Class 3A state track: Lafayette pole vaulter sets record, Dunbar freshman jumps to victory
READ MORE
Kentucky high school sports state championships
KHSAA state championships played out this weekend across four different sports in Lexington, and the Herald-Leader’s staff of writers and photographers covered all the action. Click below for highlights from the baseball, softball, tennis and track and field state championships.
Expand All
Championship weekend for high school track and field athletes in Kentucky has come to a close.
The 2022 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop State Track and Field Championships took place this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Facility on the UK campus in Lexington.
The Class A state championships were Thursday, the Class 2A meet was Friday and the Class 3A events were Saturday.
The first of three championship days in Lexington saw Fort Knox win the Class A boys’ state title and Bishop Brossart win the Class A girls’ title.
On Friday, Mercer County won both the boys’ and girls’ Class 2A state titles.
To close out the championship weekend, St. Xavier won the boys’ title and Manual won the girls’ championship in Class 3A.
Other standouts from the final day of competition included two Lexington high school athletes: Lafayette senior Sarah Ferguson in the pole vault and Paul Laurence Dunbar freshman Isabela Haggard in several events.
Lafayette pole vaulter sets state record
While Sarah Ferguson fell short of her personal best — and in some ways her own lofty expectations — on Saturday, she still finished her high school career with a state championship and a new all-classes Kentucky state meet record in the pole vault.
Ferguson cleared 13 feet, 6 inches on her way to a third state title (she also won the event in 2019 and 2021).
Ferguson’s personal best is 14 feet, and she attempted a height of 14 feet, 1 inch Saturday, but was unable to clear that height in three attempts.
“I felt pretty good, everything was lining up well. I felt sharp mentally and physically,” Ferguson, who began vaulting with the bar at 12 feet, said. “Definitely feeling a fire a little bit just because I didn’t jump as well as I wanted to jump here.”
Ferguson still has two more pole vaulting events left before she begins her collegiate career at Washington.
Ferguson said she will be competing in the Nike Outdoor Nationals and the Under-20 Nationals.
“I definitely wanted to set a higher (state meet) record,” Ferguson said. “I’m happy that I set the record because I knew I could from my freshman year. I knew I could break that record at some point. But I know there’s still more there, so I’m glad I still have some more meets. ... I felt like I did my best, so that makes me pretty happy.”
Dunbar freshman shines
Paul Laurence Dunbar freshman Isabela Haggard followed a standout showing in the Class 3A, Region 6 meet with an equally impressive day at the state meet.
Haggard won the long jump, triple jump and high jump at the region meet, and acquitted herself well in those same events Saturday.
Haggard, who also plays volleyball at Dunbar, won the long jump, finished second in the triple jump and finished fourth in the high jump.
She was also part of Dunbar’s 4-by-200-meter relay team that finished seventh.
Haggard described her first high school state championships experience as “hectic,” as she was constantly moving from event to event.
“I’m definitely walking away with a good attitude,” Haggard said, adding that she wished she did better in the triple jump despite injuring her foot in the high jump. “I think I set my expectations reasonably, and I met them all besides one.”
Haggard said she didn’t even begin competing in the high jump until later in the season.
With those results, Haggard was at least partially responsible for 25 team points, a big reason why Dunbar came away with the fourth-place trophy in the girls’ team competition.
By herself, Haggard was at least partially responsible for more team points (25) than all but eight teams.
Haggard said she plans to participate in both track and volleyball for Dunbar next school year.
State records set in girls’ discus and distance events
Madison Central junior Ciara O’Shea toppled two state meet records Saturday in a pair of distance events.
In the 1,600-meter run, O’Shea set an all-classes state meet record with a time of 4.52.67. According to a track announcement, this was also the fastest time run in the state this season.
The previous 1,600-meter overall state meet record was set by Gabriella Karas of Collins in 2015.
“I knew it was going to be like any other race, just a little bit higher stakes,” O’Shea said after winning the 1,600. “Just getting out to the front and pushing the pace from the beginning. Just being ready for anything.”
In the 3,200, O’Shea set another overall Kentucky state meet record and secured another state title with a time of 10.32.83.
The previous 3,200 record was set by Michaela Reinhart of Lexington Catholic in 2017.
In the girls’ discus throw, Grant County senior Brooklyn Hammons broke her own overall state meet record that was set last year.
Hammons’ record-setting discus throw on Saturday traveled 145 feet, 3 inches.
Hammons also won the girls’ shot put Saturday.
St. Xavier makes it three straight boys’ titles
A third straight boys’ team title for St. Xavier came at the expense of several rival Louisville schools.
St. Xavier (81 points) finished ahead of Male (72), Marshall County (65.5) and Ballard (38).
The Tigers clinched their 13th state track and field championship with a third-place finish in the final event of the state meet, the boys’ 4-by-400-meter relay.
Male finished that event in fourth.
Among the standout performers for St. Xavier on another title-winning day for the Tigers was junior Sami Hattab, who won both the 1,600 and the 3,200.
Tates Creek was the top-finishing Lexington school. The Commodores finished in 14th place with 14 points.
Manual wins back-to-back girls’ titles
It was a runaway victory for Manual in the girls’ team competition, as the Crimsons nearly doubled the point total of West Jessamine in second place.
Manual scored 117 points in Saturday’s meet, with West Jessamine (61) in second, Eastern (39) in third and Dunbar (35.5) in fourth.
Saturday’s win marked back-to-back state titles for Manual.
A big reason why the Crimsons were able to secure consecutive state titles was the duo of freshman Alexandra Allen and senior Ruby Nwosu.
Allen spectacularly won three individual running events: the 100, 200 and 400.
Nwosu finished second in the same three races.
Both Allen and Nwosu were also part of the 4-by-400-meter relay team that took home first place for Manual.
The Crimsons completed a clean sweep of the relay events, also winning the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200.
To put it simply, it was as dominant a day as possible for Manual on the track.
This story was originally published June 4, 2022 at 8:11 PM.
