The RCHS track and field team traveled to Casey County on April 30th for the AA Derby Invitational.

The boy’s team did a great job in their performances and had some good things to conclude from their strong efforts. The boy’s 4X400 relay team (Jackson Evans, Nick Britt, Jeron Hammond and Aaron Pierce) broke the AA Derby record along with Mercer Co. team, which earned them an KY Elite ranking with a time of 3:37.44, they placed second in the event behind Mercer.

These guys are just now running their best races, which is great considering regional is coming up in about 3 weeks, whereas teams like Mercer Co. have not improved on their times and are at their peak performances.

The same grouping of guys ran the 4X100 relay, winning the race with the best time of the season (45.77), with great handoffs making the race a smooth win for the relay team.

They also placed 3rd in the 4X200 relay with a time of 1:36.87. The boy’s 4X800 relay team placed 4th (Trevor Robertson, Jake Blakey, Luis Medrano and Robert Montville).

Jackson Evans placed 5th in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.06, his season best time.

Trevor Robertson placed 4th in the mile run, not running his best race and placed 3rd in the 800 run and 3rd in the 2 mile run.  

Luis Medrano placed 5th in the 2 mile run, and is improving each race.  Justin Roy placed 5thin the shot put with Mark Williams placing 4th in the discus throw.

Nick Britt placed 3rd in the long jump and Jake Blakey placed 3rd in the high jump rounding out the field events.

The girls gave a good effort in their performances, especially with many of them hampered by injuries currently.

Bailey Bean ran the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 18.78 placing 6th, and she had a heartbreaking outcome in the 300 meter hurdles after leading the way for a first place finish, and what would have been a number 1 seed in the region in time, she missed the last hurdle and was disqualified from the race.

Bailey is a very strong hurdler, and her incident with the race will only make her a stronger competitor as she gains more experience.

The 4X200 relay team placed fifth (Emily York, Anya Lin, Gabby Bean and Breanna Hudson). Heather Owens placed 6th in the 1 mile and 3rd in the 2 mile run, with her times improving in both races. The 4X100 relay team placed 5th (Anya Lin, Taylor Irvin, Katie Williams and Hudson).

Ally Harris ran the 800 meter run and placed third after running the event for the first time in the season with a personal best time of 2:35.43. The 4X400 relay team placed 3rd (Emily York, bailey Bean, LeeAnn Grider and Harris).

Emily Wilson placed a strong 3rd in the shot put and placing 4th was Sophie Koester.

Emily Wilson placed 3rd in the discus throw to round out the female throwing events. Bailey Bean placed 3rd in the long jump with Heather Owens placing 4th in the event.

Taylor Irvin placed 5th in the triple jump and Erica Mann placed 6th in the event.

Erica Mann currently holds the number 1 spot in triple jump for 8th grade girls in the state. Selena Padilla placed 3rd in the high jump with LeeAnn Grider placing 4th, and making her jump of 4-06 for a personal best of the season for Grider. The next big meet will be the Boyle County Invitational on May 14th. Congratulations to Coach Misty Matney and her team.