Class 3A track championships: SEC-bound star reflects on title-filled career
There’s a quote, often attributed to Dr. Seuss but without a definitive origin, that goes, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Sophie Galloway couldn’t help but do both after the final triple jump attempt of her decorated high school career as the Class 3A KHSAA State Track and Field Championships wound down Saturday at UK.
“I’ve been competing here since I was in seventh grade,” Galloway said. “So it’s bittersweet. … I’m just very blessed to be here and be part of it all.”
Galloway, competing this year for Marshall County after previously attending Graves County, brought her overall state title count to eight. She won the the long jump (for a third time) with “just” an 18-10.75; she felt like she could have performed much better. Her leap of 41-7.75 bested her own overall state record set in 2019 by more than a foot, and it secured a third triple jump championship.
She was the fastest girl in the day’s first individual race — the 100-meter hurdles, her second win in that event — and set a Class 3A meet record with a time of 14.10 seconds. That was .07 seconds off from matching the 23-year old overall state mark set by Paducah Tilghman’s Danielle Carruthers, a two-time NCAA champion at Indiana who won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.
Galloway, who has signed with Tennessee, grew up in Marshall County but attended Graves County because both of her parents worked there. She decided to stay closer to home for her senior season and reunite with a group of friends she’d known since middle school; she joined several of those girls for a run to the girls’ Sweet Sixteen championship game in April.
That experience was thrilling, but it also cut into her track-and-field season. Saturday’s meet was just her fifth all year; the shake-up in routine didn’t seem to hurt.
“I can’t complain at all,” Galloway said with a grin. “It’s been great.”
Headaches
Scott County’s Bryce Chisley as a freshman couldn’t run track because of unending headaches and migraines, which eventually led to the discovery of a brain cyst.
Chisley since has managed to mostly stay free of suffering, and on Saturday was the one handing out pain. Seeded second behind Male’s Jaylen Cole in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, Chisley swept both with relative ease to earn his first state titles in his final go-around with the Cardinals.
He felt good about both races coming into the day but better about his chances to win in the 200. Chisley was a more than a full body length in front of the nearest competitor when he crossed the finish line in the 100, and his celebration upon realizing that himself was as pure as it gets.
“I was just like, I gotta get out and beat all the people in the lane beside me,” Chisley said. “Then I just started going. I crossed the finish line, and I usually don’t celebrate, but I was like, ‘Oh! Okay,’ and it just came out. It was a really good day, all in all.”
Record-breakers
Galloway wasn’t the only athlete smashing records on Saturday.
After a disappointing runner-up finish in the 110 hurdles earlier in the day, Paul Laurence Dunbar senior Mario Paul came back and set an overall state record in the 300 hurdles. His personal-record time, 36.74, was more than a full second better than the previous record set by John Hardin’s Brandon Bagley in 2010, and as of Saturday was a top-10 time among all high schoolers in America this year.
“The biggest thing was to execute,” Paul said. “It’s more of a mental thing than physical. I’ve been putting in the work. I got out really poor in the 110. … I took that and it fueled me for this. I’m glad I ran a 36 finally.”
Madison Central pole vaulter Wyatt Stewart set a new overall state record with a mark of 16 feet and one inch, which was actually an inch short of seed mark and six inches shorter than his personal best. He attempted to vault 6-08 but couldn’t make it over on Saturday.
Stewart’s just a sophomore, so there’s time for the record to swell. He won’t hurt for practice opportunities, either: his family recently built a pole vault pit in their backyard.
“We got plastic pallets, we just got plywood and everything like that,” Stewart said. “We got random scrap wood around the house and built the frame out of it, and then we found a guy who was selling a pit who was willing to trade it for a four-wheeler, so we made a trade.”
Grant County junior Brookyln Hammons swept the shot put and discus, setting a new state record in the latter. Her distance of 143 feet, 9 inches was more than a foot farther than the prior record, set in 2015 by Christian Academy of Louisville’s Lilli Popovich at the Class 2A meet.
It was nearly 10 feet further than the previous best distance by a 3A meet participant. Andy Fryman, who threw for the University of Kentucky after winning multiple state titles at Mason County, is Hammons’ trainer.
“I just wanted to get one out there and wished for the best, honestly,” Hammons said.
Lafayette star
Lexington’s only other titlist was Sarah Ferguson, a Lafayette junior who won her second straight pole vaulting medal.
Ferguson vaulted 13 feet, nearly two feet better than the next-best participant. She tried to top the state record, which is three inches higher, and nearly had it on her third attempt despite after a first and second stab that didn’t get her anywhere close.
She also was operating on very little sleep.
“I woke up (at 4:30 a.m.) and didn’t ever really go back to sleep,” Ferguson said. “I was just thinking about the meet. Sometimes that happens and sometime it doesn’t at night.
Ferguson later this month will compete at The Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Ore. It will be the 30th edition of that event and take place at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, which recently underwent renovations and hosted this year’s NCAA Division I championships.
3-for-4
Pulaski County senior Maddy Dunn almost had four wins in as many events on Saturday, and helped lead her team to a third-place finish. She edged Tates Creek senior Naturi Robinson by .03 seconds in the 100 and was the anchor for the Maroons’ 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relay winners. Dunn ran third in the 200 behind two underclassmen — Cooper eighth-grader Simone Bessong and Bryan Station freshman Sanaa Washington.
Dunn after every race this season has had to have her neck put back into alignment. She broke her tailbone while playing basketball — a recent discovery — and her spine has suffered as a result. She’s excited about a summer of healing before embarking on a college track career at the University of the Cumberlands.
“It’s been a difficult season, but I finished strong so I’m pretty happy with myself,” Dunn said.
Team results
St. Xavier and Manual claimed the boys’ and girls’ team titles, respectively, though both had to sweat them out.
The Tigers edged region rival Male, 79-76, while the Crimsons held off West Jessamine, 58-53. Both needed to place high in their final events, the 4-by-400 relays, in order to ensure their victories. Manual won the girls’ race and St. X finished third, a spot in front of Male.
Anthony Woods figured into 36 of St. Xavier’s 79 points. He won the triple jump and long jump and was part of the Tigers’ 4-by-100 relay winner. He ran third in the 100-meter dash.
Woods oozed energy, and was all over the infield cheering on teammates as well as fellow Louisvillians participating in the meet. After his final long jump — a state-winning mark of 23 feet, 11.25 inches that was within state-record territory — he got a hardy ovation from the crowd and was welcomed back to the starting line by a mob of athletes from other schools.
“There’s no beef, no nothing, it’s great,” Woods said. “… Anybody I compete against, I cheer them on. I don’t sit there and just watch. If I know you, I’m gonna cheer you on and if you know me, I hope you cheer me on, too.”
Class 3A Results
At University of Kentucky Outdoor Track Facility
*-meet record; ^-state record
BOYS
Top 10 teams—1. St. Xavier, 79. 2. Male, 76. 3. Marshall County, 46. 4. Owensboro, 43. 5. Covington Catholic, 40. 6. Manual, 38. 7. Central, 36. 8. Frederick Douglass, 35. t9. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 25. t9. Scott County, 25.
4-by-800 relay: 1. St. Xavier (Nate Very, Sami Hattab, Nick Brooks, Roman Schrader), 7:57.81. 110 hurdles: 1. Darius Brown, Manual, 14.05. 100: 1. Bryce Chisley, Scott County, 10.64. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Male (Jaden Warfield, Shan James, Tyler Brown, Jaylen Cole), 1:28.03. 1600: 1. Nolan Hester, St. Xavier, 4:15.22. 4-by-100 relay: 1. St. Xavier (Anthony Woods, Noah Royal, Varlee Kamara, Kaleb Jones), 42.22. 400: 1. Will Davis, Marshall County, 48.11. 300 hurdles: 1. Mario Paul, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 36.74^. 800: 1. Cade Flatt, Marshall County, 1:51.89. 200: 1. Bryce Chisley, Scott County, 21.32. 3200: 1. Theo Bachmann, South Oldham, 9:14.89. 4-by-400 relay: 1. Marshall County (Isaiah Kirby, Cade Flatt, Preston Lamb, Will Davis), 3:21.80. Shot put: 1. Malachi Lawrence, Manual, 61-06. Discus: 1. Ben Fiser, Marshall County, 160-01. Long jump: 1. Anthony Woods, St. Xavier, 23-11.25. Triple jump: 1. Anthony Woods, St. Xavier, 48-03.5. High jump: 1. Donsten Brown, McCracken County, 6-08. Pole vault: 1. Wyatt Stewart, Madison Central, 16-01^.
Wheelchair shot put: 1. Kaidhyn Stockdale, Apollo, 33-06.25^.
GIRLS
Top 10 teams—1. Manual, 58. 2. West Jessamine, 53. 3. Pulaski County, 45. 4. Oldham County, 34. 5. Marshall County, 33. 6. Male, 32. 7. Assumption, 29. t8. North Hardin, 28. t8. Madison Central, 28. 10. South Laurel, 25.
4-by-800 relay: 1. Assumption (Lila Bensenhaver, Mattie Whitworth, Julia Schmitt, Ellie Meyer), 9:29.85. 100 hurdles: 1. Sophia Galloway, Marshall County, 14.10*. 100: 1. Maddy Dunn, Pulaski County, 12.39. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Pulaski County (Shelby Cothron, Morgan Bruin, Abbee Coomer, Maddy Dunn), 1:43.56. 1600: 1. Ciara O’Shea, Madison Central, 4:56.83. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Pulaski County (Shelby Cothron, Abbee Coomer, Morgan Bruin, Maddy Dunn), 48.56. 400: 1. Cierra Wright, Butler, 57.38. 300 hurdles: 1. Aly Doyle, West Jessamine, 45.11. 800: 1. Phoebe McCowan, South Laurel, 2:12.08. 200: 1. Simone Bessong, Cooper, 24.92. 3200: 1. Ciara O’Shea, Madison Central, 11:11.09. 4-by-400 relay: 1. Manual (Abigail Bohn, Sophia Richter, Jessica Secor, Ruby Nwosu), 4:02.05. Shot put: 1. Brooklyn Hammons, Grant County, 43-04. Discus: 1. Brooklyn Hammons, Grant County, 143-09^. Long jump: 1. Sophie Galloway, Marshall County, 18-10.75. Triple jump: 1. Sophie Galloway, Marshall County, 41-07.75^. High jump: 1. Lillian Hodge, West Jessamine, 5-06. Pole vault: 1. Sarah Ferguson, Lafayette, 13-00.
UNIFIED EVENTS (MIXED)
Shot put: 1. Eric Back, Eastern, 74-06.5. Long jump: 1. Jayden Malone, Eastern, 27-11.25. 2-by-50 relay: 1. Central Hardin (Lee Carter, Graham Hewitt), 13.93. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Boone County (Gedeon Aenenanu, Mitchell Shelley, Braden McCarty, Trent Sullivan), 59.41. 2-by-200 relay: 1. Central Hardin (Lee Carter, Graham Hewitt), 55.56.
Complete results online: https://bit.ly/35g5pLu
This story was originally published June 12, 2021 at 8:21 PM.
