This past Saturday afternoon, teams from around the region converged upon Paducah Tilghman High School to compete in the annual Area 1 Championship meet.
Taking the overall team victories for the day were the Calloway County Lady Lakers and the McCracken County Mustangs, with the boy’s overall results coming down to the final event of the evening, with only two points separating McCracken and Marshal heading into the 4x400 relay.
In an excellent evening for the Mustangs, James Barragan put forward elite performances to take first place in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, with Cooper Falconite finishing closely behind in fourth and third in either event. Lezharia Bolen took first place in the girls’ 200-meter dash while coming in second for the 100-meter dash.
The boy’s relay team finished in the top spot for the 4x100 and 4x400 relays while taking fourth and fifth in the 4x200 and 4x800, respectively.
Rounding out the afternoon for the Mustangs, Caleb Joyce claimed first place in the pole vault, while Cannon Ford and Annaleise Ruzich took second place in their respective 300M hurdle events.
Looking towards Calloway County, several podium finishes pushed the Lakers to claim the top spot in the overall girl’s competition.
Notably, Jaidan Koch and Reese Settle took first place in the 800 and 1600M runs, respectively, while Alec Rodgers and Olivia Miles finished first and second in the high jump event. Including a first-place finish in the 4x800 relay, Calloway’s girls racked up 13 top-three finishes in the afternoon.
The Marshall County Marshals took second place in the boy’s overall standings, narrowly losing out to McCracken County on the night’s final event, the 4x400 relay. Kobey Yates claimed the top spot in the 3200M run, while Jordon Clapp took home first in the triple jump. Deegan Croley dominated the throwing events for the Marshals, taking first in both the shot put and discus events.
The Marshall County girl’s relay teams had a fine evening, taking first in both the 4x200 and 4x400 events while finishing second and third in the 4x100 and 4x800. Other noteworthy victories for the Marshals include Izzy Washburn’s top finish in the pole vault and Presley Gallimore taking the top spot in the 400M dash.
As for the hosts, the Tornado’s relays teams put forward a handful of good showings, with the girl’s team taking first and second in the 4x100 and 4x200 events, while the boys claimed third and fourth in the 4x100 and 4x400. Jasline English performed exceptionally well in both dash events, finishing first in the 100M event while taking second in the 200M. Other first-place finishes for the Tornado include Alec Coffie in the girl’s long jump, Jayla Reed taking the top spot in the girl’s discus, and Liam Black winning the boy’s 1600M run.