Sophie Galloway wrapped up her outstanding high school track and field career exactly the way she wanted to – winning the KHSAA Class 3A state championship in the 100 meter hurdles, triple jump and long jump. She is a double state title holder in the hurdles, taking the win her sophomore year and a three-time state champion in both the triple and long jump.
Galloway’s goal on Saturday was to break the Class 3A state record of 14.29 in the 100 meter hurdles set in 2014 – and she did just that with a time of 14.10. The future University of Tennessee athlete won the long jump with 18-10.75 and broke her own state record of 40-7 set in 2019 in the triple jump,with a new mark of 41-7.75.
Galloway led the Lady Marshals team to a fifth place finish. It was the second best finish in school history for the girl’s team in over two decades. The team from Dupont Manual won the state title.
Cade Flatt is the 800 meter state champion, taking the win by nearly six seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Daviess County. His winning time of 1:51.89 ranks as one of the top 25 in the nation.
Will Davis is the 400 meter state champion, setting a new school record in 48.11. His time did not break the Class 3A record but did surpass the state records of Class 1A and 2A.
With two of the state’s fastest individuals in the 400 meters – the boy’s 4 x 400 relay team won the state championship with a new school record time of 3:21.80. Team members are Isaiah Kirby, Cade Flatt, Preston Lamb and Will Davis.
Ben Fiser won the state title on Saturday in discus with a throw of 160-1 and placed fifth in shot put with 51-1.25. Chase Thompson finished seventh in shot with 48-2.25 and 21st in discus with a throw of 104-0.
The boy’s team finished third in the state, the best finish ever for a Marshall County team. St. Xavier won the state title and second place went to Male.
“The moment is still just so surreal for me”, said Andrew Johnston, boys head coach. “I think this moment is so important because so many times we have been here just hoping to break into the top 10, or be the first county school. To be able to finish third in Class 3A is pretty exciting. The guys came out here and absolutely dominated the meet in a lot of ways and that made it so special for us!”
The girl’s 4 x 200 relay team of Laney Evans, Layne Pea, Charley Pursley and Jordyn Reed placed 11th with a time of 1:49.62 and the same foursome took 15th in the 4 x 100 in 52.05.
Tori McCracken, a two-time high jump state champion, finished sixth on Saturday with a jump of 5-00. Presleigh Jennings, the First Region champion, finished 12th with a jump of 4-10.
Head coach of the girl’s team, Cory Westerfield, said he was super pleased with everybody’s effort, several of whom were making their first appearance in the state meet or first in a specific event.
“Our relays ran season bests and that’s all you can ask for”, Westerfield said. “Obviously Sophie had a great day in setting the Class 3A hurdle record and extending her state triple jump record as well as winning the long jump.”
Westerfield also commended Tori McCracken on her sixth place finish in the high jump, adding that both Tori and Sophie ended their high school careers in a great way as they continue to pursue track and field at the D1 level.
“I felt great about how we competed and definitely saw signs of future greatness in our underclassmen and our field events”, Westerfield said. “We qualified both of our regional entries to state in all but one field event so I was super proud of that.”
Westerfield added that the team has dealt with a lot of adversity over the last four years and he is so proud they finished with a regional championship and top five finish in the state.
More results from the state meet:
Jordyn Reed – 13th in long jump, 15-10.75
Georgia Hall – 13th in discus, 98-5
Maci Brown – 15th in discus, 94-0
Alyssa McClain – 16th in shot put, 31-6.50
Cole Mills – 18th in high jump, 5-10
Kian Court – 21st in 300 high hurdles, 43.95
Rylee Thompson – 23rd in triple jump, 30-11.75
Sophie Galloway broke her own standing state record in the triple jump set in 2019 with 41-7.75. Photo courtesy of Bryan Edwards
