Campbell County’s girls track and field team spent much of Monday evening checking their phones for the latest updates.
Cooper’s boys coach Jeff Wurtz, meanwhile, hoped his first season would end with a Class 3A, Region 5 team title.
Both the Camels and Jaguars got what they wanted at Scott High School. Campbell County defeated Dixie Heights, 104-95, while Cooper squeaked past Ryle, 128-117.
Monday was Campbell County’s first girls team title since 2012 – a come-from-behind victory a little like Golden Tempo’s winning the Kentucky Derby last Saturday. It wasn’t a certainty until the Camels’ Mariah Burton, Allison McKee, Meryem Gonulates and Lila Dunlevy held off Notre Dame by 24 hundredths of a second in the 4×400.
“At one point we were fifth, and then all of a sudden,” McKee said. “And then all of a sudden we were second, and then we checked it five minutes later, and we were in first.”
Wurtz was “beyond thrilled” with the results.
“This is my first time head coach, first time coaching varsity,” Wurtz said. “… It was an absolute team effort to pull this off.”
For McKee’s mom, aka Campbell County coach Toni McKee, Monday was an example of winning without a superstar athlete.
“We knew coming into region that we were going to be fighting Dixie (Heights), Ryle, Notre Dame,” she said. “We knew we were going to have to score in multiple places and not necessarily rely upon any big dogs, but really just try to double up in points in places where maybe we weren’t expected.”
Burton contributed 20 points by winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes and joining Hailey Roomes, Kaylie Scales and Kendall Wallace to take the 4×200. There was more: Katherine McKee’s third place in the 3,200; Dunlevy’s second in the 800; Emma Naylor winning the pole vault.
Ryle’s girls finished third with 89 points, Cooper was fourth with 80, and Notre Dame took fifth with 75.
Four fingers
It absolutely helped Cooper to have senior Paul Van Laningham wearing the Jaguars’ maroon and gold – he won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and ran the anchor leg of the winning 4×800 relay. Just before he crossed the finish line in the 3,200, he celebrated by holding up his four fingers – one for each win.
“Paul can’t win the event by himself,” Wurtz said. “But he sure tried.”
Van Laningham said the 3,200 was his favorite because it was his last race.
“So it’s easier to just let it go, just run it,” he said.
Van Laningham was not Cooper’s only regional champion – Carson Clark won the shot put, Julienne Knuckles took the high jump, and Corey Freihofer won the pole vault.
Dixie Heights’s boys were third with 74 points, Conner was fourth with 53, and Boone County took fifth with 51.
Wurtz didn’t opine about what Cooper would do at the state meet May 23 in Lexington.
“I haven’t seen exactly the amount of people we have going,” Wurtz said. “I know we have a lot, so I think we can do well.”
‘Come for it all’
Simon Kenton senior Alexis Howard was a triple gold medalist Monday – she won the 100, long jump and triple jump.
The only thing missing is a state outdoor title – Howard has never won one.
“I’ve got to come for it all this year,” she said. “It’s my last year. I’ve gotta really push myself to do what I know I can do.”
Susan Jenkins is Simon Kenton’s second-year coach. She said she would “probably never coach another athlete like Alexis just because she’s phenomenal in her abilities.”
There’s a backstory in Independence. Howard – and the Pioneers – did not have a coach until Jenkins, Simon Kenton’s school counselor, took the job.
“I wanted to make sure that the kids were able to have a season last year,” Jenkins said.
Visit milesplit.live (bit.ly/4wq5hUZ) for complete results. The top two finishers in each event automatically qualify for the state meet May 24 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Then the next 10 best times or distances from around the state at the region meets also automatically qualify.