Greenwood, Bowling Green, Warren East finish top five at the Raider Classic
By Perry Swack
The Raider Classic was held at Warren East High School on Saturday, May 15. Sixteen boys’ teams and sixteen girls’ teams competed in this mega event. Many schools wanted to get a feel for the track and field at East, as the Class 2A and 3A regional championships will be held there in less than two weeks.
John Hardin took home the boys’ team title with 105 points. Greenwood placed second with 95, Daviess County in third with 83, Bowling Green in fourth with 71 points, and Warren East rounded out the top five with 62 total points. Warren Cental (53 points) placed sixth, South Warren (49) finished seventh, and Barren County (32) placed tenth. Logan County (24 points) placed twelfth, Franklin-Simpson (5) thirteenth, and Allen County-Scottsville (3) rounded out the meet in sixteenth place.
Cole Jackson continued his strong senior season with a victory in the 1600-meter run (4:31.45), and teammate Cates Duncan placed second (4:33.64). Jackson and Duncan partnered with TelTel Long and Hunter Durkee to place second in the 4×400-meter relay, missing the top spot by less than a second. Durkee went on to place second in the high jump with a score of 6-00, while Sebastian Conwell won the discus throw with a score of 123-01. The senior Conwell also won the shot put, scoring 42-02.75 in the finals.
Bowling Green’s Jaden Shannon and Javy Bunton finished .01 seconds apart from one another in the 100-meter dash, taking third and fourth respectively. The pairing teamed up with Jaden Echols and Easton Barlow to win the 4×100-meter relay, eking by John Hardin by .03 seconds with a time of 45.12. Senior Thomas Tinius won the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 52.27 seconds, and the freshman Barlow won the triple jump with a final score of 41-06.
Warren East’s fifth-place finish overall was kicked off with a third-place finish in the 4×200-meter relay led by Kavon Faison, Damien Boards, Connor Doyle, and Isaiah Ghee’s time of 1:36.18. The quartet also placed third in the 4×100-meter relay after racing a time of 45.84 seconds. Sophomore Isaiah Andrews placed third in the high jump with a score of 6-00. Faison nearly won the long jump with a score of 19-02.50 but settled for second. Sophomore Simon Ghee finished in third at the shot put, scoring 38-10.50 in the finals.
Warren Central sophomore Deanglo Patterson had another strong performance at the 100-meter dash, finishing second with a time of 11.47 seconds. Patterson then joined with Izayiah Villafuerte, Malik Jefferson, and Summy Manirakiza to place second in the 4×200-meter relay. The junior Manirakiza placed third in the long jump with a score of 18-10, and the sophomore Jefferson took second in the triple jump at 40-01.
The Spartans of South Warren finished just behind Central and placed seventh. South’s 4×800 relay started the day with a second-place finish, led by Brandon Irvin, Hunter Clemons, Bryce McAlister, and Ethan Luis’ time of 8:33.21. Sophomore Charlie Hendrix then placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 18.19 seconds, while fellow sophomore Kellen Patterson finished third in the 1600-meter runwith a time of 4:48.98. The junior Clemons also finished second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:27.32.
Barren County sophomore Will Fant won the pole-vaulting competition with a final-round score of 10-06. It bested his seeding score by over two points (8-00). Junior Tyler Wilson finished fourth in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 23.95 seconds in the finals. Logan County senior Jonah Oliver finished third in the discus throw with a final score of 110-01, while fellow senior Neil Coursey placed second in the shot put with a final score of 39-09. Franklin-Simpson’s Cass Newland placed fourth in the event with a score of 38-04.50.
