In a meet that is typically littered with Northern Kentucky student-athletes, Thursday was no different at the KHSAA Class A state track and field meet at University of Kentucky’s Outdoor Track and Field facility.
On the team side of things, Bishop Brossart’s girls finished runner-up, Beechwood in third. St. Henry was sixth and Newport Central Catholic ninth.
In the boys’ meet, Beechwood was fifth, Newport Central Catholic sixth.
Several won individual titles from the sprints, distance, field and relay events.
Here are some storylines from the meet:
Beechwood’s Parke breaks two records more than 30 years old
Post meet, Beechwood’s Lily Parke couldn’t even tell you how many state titles she’s had in track and field and cross country. Well, she added two more to the list and did so in style.
Parke broke state meet records that were over 30 years old in the 1,600 and 800.
“I didn’t even know about them before I ran,” Parke said. “I’m excited, it’s awesome. It was a PR for me in the 800 too.”
Parke ran a total of four miles in the meet, finishing third in the 3,200 and also a part of the 4×800 relay team that placed fifth.
Brossart’s girls depth shows its strength
While they had just three first-place medals, Brossart’s girls team had 16 podium places on the day. They finished with 97 points, 20 points shy of first place Lexington Christian Academy.
“We’ve had people in every event that were pretty competitive and everybody came through very nicely today,” Brossart coach Dave Schuh said. “We didn’t really falter any place. We kind of did what we were capable of doing. We didn’t feel too much pressure because we knew Lexington Christian was very, very good and no matter what happened it was going to be hard to run with them. We were pretty close, a little closer than I thought we might be. So we really came through nicely.”
Schuh had a few medals around his neck and it wasn’t from Thursday’s meet. The 2000 track and field teams at Brossart were recognized for their 25-year anniversary of state titles. With Schuh coaching the program for 46 years now and multiple titles, more of those anniversary’s are coming in the future.
“I’m proud of that medal,” Schuh said. “It just shows the consistency that we have and that we must be doing something right.”
Ford fast
Newport Central Catholic’s Charlie Ford doubled in the sprints, winning the 100 and 200-meter dashes.
He was the lone sprinter on the day to record a sub-11 second time in the 100 and set a new meet record in the 200.
“Knew I had to run a certain time to win at state,” Ford said. “That’s just been my main goal these past two years, because I know I could get it.”
Ford marks the third straight year a Northern Kentucky sprinter has won the 100 in the 1A meet. Walton-Verona’s Jackson Smith won the 100 in 2023, Beechwood’s Luke Erdman won it in 2024 and now Ford this year.
“I’ve always liked to compete against Luke,” Ford said. “He’s a great competitor. I love running with him, too.”
Walters doubles in the throws
Bishop Brossart may have finished with three first-place finishes, but Ava Walters claimed two of them. Walters doubled in the throwing events, winning the shot put and discus.
She won by wide margins, too. The junior won by nearly a foot and a half in the shot and nearly two-feet in the disc.
“I knew coming in I was really close with a lot of the girls,” Walters said. “So kind of just sticking to what I’ve been doing all year and all the hard work I’ve been putting in all year to get myself through.”
Walters is now the back-to-back state champion in the shot put.
Beechwood’s football team really is a track team
Prior to Beechwood’s Class 2A state championship football game with Owensboro Catholic in December, comments were made from Owensboro Catholic that the Tigers were just a track team with a bunch of speed.
Beechwood proved that wasn’t the case with a 50-34 victory over the Aces, but on Thursday they also proved they are a track team. Football players James Cusick, Brody Aylor, Nathan Pabst and Luke Erdman won the 4×100 in a time of 43.18. Erdman had a strong final leg, going from third to first to close it out.
“Couldn’t have done it without my team,” Erdman said. “They set up the race every time with being the anchor leg. I always follow them guys, and they always set the tone for the race. One of the biggest driving factors in my competitive spirit is always competing and compete every day with guys who push you to do better and my teammates do that.”
Erdman’s day also consisted of third in the 200 and fourth in the 100-meter dash. He’ll continue his track career at St. Louis University next year.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better situation,” Erdman said. “To close out the year with these guys and compete with and practice with. It brings out the football attitude in track. Bringing out the football spirit in track really, really helped us.”
Nordman PRs in 400
Caroline Nordman was discouraged in late March, early April. Dealing with a quad injury, she was struggling to break one-minute in the 400. But as her health started coming around, so did her times.
On Thursday, she put it all together and hit a PR in the 400 in a time of 56.47, nearly two seconds better than her best prior time.
“My first meets I was running like minute flats,” Nordman said. “It was defeating when I ran my first meet this season at 1:02. But I just kept the mindset that I had to keep building. Slowly dropped time and knowing I came out here after completing the build up was really nice.”
Nordman also had a strong showing in the 200, finishing second.
All the NKY podium finishers
Boys
Charlie Ford (Newport Central Catholic) — 100-meter dash (10.95), 1st place
Charlie Ford (Newport Central Catholic) — 200 meters (21.62), 1st place
Beechwood 4×100 relay (Nathan Pabst, Brody Aylor, James Cusick, Luke Erdman) — 43.18, 1st place
Marcelo Herald (Bellevue) — 110-meter hurdles (14.94), 2nd place
Beechwood 4×200 relay (Nathan Pabst, Brody Aylor, James Cusick, Luke Erdman) — 1:30.04, 2nd place
Luke Erdman (Beechwood) — 200 meters (22.09), 3rd place
Bishop Brossart 4×800 relay (Max Leuderalbert, Adam Tarvin, Jaiden Wittrock, Alex Grosser) — 8:16.44, 3rd place
Wyatt Shearer (Walton-Verona) — 800 meters (1:58.27), 4th place
Mark Antrobus (Villa Madonna) — 1,600 meters (4:36.01), 4th place
Luke Erdman (Beechwood) — 100-meter dash (11.06), 4th place
Charlie Ford (Newport Central Catholic) — Long jump (20-9.5), 4th place
Marcelo Herald (Bellevue) — Long jump (20-7.5), 5th place
Villa Madonna 4×800 relay (Mark Antrobus, Ethan Barker, Brendan Ramdass, Ethan Martin) — 8:28.39, 5th place
Mark Antrobus (Villa Madonna) — 800 meters (2:01.51), 6th place
Alex Combs (Bishop Brossart) — High jump (6-0), 6th place
Tripp Wilson (Bishop Brossart) — Triple jump (40-10.75), 6th place
Andrew Kowcheck (Walton-Verona) — 300-meter hurdles (42.16), 7th place
Reid Enxel (Newport Central Catholic) — Pole vault (10-6), 7th place
Griffin Hill (Bishop Brossart) — 800 meters (2:03.62), 8th place
Marcelo Herald (Bellevue) — 300-meter hurdles (42.20), 8th place
Ethan Haubner (Bishop Brossart) — 110-meter hurdles (15.47), 8th place
Newport Central Catholic 4×100 relay (Preston Alford, Nathan Bowman, Grayden Schirmer, Colin O’Dea) — 44.63, 8th place
Walton-Verona 4×400 relay (Wyatt Shearer, Tyson Smith, Andrew Kowcheck, Tristan Wills) — 3:35.20, 8th place
Girls
Ava Walters (Bishop Brossart) — Shot put (39-1.5), 1st place
Ava Walters (Bishop Brossart) — Discus (123-8), 1st place
Caroline Nordman (Beechwood) — 400 meters (56.47), 1st place
Lily Parke (Beechwood) — 1,600 meters (4:59.88), 1st place
Lily Parke (Beechwood) — 800 meters (2:15.96), 1st place
Newport Central Catholic 4×400 relay (Grace Mumper, Mary Kennedy, Kate Schirmer, Maggie West) — 4:09.39, 1st place
Bishop Brossart 4×800 relay (Larah Callahan, Alia Thomas, Peyton Trauth, Tessa Hafer) — 9:55.25, 1st place
Caroline Nordman (Beechwood) — 200 meters (25.84), 2nd place
Anna Curtsinger (Bishop Brossart) — Pole vault (10-0), 2nd place
Hayden Harlan (St. Henry) — High jump (5-2), 2nd place
Peyton Trauth (Bishop Brossart) — Long jump (16-.75), 2nd place
Bishop Brossart 4×400 relay (Lexi Braun, Larah Callahan, Mackinley Scott, Peyton Trauth) — 4:09.73, 2nd place
Newport Central Catholic 4×800 relay (Kate Schirmer, Caroline Rust, Mary Kennedy, Maggie West) — 10:04.93, 2nd place
Bishop Brossart 4×200 relay (Larah Callahan, Lexi Braun, Hadley Eviston, Mackinley Scott) — 1:47.28, 2nd place
Lily Parke (Beechwood) — 3,200 meters (11:17.67), 3rd place
Maggie Meyer (Walton-Verona) — 200 meters (26.39), 3rd place
Lizzie Casey (St. Henry) — Long jump (16-.25), 3rd place
Walton-Verona 4×200 relay (Abbie Hooten, Maggie Meyer, Josie Holtzapple, Dixie Hensley) — 1:47.63, 3rd place
Walton-Verona 4×400 relay (Abbie Hooten, Lindsey Brooks, Dixie Hensley, Claire Sams) — 4:15.74, 3rd place
Larah Callahan (Bishop Brossart) — 800 meters (2:21.58), 4th place
Lexi Braun (Bishop Brossart) — 400 meters (59.64), 4th place
Zoey Woosley (Bishop Brossart) — 100-meter hurdles (15.59) 4th place
Maria Everett (Bishop Brossart) — Pole vault (9-0), 4th place
Stella Flick (St. Henry) — High jump (5-2), 4th place
Lizzie Casey (St. Henry) — Triple jump (33-11.5), 4th place
Ava Kendall (Walton-Verona) — Discus (109-8), 4th place
Bishop Brossart 4×100 relay (Zoey Woosley, Hadley Eviston, Kaitlyn Kramer, Peyton Trauth) — 51.62, 4th place
Stella Flick (St. Henry) — 300-meter hurdles (48.75), 5th place
Morgan McDonald (Holy Cross) — 100-meter dash (12.84), 5th place
Chloe Meyers (Bellevue) — Discus (106-10), 5th place
Beechwood 4×800 relay (Charli Gerrein, Julia Moore, Nora Wilke, Lily Parke) — 10:18.53, 5th place
Beechwood 4×200 relay (Avery Woolridge, Ruby Fries, Lana Holt, Caroline Nordman) — 1:49.33, 5th place
Beechwood 4×400 relay (Ella Schneider, Ruby Fries, Lana Holt, Caroline Nordman) — 4:18.90, 5th place
Walton-Verona 4×100 relay (Abbie Hooten, Maggie Meyer, Josie Holtzapple, Claire Sams) — 51.68, 5th place
Maggie West (Newport Central Catholic) — 800 meters (2:23.90), 6th place
Kaitlyn Kramer (Bishop Brossart) — 300-meter hurdles (48.86), 6th place
Zoey Woosley (Bishop Brossart) — Long jump (15-11), 6th place
Reese McCloskey (Newport Central Catholic)– Discus (102-5), 6th place
Morgan McDonald (St. Henry) — 200 meters (26.77), 7th place
Lindsey Brooks (Walton-Verona) — 800 meters (2:24.86) 7th place
Tessa Hafer (Bishop Brossart) — 1,600 meters (5:33.69), 7th place
Sophie Schoulties (Newport Central Catholic) — Pole vault (8-0), 7th place
Josie Golden (Bishop Brossart) — High jump (5-0) 7th place
Andora Riley (Newport) — Discus (101-8), 7th place
Chloe Meyers (Bellevue) — Shot put (33-1.5), 7th place
St. Henry 4×100 relay (Adelyn Washnock, Stella Flick, Alyson Yuskewich, Korra Zimmer) — 52.15, 7th place
Charli Gerrein (Beechwood) — 1,600 meters (5:33.85), 8th place
Stella Flick (St. Henry) — 100-meter hurdles (16.28) 8th place
Reese McCloskey (Newport Central Catholic) — Shot put (33-.25), 8th place
Top 10 team scoring
Boys
- Collegiate — 53
- Williamsburg — 46
- Bethlehem — 34.5
- Caldwell County — 32
- Beechwood — 29
- Newport Central Catholic — 27.5
- Paris — 26
- Campbellsville — 26
- Danville — 23
- Green County — 22
Girls
- Lexington Christian — 117
- Bishop Brossart — 97
- Beechwood — 57
- Green County — 43
- Walden — 37
- St. Henry — 31
- Walton-Verona — 29
- Leslie County — 29
- Newport Central Catholic — 26
- Kentucky Country Day — 24