Track/Cross Country

Between Friday and Saturday of last week, several coverage area track and field athletes were able to come away with top ten finishes in the 2016 KHSAA state championship meets in Lexington. The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets and Lady Jackets competed in the Class A meet Saturday morning and afternoon. Top finishers for the Jackets include: Danasia Buchanon (100-meter hurdles, 4th – 17.01), Selena Mattingly (1600-meter run, 1st – 5:19.62), Mattingly (800-meter run, 1st – 2:23.17), Dakotah Dunn (shot put, 4th – 48-01.00), Dunn (discus, 10th – 136-06), Makayla Mack (pole vault, 8th – 7-00.00), Tanner Boggs (high jump, 3rd – 6-00.00), Dalton Dunn (pole vault, 10th – 9-06.00) and Chaz...

It was a heck of a freshman year for Williamsburg Lady Jacket runner Selena Mattingly… Mattingly gave varsity-level competitors a run for their money in both cross country and track as a middle schooler. Then, back during the fall of last year, she finally realized her dream of becoming a state champion when she opened up her high school career with a Class A cross country title. Coming into the 2016 KHSAA state track and field championships, all eyes were on Mattingly after she was able to pile up victory after victory all season long in distance running events. Among her top accomplishments this spring was taking first place in the...

Earlier this month a From the Sidelines column discussed Whitley County senior Keaton Logan’s quest to make it to Australia this summer to represent the USA in the annual Down Under Sports international track and field competition. In order to make the trip, Logan had to raise a certain amount of funds, mostly to help with the cost of airfare. The News Journal is happy to report that Logan has since met his fundraising goal, and will be traveling to Australia this July. Logan also recently signed to run track and cross country at the University of the Cumberlands. On the day of his signing, he was asked how he felt...

Look in the 5/25 edition for a full list of local athletes competing in this weekend’s KHSAA state championship meets in Lexington!

The Whitley County High School track and field team traveled to Somerset Saturday, May 14, to take part in the 2016 Region 7 AAA meet at Pulaski County High School. The Colonels had two automatic qualifiers for next weekend’s KHSAA state championship meet – Tanner Bryant in boys pole vault, and the boys 4x800-meter relay team of Keaton Logan, Adam Petrey, Josh Richardson and Tyler Lawson. Once all AAA region meets have been completed, the Colonels may have more athletes qualify for next week’s state meet. A comprehensive list of all area track and field competitors qualifying for state should be available in the May 25 edition of the News Journal. Williamsburg...

In the final Senior Spotlight for the 2015-16 school year, we meet five Lynn Camp High School athletes. From the school’s tennis team, we have Shelby Green, Faith Smith and Courtney Brown. From the track and field team, we have Green, Brady Farris and River Hellard. Green has the most experience of any player on the Lady Cats tennis team, having competed for nine years. Now that her final season is over, she is shifting her focus to the future. She says that she has made plans to study marketing and accounting at Union College. Smith has played tennis for six years. When asked about her future, she said that she...

The University of the Cumberlands added two talented athletes to its track and field program Friday morning when Whitley County Colonels Keaton Logan and Adam Petrey signed on to run as Patriots beginning next school year. Logan has been turning heads for the past couple of years with his distance running ability, both in track and cross country. He will be competing in both at the college level for UC. “I think with Keaton we are getting a quality kid,” said Patriots Head Coach Randy Greer after the signing. “We already have his older brother in the program, so we’re familiar with his family, and we know what kind of character...

These photos were taken at the 2016 SEKC track & field meet, held at Knox Central High School on Friday, April 29.

In this week’s second Senior Spotlight, we meet another group from Corbin – the track and field seniors. There are many familiar faces in this group, including Candice Gulley, who recently completed her final season in a Lady Hounds basketball uniform. Fans will remember her for her tenacious play on the court, as well as her overall athletic ability, which allowed her to take over games in a moment’s notice. These attributes have carried over well to track and field, and they are currently helping her to compete at a high level in several events, such as the hurdles and pole vault. Another name that Redhound fans should know well is...

In this week’s Senior Spotlight we meet the senior members of the 2016 Whitley County High School track and field team. When the season kicked off a few weeks ago, each of these athletes took the time to talk about their expectations for this spring. Tyler Lawson (4x400 m relay, 4x800 m relay, 800 m run, distance medley, steeplechase) said, “I’m hoping that we can make it back to state as a 4x400 and 4x800 team. Hopefully we can just do better this year than everybody expects us to.” Emma Cooper (long jump, triple jump, 4x400 m relay) said, “Personally, I would like to break both of the school records for...