BOYS' & GIRLS' PREP TRACK: Elizabethtown sweeps team titles at Class 2-A, Region 2 Meet (05/25)

Jill Pickett

Elizabethtown's Surea Sherman pushes through the end of the girls' 100-meter dash Saturday during the Class 2-A, Region 2 Track and Field Meet at LaRue County High School.

Buy this photo

Jill Pickett

LaRue County's Lyndsay Whitlock clears the last hurdle in the girls' 300 hurdles Saturday at the Class 2-A, Region 2 Track and Field Meet at LaRue County High School.

Buy this photo

Jill Pickett

Elizabethtown's Chris Black leads his heat in the boys' 400-meter dash Saturday during the Class 2-A, Region 2 Track and Field Meet at LaRue County High School.

Buy this photo

Jill Pickett

Elizabethtown's Jasmine Deaderick clears the bar in the girls' high jump Saturday during the Class 2-A, Region 2 Track and Field Meet at LaRue County High School.

Buy this photo

Jill Pickett

LaRue County's Joey Brown leaps into the pit Saturday while competing in the boys' long jump during the Class 2-A, Region 2 Track and Field Meet at LaRue County High School.

Buy this photo

By NATHANIEL BRYAN nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com HODGENVILLE — During a weekend in which many a local business will close in observance of the Memorial Day holiday, two area high school track and field programs took care of business Saturday afternoon at the 13-school Class 2-A, Region 2 Meet at LaRue County High School. The Elizabethtown Panthers and Lady Panthers rolled to team titles, while LaRue County’s boys were second and its Lady Hawks were fifth. “They definitely took care of business,” said Elizabethtown coach Dickie Jones, whose Panthers were runner-ups last year and whose Lady Panthers entered the meet in search of a three-peat. “They were all serious in practice from Tuesday on. You could tell they wanted it.” On the boys’ side, Elizabethtown finished with 128 points, more than double that of LaRue County (63 points). Butler County (61), Marion County (56) and Taylor County (53) rounded out the boys’ top five. The Lady Panthers (161) didn’t match the 162 points they scored last year, but they surged to a 93-point win over Warren East (68) compared to the 65-point victory they notched last season over LaRue County. Allen County-Scottsville (64 1/3), Taylor County (61) and LaRue County (56) rounded out the girls’ top five. The routs began Thursday at Elizabethtown as senior Madison Kuklinski and junior Kaylee Gabhart finished first and second in the girls’ pole vault and senior Evan Hiles and junior Ethan Jones matched their 18 points by going 1-2 in the boys’ pole vault. Elizabethtown never lost either lead Saturday. “The vaulters kind of went out and set the tempo for us,” Dickie Jones said. BOYS. After losing by 11 points last year to a senior-heavy Franklin-Simpson squad, Chris Black and the Panthers were determined not to finish second again. A senior, Black won the 200 dash, finished fourth in the 400 dash, joined sophomores Edmund Allen and Titus Sublett and junior Trevor Deneen on the Panthers’ championship-winning 400 relay team and teamed with Allen, Deneen and sophomore Ty Strader to finish second in the 800 relay. “(Losing) hurt us a little bit last year, but when we came back this year, we knew what we had to do,” said Black, whose team earned points in 17-of-18 events. “I told our guys before the meet started, ‘It’s right there for the taking. We just have to take it this time.’” Sophomore Chris Ulis also gave a strong performance, winning the triple jump and finishing in a two-way tie for third in the high jump. He hurt his right hip flexor in practice Tuesday and hadn’t practiced since then, instead using a whirlpool, wraps and medication to get by. “I guess I could have done better, but it was a good day for the team. But I’m happy. This being my first year, I’m happy to get to go to State (this coming weekend at the University of Louisville),” said Ulis, who also plays basketball for Elizabethtown. “But we knew what we had to do today. Everyone practiced hard all week and everyone did their part.” Also notching top-four finishes for the Panthers were Hiles in the shot put (fourth, 42-01.50), Jacobs in the discus throw (first, 142-02), Xavier Wilson in the high jump (second, 5-08.00) and triple jump (third, 40-03.50), Dominique Barnett in the 300 hurdles (second, 45.29) and Strader in the 800 run (third, 2:16.83). Deneen’s third top-four finish came in the discus (fourth, 130-04). His stepfather and Panthers’ assistant coach, Adam “Doc” Kinney, is currently stationed in Iraq. LaRue County also had several strong performances as sophomore Truman Padgett won the 400 dash (51.75) and teamed with senior Curtis Puryear, junior Seth Clifford and sophomore Bradley Dyson to finish third in the 1,600 relay (3:46.07). Puryear was also third in the 200 dash (24.02) and fourth in the 100 dash (11.75). Junior Sven Mamerow, a Swedish exchange student, was second in the 1,600 run (4:56.16) and teamed with Clifford, Bradley Dyson and freshman Josh Jones to finish fourth in the 3,200 relay (9:07.22). Sophomore Joey Brown was second in the long jump, while sophomore Brandon Dyson was third in the pole vault. GIRLS. Kuklinski started and finished her last local meet the same way – strong. After winning the pole vault, she teamed with senior Kristen Ballard, sophomore Chantee White and freshman Brianna Burt to win the 800 relay (1:50.78). She closed her day by teaming with Kaylee Gabhart, junior Deanna Maurer and White to win the 1,600 relay and give the Lady Panthers their seventh first-place finish. “We didn’t want this year to be the end of the streak,” said Kuklinski, who anchored both of the relays she was win and had to rally to win the pole vault after not clearing her first two heights. “You could see it all week in practice. This week’s practice was so much different than all of our other practices. We came to practice each day like this meet was our competition.” Whitney Maurer was another Lady Panther who finished her last local meet with three first-place finishes. Maurer, who is moving to Colorado next month with her sister, Deanna, and the rest of her family, swept the 1,600 and 3,200 runs and teamed with Kaylee Gabhart and fellow eighth-graders Samantha Matherly and Taylor Perkins to win the 3,200 relay. “I’m going to miss it a lot,” Maurer said. “In just two years, I’ve made a lot of close friends. It’s going to be sad to leave E’town.” Whitney Maurer and freshman Emily Buck gave Elizabethtown a strong one-two punch in the distance events as Buck finished second in the 3,200 run (12:34.83) and third in the 1,600 run (5:48.69). Those two events gave Elizabethtown 34 points, which were more than four points more than Adair County, Butler County, Edmonson County, Monroe County, Franklin-Simpson or Hart County scored all day. “That was really good to finish like that. That was our goal, to finish 1-2,” Buck said. “I felt pretty good in the mile (1,600), but the 2-mile (3,200) was so hot. Oh my gosh.” Perkins was fourth in the 200 dash (28.19) and teamed with Deanna Maurer and freshmen Kymbur Berrow and Brianna Burt to finish second in the 400 relay (54.00). Eighth-grader Jessica Gabhart and Ballard went 1-2 in the 300 hurdles (48.61, 50.35), while Ballard was also second in the 100 hurdles (18.00). Freshman Denisha Nichols was second in the discus and third in the shot, while junior Jasmine Deaderick was second in the high jump (4-08.00), White and Deanna Maurer were third and fourth in the 400 dash (1:02.15, 1:03.64) and Burt was fourth in the high jump (4-06.00). The LaRue County freshman duo of Shana Zajdel and Valerie Whitlock went 1-2 in the triple jump (32-04.00, 31-01.50). Zajdel teamed with sophomore Tanesha Woods and juniors Tai Phillips and Ashley Clairmont to finish fourth in the 800 relay (1:57.26), while Clairmont teamed with sophomore Meagan Williams and freshmen Emily Whitlow and Shelby Mouser to finish third in the 3,200 relay (10:56.13). The Lady Hawks’ other top-four finishes came from senior Ashtian Roso, freshman Lyndsay Whitlock and junior Haley Carrico. Roso was fourth in the 100 dash (14:05), while Lyndsay Whitlock was fourth in the 300 hurdles (52.27) and Carrico was fourth in the long jump (14-05.00). Nathaniel Bryan can be reached at 505-1758 CLASS 2-A, REGION 2 BOYS’ RESULTS HODGENVILLE — Results from Saturday’s 13-team, Class 2-A, Region 2 Meet at LaRue County High School: TEAM RESULTS (13 TEAMS)  1. Elizabethtown (E), 128 points; 2. LaRue County (LC), 63; 3. Butler County, 61; 4. Marion County, 56; 5. Taylor County 50; 6. Hart County, 50; 7. Warren East, 44; 8. Edmonson County, 36; 9. Adair County, 27; 10. Franklin-Simpson, 20; 11. Monroe County, 12; 13. Breckinridge County, 0. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 100 Dash, 15 Competitors  3. Titus Sublett (E)                                      11.74  4. Curtis Puryear (LC)                                  11.75  7. Truman Padgett (LC)                                11.97  8. Edmund Allen (E)                                     11.98 200 Dash, 14 Competitors  1. Chris Black (E)                                        23.55  3. Curtis Puryear (LC)                                  24.02  7. Edmund Allen (E)                                     24.56  9. Truman Padgett (LC)                                25.16 400 Dash, 15 Competitors  1. Truman Padgett (LC)                                51.75  4. Chris Black (E)                                        54.16  5. Bradley Dyson (LC)                                  55.96  9. Jerrell Mitchell (E)                                    57.29 800 Run, 13 Competitors  3. Ty Strader (E)                                       2:16.83  6. Sven Mamerow (LC)                              2:18.53  7. Jeremy Porter (E)                                  2:20.62 11. Jacob Jones (LC)                                  2:29.82 1,600 Run, 18 Competitors  2. Sven Mamerow (LC)                              4:56.16  6. Nathan Douglas (E)                               5:07.08  8. Ryan Durbin (LC)                                  5:10.11  9. Levi Hamilton (E)                                   5:15.91 3,200 Run, 15 Competitors  5. Ryan Durbin (LC)                                 11:23.05  6. Nathan Douglas (E)                             11:24.75  7. Levi Hamilton (E)                                 11:59.82 11. Alex Wood (LC)                                    12:32.27 110 Hurdles, 7 Competitors  5. Huu Nguyen (E)                                       18.68  X. Joey Brown (LC)                                          FS 300 Hurdles, 10 Competitors  2. Dominique Barnett (E)                              45.29  4. Aaron Miles (LC)                                      48.06 400 Relay, 7 Teams  1. Elizabethtown                                          45.71 (Edmund Allen,                                 Trevor Deneen, Titus Sublett,                                       Chris Black)  5. LaRue County                                         47.85 (Joey Brown,                                  Brandon Dyson, Billy Hardin,                                     Curtis Puryear) 800 Relay, 9 Teams  2. Elizabethtown                                       1:36.37 (Edmund Allen,                                      Ty Strader, Trevor Deneen,                                    Chris Black)  9. LaRue County                                      1:47.16 (Aaron Miles,                                        Billy Hardin, Josh Jones,                                          Alex Wood) 1,600 Relay, 9 Teams  3. LaRue County                                      3:46.07  (Curtis Puryear,                                 Seth Clifford, Bradley Dyson,                               Truman Padgett)  5. Elizabethtown                                       3:56.34 (B.J. Williams,                                       Ty Strader, Trevor Deneen,                                  Titus Sublett) 3,200 Relay, 9 Teams  4. LaRue County                                      9:07.22 (Seth Clifford,                                  Bradley Dyson, Josh Jones,                                    Sven Mamerow)  7. Elizabethtown                                       9:56.06 (Nathan Douglas,                              Jeremy Porter, Levi Hamilton,                                       Ethan Post) High Jump, 13 Competitors  2. Xavier Wilson (E)                                   5-08.00  3. Chris Ulis (E)                                        5-06.00  7. Bradley Dyson (LC)                                5-04.00  7. Brandon Dyson (LC)                              5-04.00 Long Jump, 14 Competitors  2. Joey Brown (LC)                                  18-11.75  6. Xavier Wilson (E)                                  17-06.00  7. Chris Ulis (E)                                      17-02.25 Triple Jump, 13 Competitors  1. Chris Ulis (E)                                      41-03.50  3. Xavier Wilson (E)                                  40-03.50  8. Brandon Dyson (LC)                             34-08.00 13. Jonathan Firquin (LC)                            30-06.50 Discus Throw, 19 Competitors  1. Thomas Jacobs (E)                                 142-02  4. Trevor Deneen (E)                                  130-04 13. Ben Widener (LC)                                     72-04 Shot Put, 16 Competitors  4. Evan Hiles (E)                                     42-01.50  5. Thomas Jacobs (E)                              41-11.25 14. Ben Widener (LC)                                 28-01.50 15. Jacob Jones (LC)                                 27-08.00 Pole Vault, 5 Competitors  1. Evan Hiles (E)                                     11-06.00  2. Ethan Jones (E)                                   10-06.00  3. Brandon Dyson (LC)                             10-00.00 GIRLS’ RESULTS HODGENVILLE — Results from Saturday’s 13-team, Class 2-A, Region 2 Meet at LaRue County High School: TEAM RESULTS (13 TEAMS)  1. Elizabethtown (E), 161 points; 2. Warren East, 68; 3. Allen County-Scottsville, 64 1/3; 4. Taylor County, 61; 5. LaRue County (LC), 56; 6. Marion County, 41; 7. Adair County, 29 2/3; 8. Butler County, 28; 9. Edmonson County, 22; 10. Monroe County, 9; 11. Franklin-Simpson, 8; 12. Hart County, 3; 13. Breckinridge County, 0. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 100 Dash, 16 Competitors  4. Ashtian Roso (LC)                                   14.05  7. Tesha Paysen (LC)                                  14.16 10. Rodricka Brice (E)                                    14.67 16. Sureau Sherman (E)                                 15.05 200 Dash, 15 Competitors  4. Taylor Perkins (E)                                    28.19  9. Jessica Gabhart (E)                                  28.93 11. Shana Zajdel (LC)                                    30.33 400 Dash, 19 Competitors  3. Chantee White (E)                                 1:02.15  4. Deanna Maurer (E)                                1:03.64  5. Tesha Paysen (LC)                                1:05.70 13. Haley Carrico (LC)                                 1:09.65 800 Run, 20 Competitors  6. Meagan Williams (LC)                            2:42.00  7. Samantha Matherly (E)                           2:42.21 11. Elisabeth Hinkle (E)                               2:48.65 13. Shelby Mouser (LC)                               2:49.67 1,600 Run, 14 Competitors  1. Whitney Maurer (E)                                5:38.04  3. Emily Buck (E)                                      5:48.69  6. Meagan Williams (LC)                            6:06.61 3,200 Run, 11 Competitors  1. Whitney Maurer (E)                              12:04.55  2. Emily Buck (E)                                     12:34.83  9. Emily Whitlow (LC)                               14:41.24 100 Hurdles, 10 Competitors  2. Kristen Ballard (E)                                   18.00  6. Ali Dilbeck (E)                                          19.50 10. Emily Goodman (LC)                                 21.96 300 Hurdles, 8 Competitors  1. Jessica Gabhart (E)                                  48.61  2. Kristen Ballard (E)                                   50.35  4. Lyndsay Whitlock (LC)                              52.27 400 Relay, 6 Teams  2. Elizabethtown                                          54.00 (Deanna Maurer,                             Kymbur Berrow, Taylor Perkins,                                   Brianna Burt)  5. LaRue County                                         54.89 (Ashley Clairmont,                            Octavia Phillips, Tanesha Woods,                                Shana Zajdel) 800 Relay, 6 Teams  1. Elizabethtown                                       1:50.78 (Brianna Burt,                                 Kristen Ballard, Chantee White,                           Madison Kuklinski)  4. LaRue County                                      1:57.26 (Ashley Clairmont,                            Octavia Phillips, Tanesha Woods,                                Shana Zajdel) 1,600 Relay, 10 Teams  1. Elizabethtown                                       4:14.53 (Deanna Maurer,                             Kaylee Gabhart, Chantee White,                           Madison Kuklinski)  3. LaRue County                                      4:19.10 (Haley Carrico,                              Lyndsay Whitlock, Tesha Paysen,                               Valerie Whitlock) 3,200 Relay, 8 Teams  1. Elizabethtown                                     10:33.54 (Samantha Matherly,                         Taylor Perkins, Kaylee Gabhart,                              Whitney Maurer)  3. LaRue County                                     10:56.13 (Ashley Clairmont,                              Emily Whitlow, Shelby Mouser,                             Meagan Williams) High Jump, 12 Competitors  2. Jasmine Deaderick (E)                            4-08.00  4. Brianna Burt (E)                                    4-06.00  5. Octavia Phillips (LC)                               4-06.00  X. Haley Carrico (LC)                                       NH Long Jump, 16 Competitors  4. Haley Carrico (LC)                                14-05.00  7. Brianna Burt (E)                                  13-11.25 10. Ashtian Roso (LC)                                13-06.25 13. Rodricka Brice (E)                                13-00.25 Triple Jump, 12 Competitors  1. Shana Zajdel (LC)                                32-04.00  2. Valerie Whitlock (LC)                            31-01.50  7. Kristen Ballard (E)                               28-09.00 10. Rodricka Brice (E)                                26-05.00 Discus Throw, 18 Competitors  2. Denisha Nichols (E)                                  99-10  8. Maggie Despain (LC)                                70-06 11. Ali Dilbeck (E)                                          61-09 12. Aeryl Cobb (CL)                                        61-06 Shot Put, 18 Competitors  3. Denisha Nichols (E)                              30-04.00  4. Kymbur Berrow (E)                               30-03.25  5. Aeryl Cobb (LC)                                   28-06.00 12. Kaity Skaggs (LC)                                24-07.75 Pole Vault, 3 Competitors  1. Madison Kuklinski (E)                            8-06.00

 2. Kaylee Gabhart (E)       7-00.00