Northern Kentucky athletes put in strong performances at the Kentucky Class 3A state track and field meet.
The top team scores came on the girls side with Dixie Heights scoring 25 to tie for seventh and Ryle scoring 24, tying for ninth. Louisville Dupont Manual won the meet with 117 points.
“We’ve been building this program up for the last couple years,” said Justin Bryant, Dixie Heights Head Coach. “We’re thankful the administration has stuck with us through the process. We have most everyone back next year. We hope to come back next year and finish higher than seventh.”
Campbell County freshman Olivia Holbrook scored all 13 points for the Camels. Holbrook took second in the 800m, finished in 2:16.36, and fourth in the mile run, finishing in 5:05.79.
“It took a lot of good workouts and doing exercise,” Holbrook said. “I’ll just keep working hard and do the best I can do. I just tried to stay with (two runners) in the 800 then kick it in at the end.”
Simon Kenton scored the most on the boys side with 15, good for 12th place. Louisville St. Xavier won the meet with 81 points. Pioneer senior Xander Ritter scored most of the points placing second in the 300m hurdles with a time of 38.28 seconds, and third in the 110m hurdles, finishing in 14.8 seconds.
Senior Greysen Gerth scored the other Pioneer point, placing eighth in the pole vault at 12 feet, 6 inches.
“I felt really well all around,” Ritter said. “I was a little disappointed with my 110 time. I wanted to get the win of course. I was looking (for a personal record). I had a huge personal record in the 300 and I couldn’t be happier with that.”
Dixie Heights junior Abigail Kopp led the Colonels placing fourth in the 200m dash, finishing in 25.91 seconds, and sixth in both the 100m (finishing in 12.76 seconds) and the 400m (finishing in 59.01 seconds). Kopp also anchored a leg in the mile relay that finished third with a time of 4:02.51 with teammates Harper Allen, Emily Bruns and Veronica Orr. Orr also took eighth in the 400m, finishing in 59.9 seconds. Bruns finished eighth in the 300m hurdles, finishing in 48.66 seconds.
“There are times when you don’t feel like running at the end of a race,” Kopp said. “But you have to do it.”
Senior Alivia Carter placed eighth in the shot put firing it 33-11.5.
The Dixie Heights 400m relay team of Jade Calhoun, Jordan Faulkner, Kaylee Olberding and Jayden Profitt took fourth place with a finish time of 50.44 seconds.
Senior and Western Kentucky University commit Madison Rabe led the Ryle Raiders girls team. She placed third in the 300m hurdles in 45.18 seconds and fourth in the 100m hurdles in 15.72 seconds.
“Coming off last year, I lost to the top girl by .02 seconds (in the 300 hurdles),” Rabe said. “I still pushed and trained hard. I definitely couldn’t have been here without my teammates and my coach. I’m glad I got to qualify for all four events this year. Last year, I qualified for two. There’s just a lot of great competition.”
Sophomore Allie Hungler placed fourth in the long jump at 16-11.75. Freshman Allison Kopser took seventh in the mile in 5:16.32. Allison Kopser, Renae Kopser, Angelina Harris and Yasmin Garcia helped the two-mile relay team to a third-place finish in 9:39.25.
“My coach (Shawn R. Proffitt) has been an inspiration. He’s been helping me for a while,” Allison Kopser said. “He knows what to say to me at the right times.”
Conner scored 14 points. Sophomore Isabella Vonlehman took third in the 100m with a finish time of 12.51 seconds. She also placed fifth in the 200m with a finish time of 25.91 seconds. Vonlehman also teamed up with Chanler Bhoolai, Paige Becknell and Ashlyn Vanlandingham to place seventh in the mile relay in a time 4:11.06. Freshman Isabella Gay took eighth in the two-mile with a time of 11:24.76.
“It’s definitely believing in yourself and always appreciating every step of the way with people that helped get you there,” Vonlehman said. “My trainers and my coaches who have been with me through some hip injuries then my teammates and club coaches who have pushed me even further than I could ever imagine.”
Notre Dame finished with 10 points. Panda freshman Ella Goetz took third in the shot put with a throw of 37-1.25.
“I just listen to my coaches. They tell me what I need to do,” Goetz said. “I beat my personal record from last year. I have to work on my technique and form so next year, I can hopefully hit 40 (feet).”
Senior Natalie Bain took fifth in the 400m dash, finishing in 58.3 seconds.
Simon Kenton scored 2.5 points. Eighth-grader Alexis Howard took seventh in the 100m dash, finishing in 12.77 seconds. Junior Savannah Seiter tied for eighth in the high jump at 4-10.
Cooper finished with 14 points on the boys side. Junior Austin Liversgowdy finished fourth in the 400m dash in 49.89 seconds and senior Joshua Stepner took fourth in the 800m in 1:57.46. Those two along with Elijah Harrison and Preston Winiger helped the Jaguars to a fifth-place finish in the mile relay in 3:28.46.
“I’ve been training hard all season,” Stepner said. “The conditions were pretty much perfect out here. I used the pack to help me pull along. I did what I could.”
Conner and Ryle both finished with 12 points. Senior Joseph Impellitteri took fourth in the mile run for the Cougars finishing in 4:19.18. Junior George Johnson took seventh in the two-mile with a time of 9:32.89.
For the Raiders, the two-mile relay team of Samuel Webb, Jacob Line, Rian Gallagher and Evan Smith took third with a time of 8:03.86. The mile relay team of Webb, Gallagher, Collin Hitch and Braxton Portwood took seventh with a time of 3:29.91.
Sophomore Benjamin Coker took seventh in the long jump with a distance of 21-1. Sophomore Tiger Bartlett took eighth in the mile, finishing in 4:23.81. Junior Kaden Gardner took eighth in the 300m hurdles, finishing in 40.29 seconds.
Covington Catholic finished with 11 points. Freshman Will Sheets took fourth in the mile.
“I think I could have raced a little bit smarter,” Sheets said. “I think if I’d have taken the guys that ran the mile out harder, I could have broke them early. But you learn. I’m not too experienced at this. I have more I can do.”
The 400m relay team of Seth Gruner, Zion Mason, Ty Rottinghaus and Reid Hummel took third in 42.75 seconds.
“We’ve been working all year on it,” Mason said. “We finally put it together and ran a good race out of the second heat. Our coach does a great job with the handoffs on sync and timing. We practice it three times a week. It’s precise, quick. We just hand it in there and keep it going.”