Owensboro Catholic thrilled to compete in 1A State Track Meet

June 10, 2021 | 12:03 am

Updated June 9, 2021 | 10:37 pm

Tyler Dixon | Owensboro Times

Owensboro Catholic is heading to Lexington looking to win some hardware at the KHSAA Class 1A State Track Meet.

There are a plethora of athletes that qualified for state individually, while there are pairs of teams prepared to compete in relays as well.

Individually, the Aces have Emilee Cecil, Ella Claire Goetz, Carol Staples, Ann Switzer and Dylan Nichols set to go to battle with the best in the Commonwealth.

Goetz is set to compete in the 1600 and 3200 Meter Run after posting times of 5:57.75 and 13:17.37 respectively.

Cecil will compete in the Girls 100-Meter Dash after posting a time of 13.43, Staples will compete in the Girls Triple Jump after a 28-10.00 mark, while Ann Switzer and Dylan Nichols will compete in the Mixed Shot Put Unified event.

Gracie Johnson, Maleigha Shelton, Mallary Bailey, Abby Payne, Susan Aung, Carol Staples, Kash Rice and Caroline Kanipe are set to take on the 4×200 Meter Relay after qualifying with a time of 1:57.81.

Meanwhile, Kanipe, Bailey, Cecil, Rice, Johnson, Aung, Shelton and Staples will look to carry momentum from its regional 4×100 Meter Relay win (53.34) into the state meet.

Head Coach Jim Ivey said that right now their focus is staying physically and mentally ready and keeping steady while not in school. 

“All I’m trying to do as a coach this time of year with school being out is keep them in sync, try to stress them not to get their sleep all out of whack” Ivey said. “They need to eat three meals a day, get some nutrition and get some rest. All we’re trying to do is keep them sharp one more time to set us up to have our best performance of the year.”

Given that the meet was cancelled last year because of COVID-19, Ivey and company are hoping that this is another step towards normalcy.

“There’s hope that we can come back to normal,” Ivey said. “Especially since the rug got pulled out from under us last year… We’re excited to be able to go.”

In the same light, Ivey said that he’s not going to hold a lot of expectations going into the meet. He and the team are just happy to be able to compete and are going to go out and give it their all.

“We’re just going to be thankful we’re there,” Ivey said. “I think our 4×100 is in a great position. You got three handoffs with very little room for mistakes. I tell them to be aggressive. If we have a miscue, if we drop it, I’m going to take the blame because I want you to go for it. You’re not gonna ever do anything big being hesitant and not going for it.”

June 10, 2021 | 12:03 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like