Highlands didn’t win Tuesday’s boys Class 2A, Region 4 team title at Scott.
Bourbon County defeated the Bluebirds, 154-123. Highlands coach Ryan Leopold was nonetheless pleased.
“We’re always shooting for the regional championship; that’s one of our main goals for the season,” Leopold said. “You can’t be disappointed because they compete the best they possibly can.”
Indeed, there was much for Highlands to celebrate.
Junior Malcolm Robertson took first in the 3,200-meter run by nearly 10 seconds over Bourbon County’s Bryce Watkins, and senior Aiden Nevels won the 110-meter hurdles by four-hundredths of a second over Harrison County’s Tanner Turney.
Close as Nevels’ win was, Caden Schroeder’s victory in the 800 was closer – a .001 margin over Bourbon County’s Jesus Mendoza-solis (2:01.077-2:01.078).
Mendoza-solis and Bourbon County’s Nate Berry passed Schroeder with about 150 meters left.
“Then, nearing the end, I pushed back through, back to the front, and passed (Mendoza-solis) by just a hair,” Schroeder said. “This is my first regional in track.”
Schroeder, who’s headed to Purdue to study Mechanical Engineering, finished second to Mendoza-solis by nearly a second in the 400.
Other Highlands top three finishers included: Tenzing Lindeman in discus (third place, 133 feet, 7 inches), Dalton Williams in shot put (third, 45-8 ½), and Miles Harris and Rilen Pinkston in pole vault (second and third, 12-6 and 12-0, respectively.)
Holmes’ boys placed fourth with 47 points, and Scott was eighth with 23.
Hill tops sprints
Football has been in Holmes senior Curtez Hill’s heart ever since his days with the Bengal Tigers youth program, but Tuesday, his feet scorched the sprints.
Hill plans to attend Eastern Kentucky University (he ran for 1,467 yards and 14 touchdowns last season). Tuesday, he won the 100 (11.12 seconds) and 200 (22.11), and joined Robert Cameron, Quinton Ross-Tyus and Mayne White to finish second in the 4×100 relay (44:01).
“I’ve played football my whole life,” Hill said. “I’ve been running, too, but football has always been in my heart.”
As far as Holmes coach Jonathan Hopkins is concerned, Hill is the best runner in his 13 years guiding the Bulldogs.
“We probably won’t have another kid like that for another 20 years,” Hopkins said. “He’s a once-in-a-lifetime athlete.”
Hill hated the 200 at first because it was too long. “But as I ran it, I figured it wasn’t that long, and I started getting into it,” he said. “I didn’t know (anything) about running the curve.”
Johnson prefers solitude
Holmes junior Ja Nia Johnson wouldn’t mind high jump in an empty stadium.
Those who saw Johnson Tuesday should’ve been impressed. Her 5-foot-1 leap was an inch higher than Lexington Catholic’s Kate Regard’s 5-0.
Johnson likes the high jump because “It’s the only time I get to fly,” but she’d instead do it with nobody watching.
“I’m an introvert,” she said. “I don’t like being around people. It’s not like I have problems with people … At the same time, that’s not where I get my energy from. I get it from being alone and building myself up.”
Highlands girls take third
A little more than seven seconds kept Highlands from second place in the girls team standings.
Lexington Catholic won with 143 points. Bourbon County, thanks to its second-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay (Highlands was third), edged the Bluebirds, 112-110.
Highlands was strongest in the field events: Haley Zell won the long jump (16-7.25) and triple jump (34-3), Rylee Swope won the discus (99-11) and placed second in the shot put (32.5), and Maggie Ossege was second in triple jump and third in long jump.
Zell, who also finished second in the 100, said triple jump is her favorite event.
“Triple jump is just a lot of fun because it’s different than all the other events because you’re doing multiple things,” Zell said. “You jump three times.”
Scott’s girls placed fourth with 71 points, and Holmes was seventh with 22.
The top two finishers in each event automatically qualify for the state meet June 2 at the University of Kentucky. For complete regional results, visit live.kingtiming.com.