The 2023 Clark’s Pump-and-Shop Track and Field State Championship presented by UK Healthcare has ended, and the Apollo Eagles and E-Gals made a strong showing. Apollo’s Travis Ashby brought home the gold in the 1600M run at 4:14.92, while Kaidhyn Stockdale claimed gold in the adapted shot put and discus.
Ashby said the win was a long time coming and resulted from three years of dedication with his coaches.
“The win means a ton. It’s been a long three years of training for that race, and it feels good to have it pay off,” Ashby said after the race. “I got there by three seasons of consistent training. My coaches have been working with me for years to develop closing speed at the end of the race, and the result has been killer. That closing speed is what got me the win today.”
Ashby is headed to the University of Cincinnati next year and plans to compete in the Steeplechase. He currently has the best high school steeplechase time in the nation.
This was the first year for the adaptive discuss event at state, making Stockdale the events record holder. He said the two wins were the perfect way to finish his high school career.
“It has taken a lot of hard work, dedication, and extra training to overcome my physical challenges to be here,” he said. “I’m sad my high school career is over, but I’m preparing for several national meets this summer.”
Stockdale will throw for Midway University next season and hopes to one day qualify for the USA Paralympic team.
Other top contenders for the E-Gals include Chloe Sandefur, with an eighth-place run in the 100M hurdles and a sixth-place run in the 300M hurdles. Sandefur also placed seventh in the long jump, while the girls’ 4×100 from Apollo scored fourth with a 49.59. Apollo’s Mary Ann Lions also placed sixth in the girls’ shot put with a throw of 111-06.
The Daviess County Girls’ 4×800 team of Bentlei Stallings, Lucy Spaw, Blakely Greer, and Micah Sagar placed eighth with a time of 10:06.65.
Owensboro’s Zane Biever brought home fourth place in the boys’ shot put with a toss of 50-04.
