Lexington Catholic claims girls’ title, Mercer County sweeps sprints at Class 2A state meet

Friday’s Class 2A state track and field championships yielded five record-breaking performances, the first girls’ team title for Lexington Catholic since 1971, and the third boys’ crown in a row for Mercer County in addition to a pair of remarkable sweeps for the Titans.

Mercer County senior Beau Brown and freshman Teigh Yeast won their respective 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes with Brown breaking two Class 2A records in the process.

Lexington Catholic’s girls had their sights set on the team championship from the get-go at the University of Kentucky Track and Field Facility.

The 4x800-meter relay team of Caroline Beiting, Joanna Bryant, Cate Conklin and Amelia Monohan broke the first Class 2A record of the day in the first event with a time of 9:23.06. That bested the old mark set by Elizabethtown in 2018 by more than 12 seconds and their next closest competitors by more than 22 seconds.

“We were pretty confident,” Beiting said. “We’d run that time before during the season, so we were just running it for fun and seeing what we could do today.”

The record signaled a new focus for a Knights team which didn’t even compete in the 4x800 relay a year ago.

“Last year we didn’t run it because we wanted to focus on individual events, but we’re maybe hoping to even win the girls’ championship, so we’re kind of stacking up on events,” Conklin told the Herald-Leader in their first postrace interview at 9:35 a.m.

Lexington Catholic would go on to seal its team victory in the last race of the day, the 4x400-relay ran by Beiting, Bryant, Monohan and Katie Seitz in 4:01.16.

Along the way Beiting won both the 800- and 1,600-meter races. Her time of 2:14.61 in the 800 broke another Class 2A record. Beiting confessed she had her eye on that.

“I looked at it just when I was looking at the heat sheet online a few days ago,” Beiting said. “I just casually saw it and I was like, ‘Oh, OK. I could get that.’”

Lexington Catholic’s last girls’ track title came so long ago, in 1971, that many on the team had no idea they’d ever done it. They posed proudly with their first-place trophy around the facility placard honoring their coach’s own place in Kentucky track history.

Bernadette Madigan-Dugan was the University of Kentucky’s first female champion in any sport when she claimed the NCAA Indoor 2-mile championship in 1982.

“They were amazing,” Madigan-Dugan said. “They had a lot of work to do and they just came through and did it.”

Titans’ Brown breaks records

Brown, who will continue his track career at Centre College, began the day by running the 100 in 10.77, a personal best. He followed that up with a 2A record 48.16 in the 400 that left his mouth agape as he looked up at the time.

“In the 400 I exceeded my expectations for sure,” Brown said. “I had no idea I was going to go 48.1.”

Then came another 2A record of 21.46 seconds in the 200.

“It’s what I’ve been gunning for since last season, for sure, because I was close last year to get the 200 state record for 2A,” Brown said. “It felt really good to sweep all three. There’s no other feeling like that.”

Mercer Coach Terry Yeast switched up Brown’s events this year in hopes of maximizing his ability to score points. That meant dropping two relays and adding the 400.

“We’ve been hoping for that 200 (record) for a couple of years, but that 400 was huge,” Yeast said.

Mercer also got event wins from Jordan Piazza in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles and Thaddeus Mays in the boys’ triple jump. Those helped Mercer narrowly claim its third consecutive boys’ team title by a point total of 74-72 over Bourbon County.

Yeast family tradition

This year, the Yeast family baton passed into the hands of Teigh Yeast, the younger sister of multi-state champion Timberlynn Yeast, who continues to recover from a knee injury suffered just before basketball season.

“For Teigh to literally take (Timberlynn’s) place in the events that she’s done and to sweep them, made it as a dad even sweeter,” Coach Yeast said.

In addition to her sprint wins, Teigh Yeast claimed the triple jump state title with a mark of 37 feet, 10 inches.

She won the 100 in 12.40 with a lean at the line, the 200 in 24.83 and the 400 in 56.22 by a margin of almost three seconds. Her 400 time bested her sister’s winning time in the event last year.

Teigh Yeast admitted she’s gunning for all her sister’s marks, including her 2A record in the 200.

“She knows it’s coming,” Teigh Yeast said, smiling. “My 200 is right there and I have a little ways in the 100. … We really don’t talk about it much in our house, but it is still pretty competitive.”

Bourbon County finishes strong

The Bourbon County boys’ team finished runner-up with the help of wins in the 4x100-meter relay by Jacob Ezell, Marcus Floyd, Josh Moody and JaQuez Campbell and pole vault by Tayvon Snowden.

Josh Moody ran the second leg of the relay race and worried that his team might lose as he watched the race progress around the track.

“But JaQuez did his thing hunting down people,” Moody said. “I was like ‘Go Quez, run Quez’ … It was a good race for all of us.”

Campbell won the long jump with an effort covering 22 feet, 5.75 inches.

Snowden’s vault of 13 feet, 6 inches claimed first in an event that he didn’t couldn’t make any height in last year as a sophomore.

“It feels awesome. My team really needed it,” he said.

Distance champ

Thomas Nelson’s Riku Sugie swept the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.

His time of 4:15.90 in the 1,600 broke a 2A record that had stood since 1996.

Class 2A results

At the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Facility

GIRLS

Top 20 teams: 1, Lexington Catholic 83. 2, Mason County 67. 3, Mercer County 61. 4, Bourbon County 55. 5, Elizabethtown 41. 6, Christian Academy-Louisville 38. 7, North Oldham 34. 8, Warren East 33. 9, Shelby County 29. 10, Glasgow 28. 11, Highlands 25. 12, LaRue County 21. 13, Franklin County 20. 14, Paducah Tilghman 17. 15, Scott 15. 16, Calloway County 13.50. 17, Estill County 13. 18, Bardstown 11. 19, East Jessamine 10.50. 20, Lincoln County 10. 20, Ashland Blazer 10.

Top individuals — 4x800 relay: 1, Lexington Catholic (Caroline Beiting, Joanna Bryant, Cate Conklin, Amelia Monohan), 9:23.06#. 2, Bourbon County (Sarah Scott, Bethany Simpson, Kylie Hernandez, Macey McKinzie 09), 9:45.20. 3, Mason County (Paige Decker. Kolby Galloway, Elizabeth Lavinder, Layla Henderson 12), 9:51.79. 100 hurdles: 1, Caroline Murphy, Glasgow, 15.55, 2, Tayanah Woods, Warren East, 15.68. 3, Kate Regard, Lex. Catholic, 15.75. 100: 1, Teigh Yeast, Mercer County, 12.40. 2, Mary Martin Hampton, Lex. Catholic, 12.44. 3, Lexi Young, Mason County, 12.47. 4x200 relay: 1, Warren East (Cheyenne Stark, Makenna Rine, Tayanah Woods, Amiyah Carter), 1:45.58. 2, Paducah Tilghman (Jasline English, Alec Coffie, Diamond Gray, Kiana Powers), 1:47.67. 3, Elizabethtown (Langley Wallace, Adelyn Inman, Janssen Cockerham, Noelle Garcia), 1:48.43. 1,600: 1, Caroline Beiting, Lex. Catholic, 5:07.50. 2, Cate Conklin, Lex. Catholic, 5:12.93. 3, Layla Henderson, Mason County, 5:17.63. 4x100 relay: 1, Christian Academy-Louisville (Taylor Touche, Ava Moore, Maggie Hydes, Ella Daniels), 49.64. 2, Franklin County (Deon Echols, Deloris Boateng, TaZyriah Miley 10, Bria Wilson), 49.68. 3, Paducah Tilghman (Jasline English, Alec Coffie, Diamond Gray, Kiana Powers), 49.70. 400: 1, Teigh Yeast, Mercer County, 56.22. 2, Mya Moore, Elizabethtown, 59.11. 3, Joanna Bryant, Lex. Catholic, 1:00.12. 300 hurdles: 1, Caroline Murphy, Glasgow, 46.47. 2, Marleigh Estes, Bourbon County, 46.92. 3, Kate Regard, Lex. Catholic, 46.93. 800: 1, Caroline Beiting, Lex. Catholic, 2:14.61#. 2, Jaidan Koch, Calloway County, 2:22.61. 3, Ella Tucker, LaRue County, 2:22.93. 200: 1, Teigh Yeast, Mercer County, 24.83. 2, Lily Harper, North Oldham, 25.47. 3, Lexi Young, Mason County, 25.48. 3,200: 1, Ella Johnson, Elizabethtown, 10:58.51. 2, Isabella Day, LaRue County, 11:14.33. 3, Cate Conklin, Lex. Catholic, 11:27.18. 4x400 relay: 1, Lexington Catholic (Caroline Beiting, Joanna Bryant, Katie Seitz, Amelia Monohan), 4:01.16. 2, Elizabethtown (Mya Moore, Noelle Garcia, Emma Musgrave, Janssen Cockerham), 4:07.23. 3, Bourbon County (Bethany Simpson, Kylie Hernandez, Sarah Scott, Addison Felty), 4:11.13. Shot put: 1, Germani Crosby, Lincoln County, 38-11. 2, Jaden Oldham, Franklin County, 36-01. 3, Haley Angel, Estill County, 35-02.50. Discus: 1, Nevaeh Acklin, Shelby County, 112-05. 2, Lindsay Jessie, Mercer County, 105-06. 3, Rylee Swope, Highlands, 102-05. Long jump: 1, Lexi Young, Mason County, 18-00.50. 2, Haley Zell, Highlands, 16-10.75. 3, Elle Turner, North Oldham, 16-10.25. Triple jump: 1, Teigh Yeast, Mercer County, 37-10. 2, Haley Zell, Highlands, 36-02.50. 3, Jaci Woods, Shelby County, 36-01.25. High jump: 1, Lexi Young, Mason County, 5-08. 2, Caroline Murphy, Glasgow, 5-04. 3, Brelynn Wardlow, Warren East, J5-04. Pole vault: 1, Maddi Reed, Shelby County, 11-00. 2, Ava Hernandez, Bourbon County, 10-06. 3, Brianna Isa, Christian Academy-Louisville, J10-06.

BOYS

Top 20 teams: 1, Mercer County 74. 2, Bourbon County 72. 3, North Oldham 65. 4, Corbin 49. 5, Boyle County 40. 5, Warren East 40. 7, Highlands 36.50. 8, Taylor County 31. 9, Butler County 24. 10, Bardstown 23. 11, Holmes 20. 11, Thomas Nelson 20. 13, Mason County 18. 14, Elizabethtown 17. 15, Spencer County 14. 16, Rockcastle County 12. 16, John Hardin 12. 18, Greenup County 11.50. 19, Adair County 10. 19, Russell 10.

Top individuals — 4x800 relay: 1, Highlands (Caden Schroeder, Ezra McKenzie, Malcolm Robertson, Alex Lacourt), 8:03.12. 2, Bourbon County (81 Jesus Mendoza-Solis, Nate Berry, John Perraut, Bryce Watkins), 8:04.00. 3, Corbin (Coleman Anderson, John Hail, Ethan Slone, Connor Messer), 8:09.53. 110 hurdles: 1, Jordan Piazza, Mercer County, 15.32. 2, Riley Burton, Spencer County, 15.45. 3, Tanner Tumey, Harrison County, 15.46. 100: 1, Beau Brown, Mercer County, 10.77. 2, Geordon Brown, Boyle County, 10.90. 3, Curtez Hill, Holmes, 10.98. 4x200 relay: 1, North Oldham (Dawson Nagle, Luke Whitlow, Zac Mortenson, Zach Gross), 1:31.48. 2, Rockcastle County (Christian Larkey, Trent Wilson, Jaidan Burton, Carter Powell), 1:31.56. 3, Elizabethtown (Curtis Margraf, Aaron Silva, Evan Shelton, Charles Tompkins), 1:31.99. 1,600: 1, Riku Sugie, Thomas Nelson, 4:15.90#. 2, Caden Miracle, Bell County, 4:18.25. 3, Brendan Nagle, John Hardin, 4:23.25. 4x100 relay: 1, Bourbon County (Jacob Ezell, Marcus Floyd, Josh Moody, JaQuez Campbell), 43.12. 2, Taylor County (Peyton Smith, Darrion Mills, Kaden Smith, Dalyn Williams), 43.29. 3, Boyle County (Geordon Brown, Jerome Johnson, Brock Driver, Eli Short), 43.65. 400: 1, Beau Brown, Mercer County, 48.16#. 2, Brendan Ruggles, North Oldham, 48.25. 3, Tye Stevens, Corbin, 48.81. 300 hurdles: 1, Gage Beasley, Butler County, 39.59. 2, Romello Meade, Warren East, 39.65. 3, Asher Mattox, Bourbon County, 40.85. 800: 1, Brendan Ruggles, North Oldham, 1:58.74. 2, Jesus Mendoza-Solis, Bourbon County, 1:58.85. 3, Parker Smith, Butler County, 1:59.57. 200: 1, Beau Brown, Mercer County, 21.46#. 2, Curtez Hill, Holmes, 22.18. 3, Tye Stevens, Corbin, 22.39. 3,200: 1, Riku Sugie, Thomas Nelson, 9:26.06. 2, Adam Patel, North Oldham, 9:29.90. 3, Brendan Nagle, John Hardin, 9:32.03. 4x400 relay: 1, North Oldham (Brendan Ruggles, Zach Gross, Luke Whitlow, Zac Mortenson), 3:24.84. 2, Corbin (Tye Stevens, Coleman Anderson, Jayce Stewart, Connor Messer), 3:27.24. 3, Bourbon County (John Perraut, Nate Berry, Jesus Mendoza-Solis, Asher Mattox), 3:27.37. Shot Put: 1, Hunter Coslow, Taylor County, 60-02.50. 2, Lleyton Penn, Mercer County, 58-11.25. 3, Andrew Hardwick, Boyle County, 54-10. Discus: 1, David Harless, Russell, 168-09. 2, Hunter Coslow, Taylor County, 168-00. 3, Allen Cooper, East Carter, 163-09. Long jump: 1, JaQuez Campbell, Bourbon County, 22-05.75. 2, Donavan Wright, Mercer County, 22-02.50. 3, Solomon Stonebraker, Adair County, 21-02. Triple jump: 1, Thaddeus Mays, Mercer County, 44-03.50. 2, Donovan Stone, Bardstown, 43-10.25. 3, Isiah Summers, Warren East, 43-06.75. High jump: 1, Isiah Summers, Warren East, 6-06. 2, Hayden Llewellyn, Corbin, J6-06. 3, David Jackson, Western Hills, 6-04. Pole vault: 1, Tayvon Snowden, Bourbon County, 13-06. 2, AJ Barrett, Mason County, 13-00. 3, Rilen Pinkston, Highlands, 12-06.