Russellville’s Jermani Morris will compete in three events
By Perry Swack
The KHSAA State Track and Field Championships kick off on Thursday, June 10 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Complex in Lexington. The Class 1A meet will be held first, followed by the 2A meet on Friday, and the 3A meet on Saturday. Five schools from what is generally considered the 4th Region will be competing in the Class 1A meet and will be looking to make some noise after strong performances at region.
Monroe County sophomore Aubrey Graves will be seeded second in the pole-vaulting competition after winning the region title with a score of 9-00. Teammate Ova Turner is also in the competition after finishing as region runner-up with a final tally of 8-00. The seventh grader is seeded fifth. The Lady Falcon program holds the state record at the Class 1A level as Grace Turner set it with a 12-01 in 2019. On the boys’ pole-vaulting side, Jackson Hollinsworth is seeded seventh after finishing second at region with an 11-00. Senior Jameson Pruitt is seeded sixth in the boys’ shot put after winning the region title with a score of 44-01.50. Fellow Falcon senior Jacob Wood will be competing in the long jump competition after scoring 18-11 at region, while Turner will participate in the girls’ high jump where she is seeded seventh. On the track, Graves will race in the 100-meter dash alongside teammate Hailee Garmon. Garmon will also compete in the 200-meter dash.
Russellville freshman Jermani Morris will be competing in three events after qualifying for the 100, 200, and 400-meter dash. She qualified for each event after finishing second in all three at the region meet. In the 100, she ran a time of 13.24 seconds, the 200 a time of 27.65 seconds, and the 400 a time of 1:06.33. Based on seeding, her best chance at a state title may come at the 100 or 200 as she is among the top ten seeds. Panther senior Chaun Cheaney qualified for the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.27 and will be seeded seventeenth.
Metcalfe County will be sending four athletes to the state meet led by junior Devan Alderson, who will compete in both the long jump and the high jump. He is seeded eighth in the high jump after tying for first at region with a final-round score of 10-00. Lady Hornet senior Allie Thomas will compete in the 3200-meter run after placing second at region with a time of 13:18.26. Anna Grace Blythe will be competing in the 400-meter run, and Autumn Spillman will take part in the high jump.
Todd County Central will send two athletes to the state meet. Juniors Xazvion West and Angel Villanueve will be competing in the shot put and discus respectively. Cumberland County will send two athletes to compete in two different events. Freshman Graci Craft will be running the 800 and 1600-meter races, while sophomore Garrett Scott will also be competing in the 800 and 1600-meter runs on the boys’ side.
