Mercer boys third, Boyle boys sixth in AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass
Published 12:30 pm Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Max Germann, left, of Boyle County and Marshall Hart of Mercer County race during the boys 1,600-meter run Saturday at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass. Hart finished sixth; Germann was seventh. Photo by Mike Marsee
Stella Thompson of Boyle County completes an attempt in the girls triple jump Saturday at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass. Thompson finished fourth. Photo by Mike Marsee
Andrew Nason, right, and Eli Short, left, of Boyle County race toward the finish line in the boys 100-meter dash Saturday at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass. Nason finished fourth and Short was sixth. Photo by Mike Marsee
Shelby Thompson, left, takes a handoff from Boyle County teammate Sharon Heist for the second leg of the girls 800-meter relay Saturday at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass. Boyle finished seventh. Photo by Mike Marsee
Jordan Piazza, center, of Mercer County races toward a victory in the boys 110-meter hurdles Saturday at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass. photo by Mike Marsee
The Mercer County boys finished third and the Boyle County boys were sixth Saturday in AJ’s Heart of Bluegrass, the area’s largest and longest-running track and field meet.
Luke McQueen of Casey County was the only area athlete to win more than one event, sweeping the boys shot put and discus in the 37th annual meet.
Mercer boys won three events to finish third, 6 1/2 points behind Woodford County, which swept the boys and girls team titles on a sun-splashed day at Alvis Johnson Field.
Jordan Piazza won the boys 110-meter hurdles, Donovan Wright won the long jump and the team of Kyler Sallee, Mason Sanders, Liam Potts and Marshall Hart won the 3,200 relay for host Mercer.
McQueen had one of two meet records set Saturday. His shot put of 60 feet, 3 3/4 inches broke the record of 57-1 set by Mercer’s Lleyton Penn last year and is the top throw in the state this season.
The Mercer boys, the three-time defending Class 2A boys champions, got second-place finishes from Wright in the high jump and from their 1,600 relay team.
Other second-place finishers from area schools included:
- Emmanuel Dut of Danville Christian in the boys 400.
- Mercer’s Sallee in the boys 300 hurdles.
- Ralasia Piazza of Mercer in the girls triple jump.
Other third-place finishers from area schools included:
- Andrew Nason of Boyle in the boys 110 hurdles.
- J.D. Cooley of Boyle in the boys 400.
- Byron Collier of Mercer in the boys discus.
- Ralasia Piazza of Mercer in the girls high jump.
Mercer had the top area girls team, tying for 14th place in the girls team standings.
It was the first Heart of the Bluegrass meet held since the passing of Alvis Johnson, the longtime Harrodsburg coach who established the meet in 1997 that was later renamed in his honor. Johnson, whose Harrodsburg teams won five state championships, died July 15 at age 76.
AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass Area results
Saturday at Alvis Johnson Field, Harrodsburg
BOYS
Team scores (26 teams) – 1. Woodford County 90 1/2; 2. Central 88; 3. Mercer County 84; 6. Boyle County 46; 13. Casey County 20; 14. Danville Christian 17; 25. Burgin 3 1/2.
3200 relay – 1. Mercer County (Kyler Sallee, Mason Sanders, Liam Potts, Marshall Hart) 8:27.94; 6. Boyle County (Cannon Bostick, Max Germann, Colin Lay, Diego Montoya) 9:16.03.
110 hurdles – 1. Jordan Piazza (Mercer County) 15.53; 3. Andrew Nason (Boyle County) 15.99.
100 – 4. Nason (Boyle County) 11.46; 6. Eli Short (Boyle County) 11.50.
800 relay – 6. Mercer County (Sallee, Majia Dunn, Sanders, Ian Alcorn) 1:36.33.
1600 – 6. Hart (Mercer County) 4:37.81; 7. Germann (Boyle County) 4:38.73.
400 relay – 7. Boyle County (Lay, Maximus Kilby, Kain Logan, Short) 46.79.
400 – 2. Emmanuel Dut (Danville Christian) 50.52; 3. J.D. Cooley (Boyle County) 50.54.
300 hurdles – 2. Sallee (Mercer County) 42.20; 5. Piazza (Mercer County) 43.88; 6. Nason (Boyle County) 44.28; 8. Kilby (Boyle County) 46.11.
800 – 7. Potts (Mercer County) 2:06.73.
200 – 5. Dut (Danville Christian) 23.94.
3200 – 4. Germann (Boyle County) 10:24.05.
1600 relay – 2. Mercer County (Sanders, Alcorn, Potts, Sallee) 3:34.81; 8. Boyle County (Cooley, Chandler Durham, Kilby, Lay) 3:47.70.
Shot put – 1. Luke McQueen (Casey County) 60-3 3/4 (meet record, old record 57-1, Lleyton Penn, Mercer County, 2023); 8. Gage Bennett (Mercer County) 40-8 3/4.
Discus – 1. McQueen (Casey County) 146-9; 3. Byron Collier (Mercer County) 139-8; 5. Noah Nichols (Mercer County) 129-1.
Long jump – 1. Donovan Wright (Mercer County) 21-5 1/2; 4. Nason (Boyle County) 19-9.
Triple jump – 4. Titus Gay (Mercer County) 40-4 1/4; 5. Jacobe Taylor (Burgin) 39-3 3/4; 7. Piazza (Mercer County) 39-3.
High jump – 2. Wright (Mercer County) 6-0; 4. Dut (Danville Christian) 5-10.
Pole vault – 5. Andrew Lockhart (Boyle County) 12-6.
GIRLS
Team scores (25 teams) – 1. Woodford County 80; 2. Leslie County 72; 3. Madison Central 65; t14. Mercer County 16; 20. Boyle County 11 1/2; 22. Burgin 7 1/2.
3200 relay – 8. Mercer County (Alexis Benham, Adriana Polhemus, Roxie Bogardus, Abigail Woods) 11:30.93.
100 hurdles – 8. Raegan Taylor (Burgin) 17.52.
800 relay – 7. Boyle County (Sharon Heist, Stella Thompson, Lucy May, Shelby Thompson) 1:51.82.
300 hurdles – 8. Taylor (Burgin) 51.39.
1600 relay – 8. Boyle County (Siddalea Gray, Sh. Thompson, Laykin Gatton, Maleeah Smith) 4:40.87.
Shot put – 8. Braxtyn Heck (Danville Christian) 30-2 1/4.
Discus – 7. Kelsie Peavler (Burgin) 82-9.
Long jump – 8. Ralasia Piazza (Mercer County) 14-11 1/2.
Triple jump – 2. Piazza (Mercer County) 34-9 1/2; 4. St. Thompson (Boyle County) 32-4.
High jump – 3. Piazza (Mercer County) 4-8; t5. Kate Hatfield (Burgin) 4-6; t5. Sh. Thompson (Boyle County) 4-6.
