed sixth (64-10).

Dannielle Carruthers, a former Indiana University standout and Kentucky high school champion out of Paducah Tilghman, placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles (12.73).

As for the other American winners:

* Brittney Reese, the NCAA and Olympic Trials champion out of Ole Miss, also won with a world-leading season-best — 22 feet, 11 1/4 inches in the women’s long jump. That also tops her all-time personal best of 22-9 3/4.

Allyson Felix

* Allyson Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion and two-time Olympic silver-medal winner at 200 meters, doubled the distance to win the 400 at Qatar. Her time of 50.75 is fastest in the world this season.

* Travis Padgett, the NCAA 100-meter runner-up last year, took the Qatar century in 10-flat. That ties Olympic teammate Walter Dix for the fastest time in the world this season. Dix clocked 10.00 on April 11.

* Olympic bronze-medalist David Oliver repeated as the Doha champion in the 110-meter hurdles, although not as quick as last year (12.95). Still, his time of 13.09 is best in the world this year, topping his previous mark of 13.19.

For more details and results, see www.iaaf.org.

Thanks to Jonathan Grooms, Carlisle County coach, for providing this week’s KYtrackXC.com rankings of state high school track and field teams.

Class AAA Boys - Team Rankings                    
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   1) Male 76.5; 2) St. Xavier 66; 3) Louisville Ballard 39; 4) North Hardin 36; 5) Henry Clay 34; 6) Oldham County 33; 7) Daviess County 31.5; 8 ) Christian County 30.3; 9) John Hardin 29; 10) Owensboro 28.   

Class AAA Girls – Team Rankings                   
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   1) Owensboro 75; 2) Butler 56; 3) Louisville Ballard 51.5; 4) Fern Creek 45; 5) Sacred Heart 43; 6) Paul Dunbar 40; 7) Eastern 33; 8 ) Campbell County 32; 9) Male 31; 10) duPont Manual 29.

Class AA Girls – Team Rankings                   
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   1) Central 73.5; 2) Lloyd Memorial 71; 3) Rockcastle County 56; 4) Trigg County 53.5; 5) Highlands 43.5; 6) (tie) South Oldham and Boyle County 37; 8 ) West Jessamine 34; 9) (tie) Casey County and Elizabethtown 26.

National Collegiate rankings

MEN

WOMEN

Event rankings

Corey Thorne

Rashaud Scott

MEN

100 meters — 21. Justin Austin (UK) 10.35.

200 — 25. Jose Acevedo (UK) 20.80.

Steeplechase — 2. Corey Thorne (U of L) 8:39.19; 12. Matt Hughes (U of L) 8:47.36; 24. Stanley Mugo (EKU) 8:52.07.

4-by-100 relay — 19. UK (A. Williams, B. Austin, J. Austin, J. Acevedo) 40.03.

4-by-400 relay — 8. UK (B. Austin, J. Austin, K. Obeng, J. Acevedo) 3:05.77.

High jump — 11. Tone Belt (U of L) 7-1.

Long jump — 4. Rudon Bastian (U of L) 25-8.

Shot put — 14. Steve Hnat (U of L) 60-6 1/2; 15. Rashaud Scott (UK) 60-3 3/4; 20. Chase Madison (UK) 59-11 1/4.

Discus — 1. Rashaud Scott (UK) 212-9; 6. Chase Madison (UK) 196-7.

 

Janet Jesang

Ashley Muffet

WOMEN

5,000 — 10. Janet Jesang (WKU)15:52.22.

10,000 — 20. Janet Jesang (WKU)34:08.18.

4-by-400 relay — 20. WKU (M. Williams, S. Smith, K. Morrison, A. Brown) 3:37.43.

High jump — 10. Rachel Gehret (U of L) 5-11 1/4.

Long jump — 23. Rachel Gehret (U of L) 20-5 1/4.

Triple jump — 10. Seidre Forde (U of L) 42-11 3/4.

Shot put — 11. Ashley Muffet(UK) 53-4 1/2; 20. Khadija Abdullah (U of L) 52-2; 23. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 51-11 1/4.

Discus — 3. Ashley Muffet (UK) 187-8; 10. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 173-8; 16. Emilee Strot (UK) 171-2.

Hammer throw — 11. Jere’ Summers (U of L) 199-10; 13. Kristin Smith (UK) 199-2.

Heptathlon — 18. Ashley Trimble (UK) 5,438; 21. Danielle Sampley (UK) 5,477 (pre-season mark).