The big winners from Tuesday’s Class 3A, Region 6 track and field meet

Sanaa Washington’s left shoulder since February has borne a tattoo of a lion, dressed in flowers. It represents strength and courage, she says.

The Bryan Station senior displayed plenty of each Tuesday night at the Class 3A, Region 6 track-and-field meet at Lafayette High School’s Ishmael Stadium. She left with individual victories in the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes, and in between them anchored the Defenders’ winning team in the girls 4-by-100 relay. She factored into 38 of Bryan Station’s 72 points on the evening, the final eight coming as the starting leg of their runner-up 4-by-400 team.

Washington posted her best times in the 100 (11.83 seconds) and 200 (:24.41) at the Defenders’ Woodall Invitational this month. Those marks are good for second and third, respectively, in Class 3A this season. She’s certain to be among the contenders June 1 at the Class 3A state championships.

What’s differentiated her performance this season from last?

“My training, my confidence, and just trusting the process,” said Washington, a Western Kentucky commit. “Last year, I felt like I wasn’t getting enough of what I needed, but this year I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’m ready for state.”

No cowardice detected.

Yellow Jackets sweep

Woodford County won the boys and girls team titles, becoming the first school to manage that feat since Lafayette swept in 2021.

Addison Moore, a sophomore distance star who won the Class 3A cross country title in the fall, claimed the 1600- and 800-meter runs to pace the girls, who cruised with 117.5 points. She also anchored the winning 4-by-800 relay team … twice.

That race was paused due to a timing-system error discovered about nine minutes into the race, as most participants were on their last leg. Coaches agreed to re-run the race 45 minutes after the completion of the final scheduled event, the boys 4-by-400 relay, allowing girls who ran in their 4-by-400 relay some time to rest before another long relay. Officially, the event was contested almost five full hours after its originally contested time.

“That’s just kind of the name of the game for this team this season: How do you handle adversity?” Woodford County coach Adam Swingle said. “We’ve had a lot of things go on in our season this year that just have been difficult to handle, and our team has always been there for each other. And they’ve always stepped up. It’s been just hard work to get to where we’re at.”

The boys’ lone win came in pole vault — junior Jackson Gray jumped 2 feet higher than his nearest challenger — but they posted several top-three finishes throughout the evening. Ryan Hendrix, also a distance runner, was responsible for two of those.

“The whole team’s been working really hard, we’ve been training really hard,” Hendrix said. “The team came together and kept pushing, and we showed people what we’re made of.”

Strawberry smoothie

Henry Clay sprinter Jayden Channer was thrilled to take the 100- and 200-meter wins — and not just because they locked in state tournament berths for a runner who was likely to qualify anyway.

Channer, a junior, had his sights set on sugary strawberry ice cream, delivered by way of Baskin-Robbins. A scoop? Maybe two? Nah, five of ’em, blended with milk and ice.

“People don’t know, if you get it in a smoothie form, you get more of it for cheaper,” Channer said. “And it’s easier to drink and actually consume. It’s a bunch of calories, it’s tasty. It’s a good reward after you win both of your events.”

Channer also ran the second leg for Henry Clay’s 4-by-100 team, which finished second to Tates Creek. Andrew Witherington, a senior, anchored the Commodores’ squad in that event before eking out a win in the 300 hurdles a few events later. He closed the night as Creek’s anchor for its winning 4-by-400 relay unit.

In the 300 win, Witherington embraced runner-up Montae Ashford of Bryan Station almost as soon as they crossed the finish line. He finished 0.1 seconds ahead of his friendly rival, and just 1.1 seconds in front of top-seeded Nashawn Brooks of Frederick Douglass.

“Me and Montae and Nashawn, we have a kind of community, being able to push each other and do it for the city,” Witherington said. “We just (wanna) get each other to state on good terms.”

Self-doubt

Keira Antoni is so good at running hurdles that she’ll be doing it for the University of Louisville next spring.

Antoni won both hurdles events — her :43.9 in the 300 was her best time of the season and not too far off a personal record posted in 2023 — and started for Dunbar’s victorious 4-by-400 team. But nerves remain a constant for the Paul Laurence Dunbar senior, whose knee buckled during the 100 hurdles but didn’t seem to affect her later in the night.

“It’s been a long few years, and there’s been a lot of self-doubt and stuff, but to be able to push through that and have coaches and friends that are so supportive of me, it’s meant a lot,” Antoni said. “Especially having a coach at Louisville who really believes in me.”

CLASS 3A, REGION 6 RESULTS

The top two finishers in each event automatically qualify for the state meet. Ten more will qualify based on statewide results. Complete results and state qualifiers will become available at KHSAA.org this week.

BOYS

Teams — 1. Woodford County 87, 2. Frederick Douglass 71, 3. Bryan Station 62, 4. Great Crossing 60, 5. Lafayette 55.5, 6. George Rogers Clark 51, 7. Scott County 44.5, 8. Tates Creek 44, 9. Henry Clay 37, 10. Paul Laurence Dunbar 24, 11. Anderson County 16, 12. Montgomery County 6.

Individuals — 4-by-800 relay: 1. Lafayette (James Ndayishimiye, Buzz Christensen, Andrew Grace, Xavier Richardson) 8:07.1; 2. Dunbar (Noah Mathews, Jonah Ivanov, Stephen Tackett, Josh Arnett) 8:16.9. 110 hurdles: 1. Nashawn Brooks, Douglass, 15.3; 2. Ayden Martin, Scott County, 15.7. 100: 1. Jayden Channer, Henry Clay, 10.9; 2. Darion Talbert, Douglass, 11.2. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Bryan Station (Jamel Gibson, Demond Green, Zay White, Montae Ashford) 1:29.4; 2. Great Crossing (Travvon Campbell, Jermiah Clark, Ray Enwa, Jacob Johnson) 1:30.0. 1,600: 1. James Ndayishimiye, Lafayette, 4:18.8; 2. Ryan Hendrix, Woodford County, 4:19.7. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Great Crossing (Trevvon Campbell, Jermiah Clark, Isaiah Johnson, Caden Seater) 42.9; 2. Woodford County (Jaiden Shegog, Davion Sturgis, Reese Allen, Leland Taylor) 43.0. 400: 1. Isaiah Spears, Douglass, 50.1*; 2. Ray Enwa, Great Crossing, 50.1*. 300 hurdles: 1. Andrew Witherington, Tates Creek, 40.5; 2. Montae Ashford, Bryan Station, 40.6. 800: 1. Liam Parido, George Rogers Clark, 1:57.8; 2. Canaan Thomas, Henry Clay, 1:58.0. 200: 1. Jayden Channer, Henry Clay, 22.0; 2. Leland Taylor, Woodford County, 22.2. 3,200: 1. Cooper Wasson, George Rogers Clark, 9:27.3; 2. Noah Mathews, Dunbar, 9:42.0. 4-by-400 relay: 1. Tates Creek (Senator Clay, Jayden Jones, Stephen Jones, Andrew Witherington) 3:35.2; 2. Dunbar (Ryan Barrett, Baron Smoot, Josh Arnett, Will Roenker) 3:39.8. Shot put: 1. Miles Hayward, Tates CReek, 48-08; 2. Samuel Garrison, Woodford County, 47-09. Discus: 1. Caden Taylor, Scott County, 144-08; 2. Tyler Meacham, Anderson County, 140-04.5. Long jump: 1. Joey Hill, George Rogers Clark, 22-10; 2. Davion Sturgis, Woodford County, 21-00. Triple jump: 1. Caden Seater, Great Crossing, 39-09.5; 2. Mason Jackson, Tates Creek, 39-07. High jump: 1. Bryson Carpenter, Bryan Station, 6-04; 2. Jack Lehmkuhler, Woodford County, 5-10. Pole vault: 1. Jackson Gray, Woodford County, 13-06; 2. Adam Vernon, Montgomery County, 13-00.

*Settled via tiebreaker.

GIRLS

Team — 1. Woodford County 117.5, 2. Lafayette 77, 3. Bryan Station 72, 4. Frederick Douglass 70, 5. Paul Laurence Dunbar 63, 6. George Rogers Clark 52, 7. Henry Clay 37.5, 8. Tates Creek 35, 9. Scott County 22, 10. Montgomery County 6, 11. Great Crossing 5, 12. Anderson County 1

Individuals — 4-by-800 relay: 1. Woodford County (Gabby Gampper, Claire Seitz, Larkyn Hewett, Addison Moore) 9:52.4; 2. Dunbar (Susanne Estepp, Lily Hautau, Mattie Finley, Natalie Seng) 10:07.5. 100 hurdles: 1. Keira Antoni, Dunbar, 16.2; 2. Peighton Okorley, Douglass, 16.6. 100: 1. Sanaa Washington, Bryan Station, 12.4; 2. Hannah McColl, Woodford County, 12.7. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Frederick Douglass (Mikalee Bennett, Jordan Conner-McCord, Fern Frost, Chloe Lewis) 1:43.9. 1,600: 1. Addison Moore, Woodford County, 5:13.1; 2. Sophia Anderson, Henry Clay, 5:21.5. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Bryan Station (Mikayla Garrard, Heavan Dobson, Dakya Jackson, Sanaa Washington) 48.1; 2. Frederick Douglass (Mikalee Bennett, Rylie Patton, Chloe Lewis, Adora Doodnauth) 49.8. 400: 1. Jordan Conner-McCord, Douglass, 57.5; 2. Teigh Yeast, George Rogers Clark, 58.3. 300 hurdles: 1. Keira Antoni, Dunbar, 43.9; 2. Avalynne Goins, Woodford County, 48.1. 800: 1. Addison Moore, Woodford County, 2:16.3; 2. Natalie Seng, Dunbar, 2:19.7. 200: 1. Sanaa Washington, Bryan Station, 24.7; 2. Hannah McColl, Woodford County, 25.5. 3,200: 1. Caroline Fritz, Lafayette, 11:48.5; 2. Katie Schweigardt, Tates Creek, 12:03.3. 4-by-400 relay: 1. Dunbar (Keira Antoni, mia Lewis, Jewel Crocker, Natalie Seng) 4:04.0; 2. Bryan Station (Sanaa Washington, Jatajza, Heavan Dobson, Izzy Spillman) 4:06.8. Shot put: 1. Narrah Wilson, Lafayette, 34-11; 2. Ashton Harris, Tates CReek, 31-11. Discuss: 1. Olivia Dabney, Woodford County, 115-04.5; 2. Madelyn Blakey, Lafayette, 113-07. Long jump: 1. Isabela Haggard, Dunbar, 18-00; 2. Iyana Leath, Douglass, 17-06. Triple jump: 1. Teigh Yeast, George Rogers Clark, 38-11.5; 2. Iyana Leath, Douglass, 36-04. High jump: 1. Patrick Reese, George Rogers Clark, 5-00; 2. Katherine Haynes, Henry Clay, 4-10. Pole vault: 1. Ella Sewell, Lafayette, 11-06; 2. Hollyn Renfro, Henry Clay, 11-00.

UNIFIED (unscored)

Individuals — Mixed shot put: 1. Demetrius Polk, Woodford County, 77-10; 2. Mayson Letcher, George Rogers Clark, 53-11. Mixed long jump: 1. Mayson Letcher, George Rogers Clark, 30-09.25; 2. Demetrius Polk, Woodford County, 28-06. Mixed 2-by-50 relay: 1. Woodford County (Braxton Brock, Demetrius Polk) 13.1; 2. Henry Clay ‘B’ (Elizabeth Nelson, George Williams) 13.8. Mixed 2-by-200 relay: 1. George Rogers Clark ‘C’ (Mayson Letcher, Yeremiah Israel) 51.8; 2. Woodford County (Zach Meckley, Demetrius Polk) 53.1.