University Heights Academy’s ‘great eight’ scored enough points for the Lady Blazers to claim a runner-up at the Class 1 Region 1 Track and Field Meet Saturday in Murray.
The Lady Blazers only had eight people compete at the 11-team event held at Murray High.
Evelyn Morales swept first place in the hurdles, winning the 100 meters in 16.57 and the 300 meters in 49.71 seconds. She was also on two first-place relay teams.
Like Morales, Piper Hancock qualified for the state meet in four events. She was nipped at the wire by Crittenden County’s Kate Keller in the 800-meter run. Hancock’s time was 2:35.11 – a second more than her season-best.
Ragen Pollard led the field participants for UHA, finishing second in the shot put and qualifying at 27-feet, 11-inches. She was also ninth in the discus throw just hours before getting the start in the circle for the UHA softball team in the region tournament.
Eighth-grader Aliviah Acree was edged at the finish of the 400-meter dash by Murray senior Abby Elmore by just over a second. Acree also finished fifth in the 200-meter run in 28.97 seconds.
The relay teams brought home three wins on the day. The 3200-meter relay team won by 47 seconds over Murray with a time of 11:03.28.
The 800-meter relay team overtook Murray in the final 100 meters to win with a time of 1:53.29.
The 1600-meter relay team also had a dominating performance, winning in 4:28.46.
OTHER LADY BLAZER FINISHES
Audrey Grise – 3rd in the triple jump [30-05].
Alison Bullen – 3rd in the 3200-meter run [15:06.14]; 5th in the 1600-meter run [6:39.82]
Grace Pape – 4th in the 800-meter run [2:43.85]; 10th in the 200-meter dash [31.77]
Lucy Wilkins – 4th in the 3200-meter run [17:07.10]; 8th in the 1600-meter run [7:18.81]
As a team, UHA scored 98 points to finish six points ahead of third-place Fort Campbell. Murray took the team title with 164 points.
The top-2 finishers in each event automatically qualify for the Class 1A State Meet to be held Thursday at the University of Kentucky. The next 10 finishes statewide also qualify.
