Class 2A track championships: Girl without a home facility sets two meet records
Emma Lawrence toppled not one, but two meet records at the Class 2A KHSAA State Track and Field Championships on Friday. Not bad for a girl without a home track.
Lawrence attends Garrard County High School, which currently plays its home football games at a middle school facility without track-and-field lanes around the field. Despite that hurdle, she became the school’s first state champion in any sport when she claimed the 2A long jump title at UK’s Outdoor Track and Field Complex with a meet-record distance of 19 feet. (It was a foot and 4 inches short of matching the overall state record, which has stood since Fleming County’s Maxine Graham leaped it in 1975).
The senior doubled up on state titles a couple hours after a break in action due to thunderstorms in the area. She took the triple jump with a mark of 40 feet, 2.25 inches, also a meet record. (That was less than 5 inches shy of the overall state record set in 2019 by Sophie Galloway, who was set to defend her title on Saturday).
“It’s crazy,” Lawrence said of becoming the Golden Lions’ first champion — again, in any sport. And in case you forgot already ...
“Especially since we don’t have a track,” she said with a laugh. “I just can’t get over that that’s the case.”
It gets better: Lawrence didn’t even start training in track and field until she was a sophomore. A former gymnast, she only joined the team at Garrard County at the urging of its former coach.
“I just tried it and it’s snowballed into what it is now. … I started doing track for fun and now it’s turned into something a little bit more.”
That snowball accumulated a college scholarship during the thick of the pandemic. Boston University, a Division I school that competes in the Patriot League, identified Lawrence as a prospect via Twitter last year and offered her a spot. She signed with the Terriers despite never having visited due to the pandemic.
“Whenever I first talked to ‘em I was like, ‘There’s no way, that’s too far,’ but I just kind of fell in love with the coach and I’m really excited,” Lawrence said. “I think it’ll be exciting to go from Kentucky to Boston. It’ll be a cool adventure.”
Lawrence was able to use weight-and-conditioning facilities at Garrard County, but had to improve her jumping at tracks with her AAU coach, Daylen Morris, who’s also the head coach of Golden Lions rival Boyle County, a frequent contender for Class 2A events and team placement.
Morris first observed Lawrence while he was an assistant at Mercer County. From afar he could tell she had the skills to be a star, and during a chance encounter at the 2019 Boyle County Fair invited her to check out his club, Central KY Heat. The rest is history.
“From that summer on, she’s just exceeded expectations,” Morris said. “… Coaching her has been a blessing.”
It’s illegal for high school coaches to recruit athletes to their schools, but Morris admitted that he would not have been mad if Lawrence “just so happened to show up” at Boyle County one day. She remained in her hometown and made some history for it, instead.
And Morris spent his time helping the competition. His top girl, Molly Wise, finished fifth and fourth in the long jump and triple jump, respectively.
“A lot of people ask me why I still coach her when we’re in the same region, same class, and it’s more than that,” Morris said. “It’s about helping these kids improve and reach their goals.
“I always used to tell her ‘championship or scholarship.’ She had the scholarship, now she’s a state champion.”
Mercer County
Morris’ former team, Mercer County, had a strong day.
The Titans edged Highlands, 78.5-75, for the boys’ team title. The girls came up a little short of defending their 2019 team title, finishing as runners-up to Christian Academy of Louisville.
It was Mercer County’s third team title and first since claiming back-to-back trophies in 2016 and 2017.
Jalen Lukitsch ran the first leg of Mercer’s win in the boys’ 4-by-200 relay and claimed an individual title after running the 300-meter hurdles in 40.68 seconds, almost a full second faster than Shelby County’s Jakob Woods. The senior was also the first runner to hand off the baton for the Titans’ 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 squads, each of which finished third.
“We’ve been training all year, working hard, and it all finally paid off,” Lukitsch said. “… We have really, really, really good coaches. I’m so thankful to have them. It makes me so happy.”
Mercer’s girls picked up five event wins. Sophomore Jai Maria Piazza swept the hurdles while Timberlynn Yeast took the 200 and 400 races. Both were part of the Titans’ victory in the 4-by-400 relay, the last event.
Had CAL finished fifth or worse in that relay, Mercer County would have claimed at least a share of the state title. The Centurions were second.
“We knew we couldn’t win it at all but that didn’t stop us from running our best time in the 4-by-400,” Yeast said.
Lexington Catholic
Lexington Catholic pole vaulter Nina Jazdzewski was the Knights’ top challenger for a state title. She was the only pole vaulter to post a mark of 11 feet at the regional stage.
Jazdzewski cleared 11 feet again, but so did North Oldham’s Hannah Everett. Neither girl was able to pass over 11 feet, 6 inches, and Everett won the event by virtue of having vaulted 11 feet on her second attempt; it took Jazdzewski three tries.
The two train together at Kentucky Elite Athletics in Shelbyville. KEA pole vaulters posted the top five marks on Friday.
“That’s amazing, I’m proud of them,” said Jazdzewski, who’s going to compete for Hanover College. “They’ve really built a family there. It’s nice to come here and have a family, ‘cause you’re all from different schools sometimes. Nobody pole vaults, so it’s nice to have support.”
LexCath senior Monica Seitz finished third in the 400, running it in 59.50 seconds.
Class 2A Results
At University of Kentucky Outdoor Track Facility
*-meet record
BOYS
Top 10 teams—1. Mercer County, 78.5. 2. Highlands, 75. 3. North Oldham, 65. 4. Paducah Tilghman, 58.5. 5. Corbin, 31. 6. Boyle County, 30.5. 7. Taylor County, 28. 8. Shelby County, 27. 9. Calloway County 26. 10. Thomas Nelson, 24.
4-by-800 relay: 1. North Oldham (Brendan Ruggles, Micah Steineker, Joseph Boyd, Andrew Chesser), 8:12.90. 110 hurdles: 1. Trystan Wright, Calloway County, 15.21. 100: 1. Kelvion Wilson, John Hardin, 10.84. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Mercer County (Jalen Lukitsch, Noah Davis, Riley Peavler, Beau Brown), 1:30.12. 1,600: 1. Lane Hoyes, Thomas Nelson, 4:23.56. 4-by-100 relay: 1. North Oldham (Preston Boone, Blake Wetzel, Owen Ruggles, Alex Hope), 43.22. 400: 1. Jake Welch, Highlands, 49.67. 300 hurdles: 1. Jalen Lukitsch, Mercer County, 39.26. 800: 1. JB Terrill, Boyd County, 1:54.25. 200: 1. JaQuellus Martin, Trigg County, 22.06. 3,200: 1. Lane Hoyes, Thomas Nelson, 9:28.27. 4-by-400 relay: 1. North Oldham (James Masters, Owen Ruggles, Andrew Chesser, Skylar Taylor), 3:24.57. Shot put: 1. Andrew Hardwick, Boyle County, 53-11.75. Discus: 1. Ethan Rice, Marion County, 153-06. Long jump: 1. Landen Fitzgerald, Paducah Tilghman, 21-04.5. Triple jump: 1. Malik Jefferson, Warren Central, 42-07.75.
GIRLS
Top 10 teams—1. Christian Academy of Louisville, 80. 2. Mercer County, 74. 3. Franklin County, 43. 4. Paducah Tilghman, 38. 5. North Oldham, 36. 6. Highlands, 34. 7. Bourbon County, 33. 8. Warren Central, 32. 9. Lexington Catholic, 27.5. 10. Lincoln County, 27.
4-by-800 relay: 1. Bourbon County (Jocey Young, Katie Boshears, Bethany Simpson, Kylie Hernandez), 9:39.19. 100 hurdles: 1. Jai Maria Piazza, Mercer County, 15.59. 100: 1. Madelyn Muller, Western Hills, 12.44. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Paducah Tilghman (Alec Coffie, Diamond Gray, Dasia Garland, Massie Harris), 1:47.02. 1,600: 1. Abigail Bastin, Lincoln County, 5:09.85. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Paducah Tilghman (Alec Coffie, Jaaliyah Biggers, Diamond Gray, Massie Harris), 49.43. 400: 1. Timberlynn Yeast, Mercer County, 57.39. 300 hurdles: 1. Jai Maria Piazza, Mercer County, 48.74. 800: 1. Lucy Singleton, Lincoln County, 2:17.18. 200: 1. Timberlynn Yeast, Mercer County, 25.62. 3,200: 1. Addie Dewey, Christian Academy of Louisville, 11:26.93. 4-by-400 relay: 1. Mercer County (Harlee Settles, Jai Maria Piazza, Teigh Yeast, Timberlynn Yeast), 4:01.64. Shot put: 1. Jaden Oldham, Franklin County, 36-0. Discus: 1. Emma Latherow, Ashland Blazer, 110-11. Long jump: 1. Emma Lawrence, Garrard County, 19-0*. Triple jump: 1. Emma Lawrence, Garrard County, 40-02.5*. High jump: 1. Jaida Tooley, Warren Central, 5-04. Pole vault: 1. Hannah Everett, North Oldham, 11-0.
UNIFIED EVENTS (MIXED)
Shot put: 1. Kayle Jackson, Calloway County, 34-7. Long jump: 1. Brittany McMullin, Holmes, 13-2. 2-by-50 relay: 1. Western Hills (Morgan Hammond, Dillon Withers). 4-by-100 relay: 1. Scott (Kaitlyn Grome, TJ Heming, Maggie Chastang, Jeremiah Jackson), 1:05.02. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Western Hills (Morgan Hammond, Tyler Withers), 54.70.
Complete results online: https://bit.ly/3gdasCA
This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 8:53 PM.
