By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Strong performances in all four relays enabled Beechwood to win the Class 1A boys track and field state meet for the second time in three years on Thursday at the University of Kentucky.
The Tigers topped the boys team standings by scoring 34 of their 63 total points in four relays. Brossart finished second with 41 points, netting 14 points in two relays.
Lexington Christian took the girls team title for the second straight year with 126 points. Beechwood won a tight battle with Brossart for second place by a 77-70 margin.
In boys relay races, Beechwood finished first in the 4×800 and 4×100, second in the 4×200 and third in the 4×400.
The Tigers’ top scorer in individual events was Brody Aylor, who won the 200 dash and placed third in the 100 to provide 16 points.
Aylor was the anchor runner on the winning 4×100 relay team that included Nathan Pabst, Cole Haskins and Chase McDaniel. Beechwood’s 4×200 foursome of Aylor, Pabst, McDaniel and Westin Wyant finished second to Danville by a fraction of a second.
The Tigers who won the 4×800 distance relay were Gannon Parke, Elijah Muck, Braxton Lindloff and Charlie Skeen.
Beechwood’s leading scorer in the girls state meet was junior sprinter Caroline Nordman, who finished first in the 100 and 400 and second in the 200 for a total of 28 points.
Her senior teammate Lily Parke capped her successful high school career with victories in the 800 and 1600 for the third consecutive year.
Nordman and Parke were also members of the 4×400 relay team that placed second ahead of Brossart to secure the state runner-up trophy.
Brossart senior Ava Walters also ended her high school career on a high note by winning the shot put and distance events for the second consecutive year. Her throw of 133 feet, 9 inches in the discus set a new Class 1A outdoor state record.
The only local gold-medal winning girls relay team was Walton-Verona in the 4×200 with Abrielle Hooten, Maci Pettit, Josie Holtzapple and Maggie Meyer sharing the baton. That same group finished second in the 4×100 relay.
Complete results from the Class 1A state meet are posted on the khsaa.org website.
Class 1A track and field state champions
BOYS EVENTS
200 dash — Brody Aylor (Beechwood) 22.73
4×800 relay — Beechwood (Gannon Parke, Elijah Muck, Braxton Lindlff, Charlie Skeen) 8:27.88
4×100 relay — Nathan Pabst, Cole Haskins, Chase McDaniel, Brody Aylor) 44:05
GIRLS EVENTS
100 dash — Caroline Nordman (Beechwood) 12.73
400 dash — Caroline Nordman (Beechwood) 58.58
800 run — Lily Parke (Beechwood) 2:18.03
1600 run — Lily Parke (Beechwood) 5:01.58
Shot put — Ava Walters (Brossart) 38-0
Discus — Ava Walters (Brossart) 133-09 (Class 1A state record)
4×200 relay — Walton-Verona (Abrielle Hooten, Maci Pettit, Josie Holtzapple, Maggie Meyer) 1:47.50