Pulaski County boys’ middle cross-country and track and field coach Dave Evans and his team now have another title to add to their belts. After winning the KTCCCA Overall Middle School State Championship last November, the Maroons took home the Mason-Dixon Middle School Indoor Track State Championship on Friday night at Louisville’s Broadbent Arena.
The Maroons out-distanced Mason County 36 to 30, capturing the top in the middle school boys’ division in seven events. Meade County finished third with 28 points.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the meet,” stated Evans. “I knew I had some excellent runners and had a lot of faith that these boys would do well in the distance events, especially after our Championship cross-country season. A successful cross country season gave us a lot of confidence, but track is a different beast.”
The Maroons were without one of their top athletes, Caleb Cox, who was unable to participate due to illness. However, the consistent finishes of Pulaski played a vital part in the Maroon victory.
“We knew that was going to hurt us, but these boys did what they had to do to make up for his absence,” commended Evans on his team’s performance without Cox.
The Maroons placed three runners into the top eight spots in the 400-meter dash, with Jimmy Goldson coming in second with a clocking of 59.19. Kaleb Rowe and John David Bishop finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
Four Pulaski runners made their way into the first nine spots in the 800-meter run, as Jimmy Goldson led the way for the Maroons once again. Goldson outlasted team-mate Mason Blevins by four tenths of a second to finish fourth. Goldson’s time was 2:17.00 while Blevins’ time was 2:17.40. Mason Stevens and Austin Hyden rounded out the Maroons with eighth and ninth places finishes, respectively.
In the 1500-meter run, the two Masons, Mason Blevins and Mason Stevens, took top honors for Pulaski. Blevins finished seventh with a time of 4:56, while Stevens brought home a ninth place finish with a clocking of 4:58.
In the final running of the night, Pulaski grabbed fourth place in the 800-meter relay. The team of Elijah Long, Tommy Gohlson, Bishop, and Rowe ran a time of 1:55.
Austin Hyden came home with a second place finish in the long jump with a mark of 15’9”. It was Hyden’s first meet experience in the high jump.
“Austin Hyden’s perf-ormance in the long jump was amazing,” praised the Maroon head coach. “He had no prior experience and very little practice in this event, so coming away with a second place finish was a great accom-plishment for him. That seemed to get everyone fired up.”
Winning the outdoor season State title looks to be the next goal for the young Maroons.
“The future looks bright for this group of boys,” concluded Evans. “I am very hopeful about the upcoming outdoor track season. How awesome would itbe to win that state title too? Winning all threetitles in one year hasn’t been accomplished by a middle school team before. If any group of kids can do it, these kids can.”
On Saturday, Somerset and Pulaski County both competed in the 50th annual Mason-Dixon Games.
The Somerset boys’ team competed in the Class A division on Saturday morning.
The Briar Jumpers only had a handful of athletes compete on Saturday, but still had some quality results.
Jalen Jones had a pair of 11th place finishes in the triple jump and the long jump, and a 20th place finish in the 55-meter dash.
Christian Adams had a ninth place outing in the 800-meter run and finished 22nd in the 400-meter dash.
Cody Sutton grabbed the 18th spot in the 1500-meter run and had a 13th place finish in the 55-meter high hurdles.
Billy Roberts rounded out the top ten in the shot put.
Bardstown won the boys division with 81 points.
Both Pulaski’s girls and boys teams competed in the Class AAA division on Saturday night.
Pulaski Sophomore Tyler Jackson finished sixth in the high jump with a mark of 6’0” and 19th in the triple jump.
In the 55-meter hurdles, Zach Wooldridge grabbed the tenth spot with a clocking of 17.94.
After a successful Friday night in the middle school division, eighth-grader Jimmy Goldson had another good performance in the high school division. Being the youngest in the field, Goldson finished 14th in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:42.
Other finishers for Pulaski were: Ralph Letner finished 17th in the 55-meter dash; Levi Lima finished 22nd in the 400-meter dash; Michael Eads finished 17th in the 800-meter run.
The Lady Maroons had a trio of top finishers: Rachel Colyer finished 17th in the 55-meter dash; Makayla Sidwell finished 17th in the 1500-meter run; Jasmine Strunk finished 21st in the 400-meter dash.
The girls’ division winner was Ballard, while the champion of the boys’ division was North Hardin.
In the meet’s golden anniversary, former Pulaski County Maroon coach and longtime official Gordon Bocock was inducted into Mason-Dixon Games Hall of Fame.
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