Nicholas County shines at state track and field championships

Bath County senior Sam Barker breezes past his competition in the 4x100-meter relay at the Class AA state track and field championships. With Barker running the final leg, the Wildcats placed 12th. Barker also claimed a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash and was 11th in the 200-meter race. Photo by Brad Laux/1016sports.

Despite just sending five total athletes to this year’s Republic Bank/KHSAA Class A State Track & Field Championships, Nicholas County led all area teams with its girls tying for 11th and boys placing 16th.

The Lady Jackets scored in four events for a total of 19 points, while senior J.P. Wagoner accounted for all 14 of the Bluejackets’ points. Including both the girls’ and boys’ squads, Nicholas County scored just five points last year, with the Lady Jackets tallying the full amount to tie for 28th in the final team standings.

“We are proud of all members of the boys’ and girls’ track team this year. They did an excellent job representing Nicholas County,” head coach Greg Letcher said. “(JP had an) outstanding finish to a very accomplished high school career. I look forward to seeing him move on to college where he has the potential to get better and better.”

Wagoner competed in three events, capturing second in the 300-meter hurdles in 40.02, third in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.75 and 17th in the 200-meter dash in 23.97.

“There were a lot of close races. Both (hurdle) races I was within a hundredth of a second of finishing in a place higher (than I did), so I’d like to say it was a good day,” Wagoner said. “My (time in the) 110s was a little slower than usual, but I blew my (time in the) 300s out of the water. It was a new ‘pr’ for me.”

Despite being seeded fourth in the 300m race based on his regional-qualifying performance, Wagoner dropped more than a second and a half to finish just behind Murray’s Malik Britt-Taylor (39.92). Wagoner was third in that event last year, but if he had recorded Saturday’s time in last spring’s race, he would have won it by three-quarters of a second.

Sophomore Samantha Sowell led the way for the Lady Jackets contributing 15 points by herself. Like Wagoner, Sowell surpassed her 2015 state performance by a significant margin. She finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 34’08.50” (compared to 18th at 27’06.50” last year), third in the long jump with a mark of 16’09.50” (13th at 14’04.50”), eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.33 (20th in 19.59) and 13th in the 300m hurdles in 51.42 (22nd in 57.31).

She also exceed her pre-meet seeding in every event but the triple jump, most notably moving up from 11th in the long jump in which her regional-qualifying mark was 15’03.50”.

“It was an outstanding day by this 10th-grader,” Letcher said. “She has had an outstanding year and should be a state-championship contender the next two years.”

Senior Shelby Watkins capped off her career by placing fifth in the 3200-meter run (12:29.66) and 11th in the 1600-meter run (5:47.12). Combined between the two events, she dropped more than 48 seconds off her regional meet performances.

“(Shelby) ran personal bests for this season in both (races),” Letcher said. “It was a very emotional ending to a great high school career as she was able to get on the medal stand in her last high school race. (She’s) a young lady who has great determination and drive, and will be very successful at the next level.”

Juniors Aaron Conyers and Allison Howard rounded out Nicholas County’s representatives. Conyers notched ‘pr’s’ in his events, finishing 15th in the 300m hurdles in 44.49 and 19th in the triple jump at 37’08.50”. In her fifth consecutive appearance at the state meet, Howard placed 16th in the discus with a toss of 80’05”.

Bath County and Fleming County also sent representatives to Friday’s Class AA state championships. The Wildcat boys tied for 30th with five points, all of which were courtesy of senior Sam Barker’s fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (11.30). Barker entered the race seeded 25th. According to head coach Tim Bailey, it was the highest finish for a BCHS boy in several years. Barker also was 11th in the 200-meter dash in 23.12.

“Our team this year was heavy with seniors, so it will be hard to replace the guys that are gone. Of our eight seniors, three are going to run for colleges, one is planning on giving it a try and one is playing football,” Bailey said. “These guys will be missed a lot, but we have a core of eight coming back that can help. It has been a fun year and one like this just makes coming back even more fun.”

The foursome of Kris Krolikowski, Alden Oldfield, Layne Easton and Barker finished 12th in the 4x100-meter relay in 45.25, cutting nearly a second and a half off its qualifying time.

Senior Brandon Smallwood paced the Wildcat field event competitors by tying for 15th in the high jump at 5’08” and placing 17th in the long jump at 19’00.25”. Senior Dalton Richards had to compete in the shot put twice, after officials determined someone in his flight had used a shot that was underweight. Richards eventually finished 21st with a top mark of 39’01.25”.

Dakota Begley and Dustin Hardin were also entered in the pole vault, but neither cleared a height. The same was true for Fleming County’s Cole Christiansen.

The Lady Cats qualified for the state meet in three events. Carrie Staviski paced the team with her 13th-place finish in the 3200-meter run (12:36.13), while Abby Henderson was 16th in the 800-meter run (2:35.34). The 4x800-meter relay quartet of Staviski, Henderson, Hannah Bussell and Isabella Copher placed 14th in its race (10:42.49).

“We were proud of how our girls performed,” Lady Cat coach Rick Staviski said. “Our 4x800m team was just one second from its best (time). Abby Henderson set a ‘pr’ in the 800m and Carrie Staviski was just two seconds from her ‘pr’ in the 3200m. This was our first (time competing in a) hot and humid meet, so to have performed as they did says a lot. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Fleming County senior Christen Reid capped off her fifth trip to the state championships by finishing 12th in the pole vault with a mark of 7’06”. Freshman teammate Ashley Watson tied for 17th after clearing 7’00”.

Lady Panther senior Abby Fearin returned to the state meet after a one-year absence and placed 17th in the 300m hurdles in 52.11. Fleming County also had two other individual competitors. Jacob Hitch finished 18th in the 400-meter dash (54.55) and Robert Applegate was 22nd in the 3200m (11:22.24).

The Lady Panther quartet of Fearin, Carley Dunaway, Melanie Montgomery and Mackenzie Purvis rounded out the squad by placing 18th in the 4x100-meter relay in 54.93.

It was the final meet for Tim Hamm as Fleming County’s head coach. He has taken a job teaching at Bourbon County next year. Assistant Paul King will be his replacement.

“It was fun for me to go out watching those kids participate at the state meet. We always view the state meet as a fun meet,” Hamm said. “The kids almost all set season bests, which is always a good way to end the season. I couldn’t be more proud of all of the state participants.”

Nicholas County’s Samantha Sowell (far right) capped off an outstanding season by scoring in three of her four events at the Class A state track & field meet. She placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (pictured) and 13th in the 300-meter hurdles. Her best performances came in her two field events, where she finished second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Photo by Brad Laux/1016sports.