Slow heat, fast feet: Lexington sprinter scores surprise win at Class 3A state meet

A windy day at the Region 6 meet a couple of weekends ago in Georgetown led to some wonky seed times for several participants at the Class 3A Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Track and Field Outdoor State Championships

If you were there, you wouldn’t have been too surprised that Henry Clay senior Jayden Channer finished on the podium for the 100-meter dash despite running in heat one, typically the “slowest” of three flights. Even if you were in attendance during that breezy regional, you’d probably still be surprised to learn Channer won Saturday’s race at University of Kentucky’s Outdoor Track and Field Complex.

But Channer, from the “slow” heat, won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.52, his personal best by 0.22 seconds. It was his fastest time this season by 0.30 seconds, and just fast enough — 0.06 seconds — to get the better of St. Xavier sophomore Claude Spillman, who entered as the favorite with a seed time of 10.36, a PR set during the Region 3 meet on May 21.

“I wanted to run 10.5 before I left high school because I felt like I always had it in me, but I just wasn’t running it for whatever reason,” Channer said.

He wasn’t sure going into the race that he’d have the competitive push to do that, being in the first heat. It helped considerably that fellow Region 6 sprinter Kaden John, a sophomore from Frederick Douglass, was also relegated to that flight. John ran a 10.84, good for third overall and a boost to Channer.

After Channer and John, the highest placing runner from heat one was Bowling Green’s Drian Bunton, who ran 14th among 23 total runners. Five of the top eight came from the fast heat; Christian County’s Satona Bailey from heat two also crashed the party.

“It really sucks when you don’t have anyone who’s right next to you or just in front of you, pushing you to run faster, so I was a bit upset that I was put in heat one,” Channer said. “I knew I just had to run my fastest race. My coach thought that a 10.6 was gonna win it, and I know second place from St. X, that kid’s fast. I knew I had to run my fastest and if I did, I think I could get him. And I got it.”

Channer and John also finished among the top three in the 200. Channer took third in that event while John barely ran second behind McCracken County senior James Barragan, who led the Mustangs to two relay wins. John, who ran in lane one, finished .006 seconds slower than the far-west speedster.

“I feel like I could have got first if I pushed a little bit more,” John said. “I was in lane one, but that ain’t an excuse really. … I’m just gonna come back hungrier next year to get first in everything that I do.”

John also competed individually in the high jump, where he finished fifth. He was part of an eighth-place 4-by-100 relay team. Channer was part of Henry Clay’s 4-by-100 and 4-by-200 relay squads, each finishing fifth.

Victorious Generals

Xavier Richardson was exuberant as he crossed the finish line first in the boys 800.

The Lafayette junior ran the race in 1:53.08, his fastest time in the event by more than two seconds. He achieved that not too long after running the 1,600 in 4:09.72, a time that would have broken the existing overall state meet record had he not been the third runner in that event to cross the finish line. Fellow juniors Paul Van Laningham (Cooper) and Nick Sanders (St. Xavier) were just a touch faster that time.

“Me and my coach talked about a lot of different ways the (800) could have went, and we decided to sit back the first lap, let everyone fight up front,” Richardson said. “With 250 (meters) to go, I realized I’m moving up into third, second, so at that point I was like, ‘Why not me?’ and went for it.”

Richardson also ran as part of Lafayette’s 4-by-800 relay team, which entered the meet with the best time of the season but ran third behind Oldham County and Trinity. Richardson said their coaching staff immediately spun that outcome into fuel.

“When we got back to the tent, they were like, ‘This is just motivation for the mile, this is motivation for 800,’” Richardson said.

The Generals scored enough points as a group to lead all central Kentucky teams and finish fourth overall in the final boys standings.

On the girls side, Aleigha Sullivan brought home Lexington’s only win. The Lafayette junior marked a 129-11 in the discus, the city’s second winner in that event in the last three years.

Sullivan finished eighth in the event last year. She improved her mark from that meet by more than 27 feet; rival Ari Carter, a sophomore from Dixie Heights who won last season, was 2 feet better than her winning mark in 2024.

“I just got in my own head, listened to some music, get mindful thoughts to myself like, ‘Let’s not just think about the win so much, we came out here to do our best,’” Sullivan said. “In my mind, I pushed myself to my best limits just to be out here and have fun.”

Standout leapers

Malcolm Crow took gold in the boys triple jump with a 47-08. The sophomore from Frederick Douglass used to play football but gave it up this year to focus more intently on track and field.

He has improved his state meet triple jump by more than 3 feet, and leapt from sixth to first as a result. He also finished fourth in the long jump this season, 14 spots better than his freshman position.

“Don’t go backwards, keep going forward,” Crow said.

West Jessamine’s Aly Doyle swept the 100 and 300 girls hurdles, reclaiming her title in the latter and finishing with three straight in the former. She matched the Class 3A record time of 14.10, set by Marshall County’s Sohpie Galloway in 2021, in the 100 hurdles.

Doyle also owns the overall record in the 300 hurdles; she set that time, 42.40, as a sophomore. She attributed a decline in performance last season to a medication she was taking, but she’s stopped using that and feels more like herself.

“It really messed up all my motivation and I just completely messed up all my training and everything,” said Doyle, who’s committed to Temple University in Philadelphia.

Teigh Yeast, a sophomore at George Rogers Clark, defended her triple jump title and climbed to first this year in the long jump. The latter event was decided on Yeast’s final leap, an 18-04.25; that was a full two inches better than the best put up by North Oldham freshman Olivia Shenk.

“I saw that girl had just jumped 18-2 and I hadn’t been out there yet, so that definitely pushed me to go farther,” Yeast said.

KHSAA state track and field championships: Class 3A results

Complete results available at KHSAA.org.

x-Class 3A meet record; y-overall state meet record; z-1/1000 tiebreaker

BOYS

Top 20 teams: 1. Trinity 77; 2. Male 54; 3. St. Xavier 52; t4. Lafayette 38; t4. McCracken County 38; 6. Frederick Douglass 34; 7. Henry Clay 30; 8. Woodford County 27; 9. Fern Creek 26; 10. Marshall County 25; 11. Oldham County 23; t12. Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP) 18; t12. North Oldham 18; 14. Simon Kenton 17; t15. Madisonville 16; t15. Meade County 16; t15. Tates Creek 16; t15. Dixie Heights 16; 19. Cooper 15; 20. Madison Central 12.

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Oldham County (Kyle Crady Austin Wheeldon Sean Crady Matthew Whitlock) 7:50.03-y: 2. Trinity (John Bryant, Whitman Goodwin, Jake Hagan, Sullivan Yaden) 7:52.76; 3. Lafayette (Andrew Grace, Xavier Richardson, Buzz Christensen, Van Weimer) 7:55.89. 110 hurdles—1. Maurice Stephens, Ballard, 14.30: 2. Riley Burton, Fern Creek, 14.52; 3. Taevion Sweeney, Male, 14.57. 100—1. Jayden Channer, Henry Clay, 10.52; 2. Claude Spillman, St. Xavier, 10.58: 3. Kaden John, Frederick Douglass, 10.84. 4-by-200 relay—1. McCracken County (James Barragan Ayden Hunter, Maddox O’Neal, Cooper Falconite) 1:26.94; 2. Pleasure Ridge Park (Robert Oates, DeAndre Allen, Christian Yarbrough, Ravon Lee) 1:27.69; 3. Male (Taevion Sweeney, Elijah Cooper, Steron Davidson, Elijah Thompson) 1:27.75. 1,600—1. Paul Van Laningham, Cooper, 4:08.25-y; 2. Nick Sanders, St. Xavier, 4:09.20; 3. Xavier Richardson, Lafayette, 4:09.72. 4-by-100 relay—1. McCracken County (Brock Wilson, Ayden Hunter, Maddox O’Neal, Cooper Falconite) 42.00; 2. Tates Creek (Lazarey Warren, Jonathan Cooper, Luke Cooper, Triston Taylor) 42.34; 3. Trinity (Carter Vinson, Hank Scherer, Mason Scherer, Charlie Shelton) 42.59. 400—1. James Burnett, St. Xavier, 47.47; 2. Leland Taylor, Woodford County, 47.83; 3. Carter Vinson, Trinity, 48.53. 300 hurdles—1. Taevion Sweeney, Male, 38.29; 2. Riley Burton, Fern Creek, 38.80; 3. Montae Ashford, Bryan Station, 39.36. 800—1. Xavier Richardson, Lafayette, 1:53.08; 2. Caden Cull, Male, 1:54.18; 3. Sullivan Yaden, Trinity, 1:54.55. 200—1. James Barragan, McCracken County, 21.464-z; 2. Kaden John, Frederick Douglass, 21.470-z; 3. Jayden Channer, Henry Clay, 21.61. 3,200—1. Charlie Townsend, North Oldham, 9:06.37; Lincoln Herald, Grant County, 9:07.09; 3. Kobey Yates, Marshall County, 9:16.75. 4-by-400 relay—1. Male (Taevion Sweeney, Caden Cull, Steron Davidson, Elijah Cooper) 3:22.25; 2. St. Xavier (James Burnett, Vince Rink, Joseph Nalley, Jack Rousseau) 3:23.60; 3. Butler (Denali Brown, Antonio Dennis, Didie Drogba, Aiden Haynes) 3:23.88. Shot put—1. Deegan Croley, Marshall County, 57-6.25; 2. Donovan Moore, Eastern, 54-5; 3. Miles Hayward, Tates Creek, 53-8. Discus—1. Rocco Pfeiffer, Trinity, 163-4; 2. Landon Walton, East Jessamine, 162-9; 3. Deegan Croley, Marshall County, 161-5. Long jump—1. Cade Scott, Meade County, 21-7.5; 2. Brady Morgan, Trinity, 21-4.5; 3. Sean Anderson, Male, 21-2.25. Triple jump—1. Malcolm Crow, Frederick Douglass, 47-8; 2. Trashuan Smith, Madisonville, 46-7.5; 3. Ibrahim Soumare, Fern Creek, 45-1.75. High jump—1. Aaron Ramey, Central, 6-6; 2. Trashaun Smith, Madisonville, j6-4; 3. Brayden Polly, Simon Kenton, j6-4. Pole vault—1. Jackson Gray, Woodford County, 16-0; 2. Dawson Hayden, McCracken County, 14-0; 3. Drew Masters, Madison Central, 13-6

GIRLS

Top 20 teams: 1. Assumption 85; t2. North Oldham 53; t2. Male 53; 4. Manual 52; 5. George Rogers Clark (GRC) 41; 6. Woodford County 30; 7. Campbell County 27.50; 8. Dixie Heights 27; 9. Oldham County 25; 10. West Jessamine 24; t11. Frederick Douglass 23; t11. Notre Dame 23; 13. Bryan Station 22; 14. Lafayette 21.5; 15. Sacred Heart 21; 16. South Laurel 15; t17. Central 14; t17. Simon Kenton 14; 19. Central Hardin 12; t20. Conner 11; t20. Bullitt East 11.

Top individuals: 4-by-800 relay—1. Assumption (Kinsley Yaden, Brooke Greenwell, Lillian Broniak, Mabel George) 9:17.32; 2. Campbell County (Olivia Holbrook, Lila Dunlevy, Aidan Christopher, Allison McKee) 9:22.46; 3. North Oldham (Audrey Perkins, Grace Horan, Millie Huang, Elle Cargould) 9:30.65. 100 hurdles—1. Aly Doyle, West Jessamine, 14.10; 2. Sophia Shenk, North Oldham, 15.38; 3. Hannah Sutherland, Bullitt East, 15.45. 100—1. Grace Bethel, Male, 12.04; 2. Alexandra Allen, Manual, 12.11; 3. Hannan McColl, Woodford County, 12.12. 4-by-200 relay—1. Male (Grace Bethel, Alivia Lilly, Kymorah Mucker, Jaliyah Taylor) 1:40.98; 2. Oldham County (Juliann Foushee, Olivia Jasper, Charlotte Marcum, Clara Warrick) 1:41.77; 3. Assumption (Ava Moore, Eulalia Powell, Sam Lindle, Se’Rae Bundrent-Palmer) 1:43.37. 1,600—1. Leah Penick, Assumption, 4:54.33; 2. Addison Moore, Woodford County, 4:57.71; 3. Caroline Cundiff, Sacred Heart, 5:02.48. 4-by-100 relay—1. Male (Grace Bethel, Alivia Lilly, Kymorah Mucker, Jaliyah Taylor) 47.44; 2. Bryan Station (Heavan Dobson, Mikayla Garrard, Cintaesia George, DeAun Pinkney) 49.17; 3. Frederick Douglass (Gracie Ogunbayo, Adora Doodnauth, O’Naya Harris, Chloe Lewis) 49.26. 400—1. Alexandra Allen, Manual, 56.12; 2. Teigh Yeast, GRC, 56.57; 3. Jordin Noah, Fern Creek, 56.74. 300 hurdles—1. Aly Doyle, West Jessamine, 44.09; 2. Gracie Hoskins, South Laurel, 45.04; 3. Sophia Shenk, North Oldham, 45.30. 800—1. Mabel George, Assumption, 2:09.42; 2. Olivia Holbrook, Campbell County, 2:09.45; 3. Emma Kendall, Collins, 2:14.81. 200—1. Grace Bethel, Male, 24.31; 2. Kennedi Alford, Central Hardin, 24.58; 3. Jaliyah Taylor, Male, 24.64. 3,200—1. Leah Penick, Assumption, 10:41.65; 2. Elle Cargould, North Oldham, 10:56.26; 3. Caitlin Perkins, Assumption, 11:19.16. 4-by-400 relay—1. Oldham County (Charlotte Marcum, Diana Nava, Juliann Foushee, Hope Boa) 4:03.67; 2. Meade County (Ellie Goins, Bella Gorney, Paige Harrison, Addison Poole) 4:04.80; 3. Frederick Douglass (Fern Frost, Jaelyn Burks, Lailah Woods, Jordan Conner-McCord) 4:05.13. Shot put—1. Ella Gaetz, Notre Dame, 39-9; 2. Shelby Valentine, Central, 39-6; 3. Tamari Oliver, Central, 38-4. Discus—1. Aleigha Sullivan, Lafayette, 129-11; 2. Ari Carter, Dixie Heights, 124-10; 3. Kaitlyn Napier, East Jessamine, 121-4. Long jump—1. Teigh Yeast, GRC, 18-4.25; 2. Sophia Shenk, North Oldham, 18-2.25; 3. Alexis Howard, Simon Kenton, 17-10.75. Triple jump—1. Teigh Yeast, GRC, 39-5.25; 2. Cintaesia George, Bryan Station, 37-1.5; 3. Tatjana Andracenko, Dixie Heights, 36-4.75. High jump—1. Kylie Moore, Assumption, 5-4; t2. Ashlinn James, Assumption, j5-0; t2. Olivia Jasper, Oldham County, j5-0. Pole vault—1. Bailey Howard, GRC, j11-0; 2. Lacy Willoughby, Montgomery County, j11-0; 3. Emma Naylor, Campbell County, 10-6.

This story was originally published June 1, 2025 at 9:01 AM.