‘It’s just fun to run.’ Class A state track meet includes dominating comeback.
About this time a year ago, Lexington Christian’s Connor Hayes stepped into a hole playing a game in his sister’s backyard and tore three ankle ligaments. One completely ruptured.
Thursday, it would have been hard to tell Hayes had been sidelined for three months in a boot as he dominated both the 800- and 1,600-meter races at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Class A State Track and Field Meet.
“I love being back, especially at this level. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Hayes, who had finished third last fall in the state cross country meet after only a month of being able to run again.
Hayes won the 1,600 in 4:19.00, 5.87 seconds faster than runner-up Logan Ballard of Bethlehem. Ballard kept in close contact with Hayes until the gun for the final lap sounded.
“I didn’t really know someone was behind me until about the third lap when on the backstretch I felt someone kick my foot and that really scared me,’ Hayes said. “I was like, ‘Oh, no, when I hit that last lap, I’ve just got to go.’”
Hayes added the 800 meters to his resume almost as a joke, until he saw the kind of times he could put up. He won that event by almost three seconds.
“When I’m not injured, it’s just fun to run,” he said.
Hayes opted out of running the 3,200 despite his top seed in the event, and instead joined LCA’s 4-by-400 relay that included football standouts Xavier Brown, Evan Brown and Frankie Knight. They finished third and bested their seed time by almost six seconds.
“I really like that that was my last lap ever as a high schooler,” Hayes said. “I went all out.”
Morgan County record breaker
Morgan County’s Krista Perry not only defended her 2019 100-meter hurdles championship, she also set a Class A state meet record doing it with a time of :14.52, topping the old mark by 0.11 seconds.
“I knew if I just came out and ran a good race, I could (break it),” said Perry, who will continue her track career at Marshall. “I’m happy. It is huge.”
Perry also won the 300 hurdles, an event she ran runner-up in as a sophomore. She took second in the long jump and fourth in the 100. Perry’s older sister Kailee Perry, now running track for Bowling Green, won multiple state titles as a distance runner. Together, they’ve left quite a legacy.
“I just hope that I inspire younger kids to come out here and know that anything’s possible,” she said. “Because if you would have asked me a few years ago ‘Was I ever going to break a state record?’ I would have told you that’s in my dreams.”
Lloyd Memorial vaulter into history
With a worthy challenger matching him almost jump for jump, Lloyd Memorial’s Jake Davidson set a Class A state meet record with a mark of 15 feet, 6 inches. Both he and runner-up Logan Isaacs of Bethlehem soared past the old mark of 14 feet, 7.24 inches when they each cleared 15 feet as the last two competitors left.
“All year, you don’t jump with people that jump anywhere near 15 and you come into a meet like this and you have another really, really talented vaulter, it definitely pushes you to succeed,” Davidson said. “It’s surreal. It’s a really cool experience.”
Briar Jumper can run, too
Somerset’s Kendall Burgess came into Thursday’s meet as the 2019 champion in both the long jump and triple jump, but she might have been most excited about winning the 100-meter dash.
“I would have never have thought that I would win a sprinting race because my main events are jumps. I’m speechless,” said Burgess, a senior who will be continuing her career at Notre Dame. Yes, that Notre Dame. “I can’t believe that I won.”
Burgess won the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 11 inches and won the long jump at 19 feet, 0.5 inches. She finished fourth in the 200.
Another Somerset best
Somerset senior Madison Garland plans to compete in both basketball and track for Lindsey Wilson College, but it was her shot put that made some history. On her second toss, Garland set a winning mark of 36 feet, 3.5 inches, more than 2 feet farther than her seed distance. How?
“I’m not for sure, honestly. I just went up there and chucked it,” she said. “I was shocked and I was very happy. I jumped up and down, because I beat the school record, too.”
Team results
Bishop Brossart won its first girls’ team title since 2002 with a total of 87 points built on the astounding strength of its relay teams as the Mustangs won the 4-by-800, 4-by-400 and 4-by-200 events and got a fourth in their 4-by-100 meter race. Somerset finished second with 67 points and Collegiate placed third with 54 points.
Louisville Holy Cross defended its 2019 boys’ team title by edging Brossart 55-53. Distance runners Josh Meiman and DK Schnieders figured prominently for the Cougars, finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the 1,600 meters and second and first, respectively, in the 3,200 meters. Collegiate placed third in the team standings with 54 points.
Class A event winners
At University of Kentucky Outdoor Track Facility
* Class A state meet record
GIRLS
4-by-800 relay: 1, Bishop Brossart (Olivia Holbrook, Amy Klocke, Lia Callahan, Claire Curtsinger), 10:01.04. 100 hurdles: 1, Krista Perry, Morgan County, 14.52*. 100: 1, Kendall Burgess, Somerset, 12.30. 4-by-200 relay: 1, Bishop Brossart (Lauren Gooderson, Chloe Hein, Sophie Neufelder, Rylee Schultz), 1:50.38. 1,600: 1, Reese Ragland, Louisville Collegiate, 5:16.54. 4-by-100 relay: 1, Murray (Abby Elmore, Hollis Bourque, Farris Howard, Rachel Trzepacz), 52.44. 400: 1, Alexandra Allen, Louisville Collegiate, 58.44. 300 hurdles: 1, Krista Perry, Morgan County, 46.22. 800: 1, Reese Ragland, Louisville Collegiate, 2:20.43. 200: 1, Alexandra Allen, Louisville Collegiate, 25.57. 3,200: 1, Haley Schoenegge, Kentucky Country Day, 11:46.26. 4-by-400: 1, Bishop Brossart (Emma Bezold, Olivia Holbrook, Sophie Neufelder, Hannah Kramer), 4:12.83. Shot put: 1, Madison Garland, Somerset, 36-03.50. Discus: 1, Maggie Buerger, Walton-Verona, 121-02. Long jump: 1, Kendall Burgess, Somerset, 19-00.50. Triple jump: 1, Kendall Burgess, Somerset, 38-11. High jump: 1, Maddie Neary, Lloyd Memorial, 5-02. Pole vault: 1, Lauren Kent, St. Henry District, 10-06.
BOYS:
4-by-800 relay: 1, Holy Cross (Louisville) (DK Schnieders, Jackson Gawarecki, Triston Key, Josh Meiman), 8:15.28. 110 hurdles: 1, Nathan Howard, Beechwood, 15.26. 100: 1, Malik Blunt, Fort Knox, 10.84. 4-by-200 relay: 1, Bishop Brossart (Tyler Twehues, Eli Thompson, Carson Schirmer, Mick Clines), 1:31.40. 1,600: 1, Connor Hayes, Lexington Christian, 4:19.00. 4-by-100 relay: 1, Fort Knox (Jayden Thorpe, Prentiss Alford, Lionel Taylor Jr, Malik Blunt), 44.45. 400: 1, Mick Clines, Bishop Brossart, 49.93. 300 hurdles: 1, Jacob Keith, Green County, 40.38. 800: 1, Connor Hayes, Lexington Christian, 1:58.52. 200: 1, Malik Blunt, Fort Knox, 21.73. 3,200: 1, DK Schnieders, Holy Cross (Louisville), 9:43.68. 4-by-400 relay: 1, Bishop Brossart (Tyler Twehues, Eli Thompson, Ryan Branch, Mick Clines), 3:31.23. Shot put: 1, Sebastian Lawrence, Murray, 50-01.50. Discus: 1, Sebastian Lawrence, Murray, 158-03. Long jump: 1, Corey Smith II, Fulton County, 21-09.50. Triple jump: 1, Corey Smith II, Fulton County, 45-04.75. High jump: 1, Woodford Ragland, Louisville Collegiate, 6-00. Pole vault: 1, Jake Davidson, Lloyd Memorial, 15-06*.
UNIFIED: Mixed shot put: 1, AJ Butler, West Carter, 62-01.75. Mixed long jump: 1, Will Lairson, Frankfort, 25-05. Mixed 2-by-50 relay: 1, Fulton County (Broc Bridges, Michael Burns), 14.30. Mixed 4-by-100 relay: 1, Owen County (Tylor Stafford, Katie Morgan, Cameron Carter, Adin Wilson), 1:12.45. Mixed 2-by-200 relay: 1, Fulton County (Broc Bridges, Michael Burns), 57.18.
Complete results online: Khsaa.org/track/2021/class1adetailed.htm
This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 8:21 AM.
