By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper eighth-grader Simone Bessong had the third-fastest qualifying time in the Class 3A girls 200-meter dash going into Saturday’s state championship meet, but she finished first in the event and received the only gold medal won by a local athlete.
The young sprinter also placed fourth in the 400 dash to account for 14 of the 23 points scored by the Jaguars, who finished 14th in the girls team standings. Louisville Manual won the girls state title with 58 points.
The two local runners who finished second at the girls state meet events were Ryle junior Madison Rabe in the 300 hurdles and Conner junior Ashlyn Vanlandingham in the 800 run. The only third-place finisher from a local school was Dixie Heights senior Allison Arnett in the high jump.
Louisville St. Xavier won the boys state meet with 79 points and Covington Catholic placed fifth with 40.
Two seniors were CovCath’s scoring leaders. Luke Stegman placed second in the discus and third in the shot put. Leo Bouldin placed second in 200 dash, fourth in the 110 hurdles and was a member of the 4×100 relay team that placed second.
Team scores and complete results in each event are on the khsaa.org website.
GIRLS EVENTS
200 dash — 1st: Simone Bessong (Cooper) 24.92
300 hurdles — 2nd: Madison Rabe (Ryle) 45.12
800 run — 2nd: Ashlyn Vanlandingham (Conner) 2:17.45
BOYS EVENTS
4×100 relay — 2nd: Covington Catholic (Reid Hummel, Leo Bouldin, Zion Mason, Brett Rottinghaus) 42.28
200 dash — 2nd: Leo Bouldin (CovCath) 21.43
Discus — 2nd: Luke Stegman (CovCath) 156-01
MIXED UNIFIED
4×100 relay — 1st: Boone County (Gedeon Aenenanu, Mitchell Shelley, Braden McCarty, Trent Sullivan) 59.41
2×50 relay — 2nd: Boone County (Trent Sullivan, Braden McCarty) 14:09
Long jump — 2nd: Trent Sullivan (Boone County) 23-08 3/4