From Bellevue to Belfry to Bardstown, public school children took state achievement tests this week.
Bellevue’s boys track team passed an extra exam Tuesday – the Tigers won the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Division III team title at Ludlow over Villa Madonna Academy, 107-87.
The Tigers’ win was the first since 1997 – a goal coach Lavar Herron didn’t emphasize.
“I’ve been really focused on getting them prepared mentally and physically more than anything else,” Herron said.
Herron and Vikings coach Brian Rapien agreed that Tuesday was largely a contest between Bellevue’s sprinters and hurdlers versus Villa Madonna’s middle- and long-distance runners.
The sprinters prevailed: junior Dakarai Minor won the 300-meter hurdles – his time of 40.94 seconds is a Top 25 time in the state – and finished second at 110 hurdles (16.93) and 200 dash (24.23); and the Tigers won the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays.
“Bellevue has incredible sprinters, incredible jumpers, and they ran so well in those events,” Rapien said, “and that was kind of the big difference.”
Bellevue’s win didn’t diminish what Villa seniors Alex Chadwick and Max Watson did.
Chadwick won the 800 (a personal record 2:10.02), 1,600 (4:48.63) and 3,200 (10:37.17).
“He’s a senior, sorry to see him go,” Rapien said.
Watson, meanwhile, won the shot put (47-3), discus (a personal record 144-0) and javelin (PR, 146-2).
Newport was third with 75 points. Ludlow was fourth with 60, followed by Dayton with 52, Williamstown with 10 and Calvary Christian with 2.
Dayton sophomore Malachi Kennedy and Newport sophomore Zaequan Sharp and Ludlow sophomore Nicoli Abbott won two events each.
Sharp won the 100 in 11.34 and 200 in 23.50. Kennedy won the 110 hurdles (15.89) and the high jump (6-2) placed him among the top 25 in the state in both, and Abbont won the long jump and triple jump.
Newport freshman Jonah Joseph won the 400, and Bellevue’s Ian Babin won the pole vault.
Kennedy was named NKAC Division III Boys Athlete of the Year.
Vikings win girls team title
Villa Madonna easily won its ninth consecutive team title over Bellevue, 132-86. To Rapien, a holistic approach is the reason.
“We tried to have a family,” Rapien said. “We try to have a well-rounded team who supports each other the entire way, and we have some great event coaches that really work well with the kids.
“So our goal every year is just to have that well-rounded team that will be able to score points in every event and support each other all along the way.”
And for the ninth straight time, the Vikings were spherical.
There were individual distance wins: eighth-grader Abigail Ford and seventh-grader Jasmine Cozmanciuc finished 1-2 in the 1,600; senior Lena Schroeder won the 400, junior Norie Barker and Ford were tops in the 800, and Cozmanciuc and junior Lily Lewis were first and second in the 3,200.
Villa also won the 3,200 (Cozmanciuc, Barker, Ford and Schroeder) and 1,600 (Norie Barker, Emily Barker, Anna Kolar and Schroeder) relays, and junior Lucy Vick won the high jump and pole vault.
Ludlow was third with 61 points, Newport was fourth with 55, and Dayton was fifth with 34.
Bellevue senior Chloe Meyers was the lone girls three-event winner, taking the shot put, discus and javelin.
Bellevue freshman Emily Goodwin was named Girls Division III Athlete of the Year. She won the 100 and 200 dashes.
Other individual event winners were: Newport’s Rylinn Herndon in the 100 hurdles, Bellevue freshman Mikora Kirkland in the long jump, Dayton sophomore Bailee Clark in the triple jump.
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