4A district track recap: Two days, three wins, three records for Bishop Kelly’s Monahan
To say that Patrick Monahan had a pretty good couple of days would be an understatement.
Breaking one meet record is noteworthy, but three in the span of two days?
“It’s just a testament to his hard work and his competitiveness,” Bishop Kelly coach Jeff Carpenter said. “He’s got a switch that he flips when it’s time to go, and he goes.”
Monahan set 4A District Three track and field meet records in the boys long jump, triple jump and high jump to help Bishop Kelly win its seventh consecutive boys team championship Saturday at Ridgevue High with 238.5 points to runner-up Ridgevue’s 118.5. The BK girls collected their 10th straight title, holding off second-place Middleton 169-150.
“I always knew I had the capability to do the jumps that I did, but I was just able to put them all together,” Monahan said. “We got some good weather and I felt good. I’m kind of starting to peak during the right time, so I’m really excited about how I’m performing, and I hope to improve even more next week at state.”
On Friday, Monahan cleared 6 feet, 6.25 inches in the high jump, breaking the meet record of 6-4.75 that had stood since 2001. The mark was a personal best and tops in the state this season in any classification.
His high jump success carried over to the triple jump, where he posted another personal best with a distance of 45-5.5. The previous meet record was 44-8.5.
And even a little rain shower couldn’t slow Monahan on Saturday morning. His winning ways continued in the long jump with a leap of 22-1.5, which was one inch better than the meet record set before he was even born.
“The Bishop Kelly coaching staff does a great job of helping each athlete individually, and they’re able to make the season worthwhile for every athlete,” Monahan said. “They’re all about getting us better, and the fact that each athlete is able to improve and work at their events in a variety of ways kind of shows how well rounded of a team we are.”
Monahan wasn’t the only Knight to win multiple individual events at the district meet.
Bishop Kelly senior Jacoba Luteyn won the girls shot put for the second year in a row with a meet and school record distance of 43-0. She made it a sweep of the throwing events by claiming first in the discus with a toss of 127-4.
Bishop Kelly junior Austin Clough took down a meet record that had stood since 2014 with his victory in the boys 3,200 in a time of 9:21.76 on Friday. He added another record-breaking performance Saturday, clocking a 4:18.71 in the 1,600. Clough then completed the distance sweep with his victory in the 800 (1:57.89).
Defending district and state champion James Onanubosi broke his own meet records in the boys 100 and 200, crossing the finish line in 10.68 and 21.68, respectively. His records from a year ago were 10.72 in the 100 and 22.27 in the 200.
MEET HIGHLIGHTS
Note: Meet highlights are limited to state-leading performances, meet records and multiple individual event wins.
▪ Three meet records fell at the hands of Emmett’s Landon Helms. The senior and Texas A&M commit cleared 16-4 in the boys pole vault and ran to wins in the 110 hurdles (14.03) and 300 hurdles (38.68). It marked three straight district titles for Helms in the pole vault and 110 hurdles and the second in a row in the 300 hurdles.
▪ Emmett made it a sweep of the pole vault as Tatum Richards matched her own meet record from last season with a clearance of 12-8 on the girls side. Richards also won the 100 hurdles (15.85) for the second year in a row.
▪ Middleton junior Kayelee Austin dominated the distance races, winning the girls 3,200 (11:15.76) on Friday and the 1,600 (5:15.08) on Saturday.
▪ Middleton senior Cassidy Fried showed off her springs with victories in the girls high jump (5-0), long jump (16-2.75) and triple jump (35-2).
▪ Two relay teams put together strong runs. The Bishop Kelly’s boys 4x100 (42.85) set a meet record, while the Vallivue sprint medley relay (3:36.97) clocked the fastest time in the state this season.
