‘We’re well-rounded now.’ LCA wins first girls state title in Class A track

Lexington Christian Academy’s girls for the last few years have been in the mix for a team title at the Class A Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Track and Field Outdoor State Championships, but lagged the competition every time.

The Eagles’ day finally arrived and with authority. Their 117 points more than doubled runner-up Bishop Brossart, and nearly outpaced the total points accrued by the next three teams combined, Thursday at the University of Kentucky’s Outdoor Track and Field Complex.

LCA won five events — the 4-by-100 and 4-by-200-meter relays, 100-meter dash, 1,600-meter run and 300-meter hurdles — and loaded up with top-eight placements, all of which award points. Example: sophomore Mahari Crump, who scored the program’s first-ever win in the 100 sprint, was followed soon after by teammate Lilly Meyer, a sophomore who finished third and just .25 seconds behind Crump’s :12.41.

“I just ran,” Crump said.

The high performance of sprinters like Crump and Meyer at the state meet is a noticeable evolution for LCA, which historically has leaned on distance standouts to share the scoring load this time of year. Former UK sprinters Fred and Precious Dorsey came aboard as assistant coaches under Tom Stickel last season.

“Bringing them on has made the difference, that’s what it is,” Stickel said. “We went from a distance team to a team. We’re well-rounded now. Last year we saw it coming but this year we’re all on the same page.”

Their impact is evident between the lines but also outside them.

“They’re always bringing us up and giving us confidence, even when we don’t have it ourselves,” said Jentry Bertram, a junior who ran on the two winning relay teams as well as LCA’s 4-by-400 relay team, which placed fourth.

“For me, I get nervous in my head a lot, and it’s just you against you at the end of the day,” Crump said. “They’re teaching me how to train my mental powers for track.”

LCA hasn’t sidelined its distance runners, of course. Kennedy Moughamian repeated as 3,200 champion and finished runner-up in the 1,600. She’s also the two-time defending champ in the indoor meet’s 3,200 equivalent and the reigning Class A cross country champion.

Oh, she’s a freshman.

“Just getting any kind of trophy or place at state is amazing,” Moughamian said. “It’s really a gift from God to be able to do this. I love it so much. I love trying to get better and trying to be the best that I can be every time. It doesn’t get old.”

With Thursday’s outcome, LCA became the first Class A program to secure a newly minted three-meet sweep: It claimed the team title at the cross country and indoor track-and-field meets this same school year. (The KHSAA didn’t sponsor indoor track until 2024).

This year’s indoor title was the Eagles’ second in a row, and the cross country trophy was their first since 2021. They’ll be expected to defend all three in the 2025-26 school year — a welcome burden after knocking on the door for so long.

“We’ve won the regional like nine years in a row, so it was like, ‘We’ve gotta win the state now,’” Stickel said. “Everyone did just such a good job.”

New school, repeat champ

Alex Koeder repeated as the champion in boys triple jump, but he did so in different threads.

Koeder, a senior who’s committed to Morehead State, won this year in a Paris uniform. He won the same event in the 2024 Class A meet as a student at Nicholas County.

“Two different schools but both communities have big hearts,” said Koeder, who battled through an aggravated hamstring to keep his title. Without that injury, he might have been able to finally overcome rival Nate Goodin, a senior who helped Williamsburg finish as runner-up for the boys team title, in the high jump.

They each finished with a high mark of 6 feet, 2 inches, but Goodin’s was achieved in fewer attempts. As Goodin reeled off his track-and-field achievements — five KHSAA titles across indoor and outdoor meets — Koeder, standing nearby, clapped respectfully.

“Everyone’s supportive of one another,” Goodin said.

That support within the field of competition is highly valued. Koeder shared unsolicited advice for athletes across the state.

“You always have your people who want to watch you lose: don’t prove them right,” Koeder said. “Especially when you’re in a small community, you’re always gonna have that. There’s always going to be someone who wants to watch you fail. Use that as motivation.”

▪ Collegiate won the day’s final race, the 4-by-400 relay, to overtake Williamsburg in the boys team standings and claim their program’s first team title. The Yellow Jackets led going into that race.

▪ On the subject of Paris, keep an eye out for a trio of girls who will probably make noise for years to come: Kierra Young, Aniya Hayden and Rose Hayden. Young and Aniya will be freshmen next season while Rose will be in eighth grade. Young finished fifth in the 200 and they all podiumed as part of relay teams.

Throwin’ it

Coming into the season, Pikeville sophomore Ijah Ferguson fancied himself more of a discus thrower than a shot-putter. So, naturally, he showed up at the Class A meet and took gold in the latter.

Ferguson, who goes by a long-standing nickname rooted from “Elijah,” didn’t start spinning as part of his shot-put technique until a month ago. His best mark, 54 feet, was almost a full 5 feet better than second place. But it wasn’t quite his best on a day that started off sluggish.

“My warm-ups weren’t looking good, might’ve been a 41 maybe,” Ferguson said. “ … My very last throw, I hit a 55 mark, (but) my foot barely crossed over the pit. It made me so mad. But I still got gold, I’m happy for it.”

Danville junior Sasha Wade, who won the boys discus, ambushed Ferguson’s interview with a quick kiss on the top of his head. During Wade’s interview, he was playfully tackled by Lexington Christian senior Hayes Preston, a friend and fellow podium finisher.

“It’s a friendly competition,” Wade said. “Everybody wants to win but everybody tries to help each other out just to be able to do their very best. It’s just one big family.”

Two events, three champs

This year’s Class A pole vaulting events yielded three winners.

One of them wasn’t a shocker: Green County senior Cate Coppola won her fourth outdoor Class A girls title in a row, matching her winning mark last year with an 11-00, and sixth overall (two indoor). She’ll compete next season for Midway University.

“Since it’s a really small community and no one’s ever done it before, I will never take that for granted,” Coppola said of competing for the Dragons.

Two winners were crowned on the boys side. Murray senior Cooper Cunningham and Williamsburg junior Zyler Housekeeper were named co-champions after agreeing to forego additional jumps once they each failed to clear 13-06. Both hit 13-00 on their first attempt.

“We were both exhausted,” Cunningham said.

Each boys team was awarded nine points rather than the winner’s standard 10, but the impact was negligible for the overall standings; Murray would have finished outside the top 10 regardless.

“There’s not really a downside to it, so it was good,” Housekeeper said.

Results

CLASS A

Complete results available on KHSAA.org.

x-state meet record

GIRLS

Top 20 teams: 1. Lexington Christian Academy (LCA) 117, 2. Bishop Brossart 97; 3. Beechwood 57, 4. Green County 43, 5. Walden School 37, 6. St. Henry 31, t7. Walton-Verona 29, t7. Leslie County 29, 9. Newport Central Catholic (NCC) 26, 10. Kentucky Country Day (KCD) 24, 11. Raceland 20.5, 12. Hancock County 15, t13. Pineville 13, t13. Paris 13, t15. Glasgow 11, t15. Owensboro Catholic 11, t15. Highlands Latin 11, 18. Monroe County 10, 19. Ballard Memorial 9, t20. Russellville 8, t20. Floyd Central 8, t20. Sayre 8, t20. Mayfield 8

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Bishop Brossart (Larah Callahan, Alia Thomas, Peyton Trauth, Tessa Hafer) 9:55.25; 2. NCC (Kate Schirmer, Caroline Rust, Mary Kennedy, Maggie West) 10:04.93; 3. LCA (June Karls, Ruby Karls, Annie Sewell, Violet Griese) 10:09.08. 100 hurdles—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden School, 14.57; 2. Sophie Maynard, Raceland, 15.33; 3. Carolina Jones, Hancock County, 15.53 100—1. Mahari Crump, LCA, 12.41; 2. Ellie Beam, KCD, 12.53; 3. Lilly Meyer, LCA, 12.66. 4-by-200 relay—1. LCA (Jentry Bertram, Mahari Crump, Anna Reese Hopper, Laynie Hopper) 1:46.06; 2. Bishop Brossart (Larah Callahan, Lexi Braum, Hadley Eviston, Mackinley Scott) 1:47.28; 3. Walton-Verona (Abbie Hooten, Maggie Meyer, Josie Holtzapple, Dixie Hensley) 1:47.63. 1,600—1. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 4:59.88-x; 2. Kennedy Moughamian, LCA, 5:06.61; 3. Hadley Raisor, LCA, 5:18.05. 4-by-100 relay—1. LCA (Jentry Bertram, Mahari Crump, Anna Reese Hopper, Lilly Meyer) 50.04; 2. Glasgow (Danica Stephens, Aniston Young, Taylor Wilson, Cynthia Austin) 51.31; 3. Paris (Callie Ball, Jamyah Bell, Rose Hayden, Kierra Young) 51.42. 400—1. Caroline Nordman, Beechwood, 56.47; 2. Gabriella Ostrand, Leslie County, 58.54; 3. Ellie Beam, KCD, 59.34. 300 hurdles—1. Laynie Hopper, LCA, 46.21; 2. Sophie Maynard, Raceland, 46.31; 3. Carolina Jones, Hancock County, 47.46. 800—1. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 2:15.96-x; 2. Hadley Raisor, LCA, 2:18.04; 3. Gabriella Ostrand, Leslie County, 2:19.09. 200—1. Ellie Beam, KCD, 25.50; 2. Caroline Nordman, Beechwood, 25.84; 3. Maggie Meyer, Walton-Verona, 26.39. 3,200—1. Kennedy Moughamian, LCA, 11:11.12; 2. Molly Chambers, Sayre, 11:15.70; 3. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 11:17.67. 4-by-400 relay—1. NCC (Grace Mumper, Mary Kennedy, Kate Schirmer, Maggie West) 4:09.39; 2. Bishop Brossart (Lexi Braun, Larah Callahan, Mackinley Scott, Peyton Trauth) 4:09.73; 3. Walton-Verona (Abbie Hooten, Lindsey Brooks, Dixie Hensley, Claire Sams) 4:15.74. Shot put—1. Ava Walters, Bishop Brossart, 39-01.5; 2. DeMyiah Allen, Russellville, 37-09; 3. Scout Brockman, Green County, 35-05.25. Discus—1. Ava Walters, Bishop Brossart, 123-08; 2. Scout Brockman, Green County, 121-10; 3. Logan Boyd, Highlands Latin, 114-02. Long jump—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden, 17-11.50; 2. Peyton Trauth, Bishop Brossart, 16-00.75; 3. Lizzie Casey, St. Henry, 16-00.25. Triple jump—1. Natalie Svidal, Walden, 37-03.25; 2. Camera Hunt, Mayfield, 34-08.75; 3. Amyah Smith, Ballard Memorial, 34-05.25. High jump—1. Ansley Ova Turner, Monroe County, 5-04; 2. Hayden Harlan, St. Henry, 5-02; 3. Carly Goff, Green County, 5-02. Pole vault—1. Cate Coppola, Green County, 10-00; 2. Anna Curtsinger, Bishop Brossart, 10-00; 3. Emily Roark, Leslie County, 9-06.

BOYS

Top 20 teams: 1. Collegiate 53, 2. Williamsburg 46, 3. Bethlehem 34.5, 4. Caldwell County 32, 5. Beechwood 29, 6. Newport Central Catholic (NCC) 27.5, t7. Paris 26, t7. Campbellsville 26, 9. Danville 23, 10. Green County 22, 11. Fort Campbell 21, 12. Murray 19.5, 13. Lexington Christian Academy (LCA) 19, t14. Dawson Springs 18, t14. Harlan 18, t16. Raceland 16, t16. Pikeville 16, t18. Kentucky Country Day (KCD), t18. Glasgow 15, t20. Hancock County 14, t20. University Heights 14, t20. Bishop Brossart 14, t20. Fort Knox 14

Top individuals: 4-by-800-meter relay—1. Dawson Springs (Sean Stallins, Deacon Dever, Montgomery Johnston, Easton Bourland) 8:09.63; 2. Edmonson County (Ashton Johnson, Aidan Meredith, Tyler Brooks, Landon Franich) 8:14.10; 3. Bishop Brossart (Max Leuderalbert, Adam Tarvin, Jaiden Wittrock, Alex Groser) 8:16.44. 110 hurdles—1. Julien Veliquette, Collegiate, 14.32-x; 2. Marcelo Herald, Bellevue, 14.94; 3. Wyatt Emmick, Hancock County, 15.03. 100—1. Charlie Ford, NCC, 10.95; 2. Shane Fairrow, Caldwell County, 11.01; 3. Byron Kirkland-Lundy, Metcalfe County, 11.36. 4-by-200 relay—1. Caldwell County (Gus Fox, Xavier Lee, Tre Copeland, Shane Fairrow), 1:29.54; 2. Beechwood (Nathan Pabst, Brody Aylor, James Cusick, Luke Erdman) 1:30.04; 3. Fort Campbell (Samuel Atoubi, Mateo Cerritos Gatto, Eric Greene, Aiden Ward) 1:30.46. 1,600—1. Roman Sierpina, Collegiate, 4:30.97; 2. Isaac Riggs, Bethlehem, 4:31.84; 3. Tanner Daniels, Harlan, 4:31.90. 4-by-100 relay—1. Beechwood (Nathan Pabst, Brody Aylor, James Cusick, Luke Erdman), 43.18; 2. Campbellsville (Gabriel Noyola, Shaiden Calhoun, Tionda Slaughter, Cross Watson) 43.36; 3. Caldwell County (Gus Gox, Xavier Lee, Tre Copeland, Shane Fairrow) 43.69. 400—1. Jaylen Irish, Fort Knox, 49.58; 2. Guervenson Binfield-Smith, Murray, 49.32; 3. Owen Taylor, Williamstown, 49.52. 300 hurdles—1. Julien Veliquette, Collegiate, 38.48; 2. Talon Sanchez, Livingston Central, 39.98; 3. Max Burton, Raceland, 40.12. 800—1. Roman Sierpina, Collegiate, 1:55.53; 2. Bruce Hayden, Paris, 1:57.26; 3. Easton Bourland, Dawson Springs, 1:58.21. 200—1. Charlie Ford, NCC, 21.62-x; 2. Dalton Elliott, Prestonsburg, 22.07; 3. Luke Erdman, Beechwood, 22.09. 3,200—1. Isaac Riggs, Bethlehem, 9:41.40; 2. Ryan Shaps, KCD, 9:43.69; 3. Grant Greenwell, Bethlehem, 9:45.08. 4-by-400 relay—1. Collegiate (Henry Hasselbacher, Julian Veliquette, Roman Sierpina, James Marshall), 3:26.86; 2. University Heights (Clayton Lester, Griffin McCoy, Harlow Hampton, Logan Miller) 3:27.25; 3. Fort Campbell (Aiden Ward, Mateo Cerritos Gatto, Samuel Atoubi, Andrew Bennett) 3:31.62. Shot put—1. Ijah Ferguson, Pikeville, 54-00; 2. Julian Smith, Campbellsville, 49-04; 3. Sasha Wade, Danville, 49-03. Discus—1. Sasha Wade, Danville, 155-06; 2. Evan Burroughs, Raceland, 149-07; 3. Ijah Ferguson, Pikeville, 148-07. Long jump—1. Jerrick Martin, Glasgow, 22-09.5; 2. Cameron Morris, Fulton City, 21-02; 3. Nate Goodin, Williamsburg, 21-01.25. Triple jump—1. Alex Koeder, Paris, 44-02.25; 2. Octavious McKeage, Russellville, 43-08; 3. Jackson Burgess, Somerset, 41-10.25. High jump—1. Nate Goodin, Williamsburg) 6-02; 2. Izack Saylor, Harlan, 6-02; 3. Alex Koeder, Paris, 6-02. Pole vault—t1. Cooper Cunningham, Murray, 13-00; t1. Zyler Housekeeper, Williamsburg, 13-00; t3. Spencer Nixon, Monroe County, 12-00; t3. Austin Squires, Green County, 12-00.

This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 8:12 AM.