Individual performers shine at EKC Track & Field Championships

On the track, Bath County racked up big points in the relays, including winning the girls’ 4x800m, taking second in the boys’ 4x100m, third in the boys’ 4x200m and fourth in the girls’ 4x400m events. Pictured, at left, is Marvin Ball. Pictured, at right, is Carrie Staviski (front) and Amelia Oldfield. Photo by Brad Laux/1016sports.

Bath County, Fleming County and Nicholas County each put together impressive team showings at Friday’s Eastern Kentucky Track & Field Championships in Owingsville, but it was the individual efforts from those squads that really stood out.

Bath County’s Brandon Smallwood and Nicholas County’s Samantha Sowell each came away with the High Point Award. Combined, they captured five individual event tiles and finished second and third once apiece.

The duo particularly dominated the three true jumps, winning four of the six and finishing second in another.

“I was very happy with everything I did today, but I’m very pleased with how I did in the triple jump because I ‘pr’d twice today. On my first jump, I ‘pr’d with a 38’ 08.50” and then I ‘pr’d again on my second jump with a 38’10,” Smallwood said. “I was feeling really good today. My legs were good and loose, and I just had a great day.”

“I hit the board really good on my triple jumps and my long jumps. I had my steps down pretty good,” Sowell said, who also won the 100-meter hurdles and was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles. “My 300m hurdle strides were pretty solid,” she added.

Smallwood won the long jump with a leap of 18’11.75”, cleared 5’06” to capture the high jump and was victoriously measured at 38’10.00” in the triple jump. The latter mark bettered runner-up Aaron Conyers of Nicholas County by a foot and nine inches (37’01.00”). Smallwood also placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles in 21.53.

He felt he had an advantage by competing on Bath County’s newly resurfaced track.

“I love the atmosphere being at home. You practice on this field every day, so you already know where your steps are. You always have that feeling (when) you’re at home. It always makes you feel a whole lot better,” he said.

Sowell blew away her competition in the triple jump (31’09.00”), winning by nearly two feet. She was below her seeded time in the 100m hurdles, capturing the race in 18.29. Sowell placed second in the long jump with a mark of 14’08.00” and was third in the 300m hurdles in 56.63.

“I felt like I did pretty well in all of my events, considering that I didn’t ‘pr’ in any of them,” she said. “The competition was pretty good and I felt like I came out pretty decent.”

Bath County also put together another strong performance in the girls’ 4x800-meter relay. The foursome of Carrie Staviski, Hannah Bussell, Isabella Copher and Abby Henderson won the event in 10:57.01, bettering runner-up Raceland by more than five seconds.

It was just another title for the Lady Cat quartet, which according to coach Rick Staviski is the top-ranked team in its region. It is a young group that includes two new runners.

Staviski emphasized their accomplishments.

“Abby Henderson will soon be a common name in track. She is a strong mid-distance athlete. … Isabella Copher, an 8th grader, is a strong distance runner and filling a spot on the 4x8(00m) team. … Carrie Staviski is ranked high in the region in the 3200m and is improving her 800 time. (She’s also) part of 4x8(00m),” he said. “They are working hard. The girls are facing tough competition right now.

Sowell was not the only Nicholas County standout. J.P. Wagoner won the 110m hurdles (15.72) and the 300m hurdles (43.01), the latter by a comfortable margin (1.09 seconds), while Allison Howard successfully defended her title in the discus and added one in the shot put (28’00.00”). Howard won the discus by a mere two inches with a throw of 85’09”.

“Overall, our boys’ and girls’ team performed well,” Nicholas County coach Greg Letcher said. “We had outstanding individual accomplishments by Samantha Sowell, J.P. Wagoner, Allison Howard, Shelby Watkins and Aaron Conyers.”

Waktins finished second in the 3200-meter run (12:31.14) and third in the 1600-meter run (5:L57.73). Conyers was part of the third-place 4x100-meter relay and the fourth-place 4x200-meter relay. Both featured the lineup of Conyers, Cody Moon, Wagoner and Nate Watkins.

Bath County, too, had strong showings throughout its teams. In addition to Smallwood and the girls’ 4x800m relay, Sam Barker took second in both the 100-meter dash in 11.49 and 200-meter dash in 23.83; as did the 4x100m relay team of Marvin Ball, Dylan Richards, Kris Krolikowski and Barker (48.43). Pole vaulter Dakota Begley placed third with a mark of 9’06”, as did Madelyne English (24’07.00”) and Dalton Richards (38’01.50”) in their respective shot put competitions, Gwenn Conley in the 100m hurdles (19.71), Henderson in the 400-meter dash (1:08.00) and Carrie Staviski in the 3200m run (12:57.93). The boys’ 4x200-meter relay team of Ball, Barker, Krolikowski and Richards also captured third with a time of 1:38.58.

“Brandon Smallwood has helped greatly this year in our jumps and Sam Barker has been a mainstay for five years for us in the 100m, 200m as well as the short relays,” said Bath County boys’ team coach Tim Bailey. “Along with these two guys, Kaleb Clemons and Logan McNabb have helped with several events. … Billy Hedges has improved in his specialty, the 110m hurdles, and has stepped into events from the 4x1(00m relay) to the 4x8(00m relay) to help the team out.”

Fleming County’s Ashley Watson and Christen Reid went one-two in the girls’ pole vault. Both cleared 7’00”, but Watson won on a tiebreaker. Abby Fearin, Jacob Hitch, Olivia Leet and Robert Applegate also had a strong meet. Fearin was second in the 300m hurdles (54.79), Hitch was the runner-up in the 400m (55.69), Applegate placed fourth in both the 1600m (5:02.70) and the 3200m (11:34.96); and Leet was fourth in the 1600m (6:06.21) and fifth in the 3200m (13:11.72).

The Lady Panthers also notched several points with their relays. The team’s 4x200m group of Alondra Jackson, Carley Dunaway, Fearin and Mackenzie Purvis captured its race in 1:59.85; with the 4x100m quartet of Purvis, Dunaway, Jackson and Baylee Hackworth placing third in 56.95. The 4x800m foursome of Shelby Moran, Sheraden Dales, Madison Dodgen and Courtney Vice crossed the line in fourth in 12:39.15.

“It seems like the season is finally getting started and we are just a few weeks away from regionals,” Fleming County coach Tim Hamm said. “We feel like the kids are progressing and hope that it continues. The kids that have been working hard at practice have seen that hard work show up at the meets. We hope to continue to improve and hopefully by regionals peak at the right time.

Raceland claimed the boys’ team title with 135 points. Russell was second at 116.50, Bath County third at 106, Rowan County fourth at 94.50, Morgan County fifth at 58.50, Nicholas County sixth at 57, West Carter seventh at 52, Elliott County eighth at 33.50, Fleming County ninth at 30, East Carter 10th at 9 and Lewis County 11th at five.

“I had us pegged at placing third. We were closer to Russell than I thought we could get,” Bailey said. “The team this year is loaded with seniors and they have performed well. This team is close to a school record for wins. Our record stands at 98-28-1. The school record is 103 (wins).”

Rowan County held off defending champion Raceland to claim the girls’ team trophy with 111 points. The Lady Rams scored 104, followed by Nicholas County (82), Fleming County (70), East Carter and Russell (67), Bath County (64), Morgan County (56), West Carter (46), Lewis County (18) and Elliott County (seven).

According to the latest KYTrackXC all-division rankings, the Lady Jackets are tied for 24th in the state. It is a formula based on scoring at the state level. At last year’s EKCs, Nicholas County’s girls placed second.

Bath County’s girls moved up two spots in the team standings, after placing ninth last spring.

“Senior Gwenn Conley finished third in the 100-meter hurdles and continues to improve. She works hard at perfecting her form and is one of the strongest kids on the team. Amelia Oldfield, a seventh-grader, is showing real strong in the 400m and 4x4(00m relay). Freshman Madelyne English is doing a great job in her first year in shot and disc (and is) already throwing the disc 81’09”,” Staviski said.

Rounding out the performances by school:

Bath County: fifth in the boys’ 4x800m relay (Dakota Begley, Caleb Bowen, Kaleb Clemons, Tanner Whitten in 9:47.16); 10th in the 100m hurdles (Joanna Ott in 21.34); seventh in the 110m hurdles (Billy Hedges in 20.76); 16th and 17th in the girls’ 100-meter dash (Erin Barker in 16.10 and Lexie Crouch in 16.42); fifth in the boys’ 100m dash (Kris Krolikowski in 12.05); fifth in the girls’ 4x200m relay (Amelia Oldfield, Joanna Ott, Kylee Strange, Gwenn Conley in 2:05.97), seventh and 11th in the girls’ 1600-meter run (Isabella Copher in 6:17.50 and Hannah Bussell in 6:30.00); sixth and 10th in the boys’ 1600m (Logan McNabb in 5:10.09 and Caleb Bowen in 5:24.28); seventh in the girls’ 4x100-meter relay (Erin Barker, Emma Crouch, Lexie Crouch, Amelia Oldfield in 1:10.11); 15th in the girls’ 400-meter dash (Hannah Bussell in 1:19.79); 18th and 20th in the boys’ 400m (Billy Hedges in 1:03.28 and James Howard in 1:06.58); 13th and 15th in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles (Joanna Ott in 1:08.06 and Cristina Oney in 1:16.78); 10th and 11th in the boys’ 300m hurdles (Tanner Whitten in 52.33 and Dakota Begley in 52.99); fifth and sixth in the girls’ 800-meter run (Abby Henderson in 2:38.58 and Carrie Staviski in 2:41.09); fifth and 11th in the boys’ 800m (Logan McNabb in 2:20.16 and Kaleb Clemons in 2:32.43); 11th and 12th in the girls’ 200-meter dash (Amelia Oldfield in 31.56 and Kylee Strange in 31.91); fifth in the boys’ 200m (Kris Krolikowski in 24.71); seventh in the girls’ 3200-meter run (Isabella Copher in 13:36.94); seventh and 15th in the boys’ 3200m (Caleb Bowen in 11:59.30 and Logan McNabb in 13:33.09); fourth in the girls’ 4x400-meter relay (Amelia Oldfield, Carrie Staviski, Hannah Bussell and Abby Henderson in 5:03.72); seventh in the boys’ 4x400m relay (Dakota Begley, Kaleb Clemons, James Howard and Bryson McCarty in 4:37.08); fourth in the boys’ pole vault (Dustin Harin at 8’06”); 15th and 16th in the girls’ long jump (Margaret Hughes at 10’01.50” and Liz Collins at 10’00.00”); 12th in the boys’ long jump (Layne Easton at 15’03.25”); fifth in the girls’ triple jump (Michael Corum at 27’09.50”); 11th in the boys’ triple jump (Kaleb Clemons at 28’05.50”); sixth and 15th in the girls’ discus (Madelyne English at 68’04” and Kaylee Purvis at 53’04”); sixth and 15th in the boys’ discus (Dalton Richards at 100’09” and Justin Harmon at 70’00”); eighth in the girls’ shot put (Brynn Collingsworth at 23’00.00”); and 12th in the boys’ shot put (Justin Harmon at 31’10.50”).

Fleming County: fifth and 11th in the girls’ 100m (Alondra Jackson in 14.01 and Carley Dunaway in 14.68); ninth and 17th in the boys’ 100m (Hayden Ramey in 12.22 and Diamantee Humphrey in 12.92); sixth in the boys’ 4x200m relay (Cole Christianson, Diamantee Humphrey, Scotty Griffitt, Jacob Hitch in 1:46.98); ninth in the girls’ 1600m (Sheraden Dales in 6:26.63); 16th in the boys’ 1600m (Cody Kissell in 5:44.39); fifth and 10th in the girls’ 400m (Gabby Cropper in 1:11.00 and Courtney Vice in 1:13.21); fifth in the boys’ 400m (Hayden Ramey in 57.69); 12th in the girls’ 300m hurdles (Audrey Suit in 1:06.18); ninth and 13th in the boys’ 300m hurdles (Scotty Griffitt in 50.74 and Daniel Kissell in 55.42); seventh and eighth in the girls’ 800m (Christen Reid in 2:48.27 and Sheraden Dales in 2:49.95); 15th in the boys’ 800m (Josh Donahue in 3:25.73); eighth and 10th in the boys’ 200m (Jacob Hitch in 25.18 and Cole Christianson in 26.40); 11th in the boys’ 3200m (Cody Kissell in 12:40.33); sixth and eighth in the pole vault (Cole Christianson at 7’06” and Caleb Faris at 7’00”); ninth in the girls’ long jump (Courtney Vice at 11’02.50”); 20th in the girls’ discus (Madison Dodgen at 28’09”); 13th and 14th in the boys’ discus (Anthony Dye at 72’09” and John Adams at 72’06”); sixth and 20th in the girls’ shot put (Madison Sparks at 23’01.00” and Madison Hawkins at 16’09.00”); and 14th and 16th in the boys’ shot put (John Adams at 26’08.50” and Levi Moore at 25’08.800”).

Nicholas County: sixth in the girls’ 4x800m relay (Kenzie Bowles, Sydney Ishmael, Caitlin Smith, Kamryn Letcher in 13:17.08); seventh in the boys’ 4x800m relay (Cain Saucedo, Michael Tibbs, Tyler Horn, Julio Zepeda in 10:08.40); 13th in the girls’ 100m hurdles (Jillian Hughes in 23.89); 13th in the 100m (Shelby Stafford in 15.43); eighth and 19th in the boys’ 100m (Nate Watkins in 12.09 and Max Trussell in 13.91); seventh in the girls’ 4x200m relay (Autumn Martin, Shelby Flanigin, Maria Soto, Morgan Waymire in 2:07.15); 14th in the girls’ 1600m (Kenzie Bowles in 7:06.10); 11th in the boys’ 1600m (Cain Saucedo in 5:25.08); 11th in the girls’ 4x100m relay (Morgan Waymire, Shelby Flanigin, Maria Soto, Autumn Martin in 1:01.21); 12th and 14th in the girls’ 400m (Shelby Stafford in 1:14.23 and Sydney Ishmael in 1:17.17); seventh and eighth in the boys’ 400m (Aaron Conyers in 58.29 and Julio Zepeda in 58.37); sixth in the girls’ 300m hurdles (Shelby Flanigin in 59.93); 13th and 14th in the boys’ 800m (Matthew Baxter in 2:42.76 and Shawn Quinn in 2:55.61); 14th and 16th in the girls’ 200m (Shelby Stafford in 32.26 and Jillian Hughes in 33.30); seventh and 16th in the boys’ 200m (Nate Watkins in 25.10 and Max Trussell in 28.89); fifth in the girls 4x400m relay (Morgan Waymire, Shelby Flanigin, Autumn Martin, Maria Soto in 5:09.38); sixth in the boys’ 4x400m relay (Julio Zepeda, J.P. Wagoner, Cody Moon, Cain Saucedo in 4:08.63); eighth in the girls’ long jump (Morgan Waymire at 11’11.75”); fifth in the boys’ long jump (Cody Moon at 16’11.00”); 11th in the girls’ discus (Alexia Buchanan at 57’04”); 10th in the boys’ discus (Dailey Dalton at 89’07”); 16th in the girls’ shot put (Alexia Buchanan at 17’09.50”); and sixth in the boys’ shot put (Dailey Dalton at 35’01.00”).