2004 Lenny Lyles Invitational

Paper: Courier-Journal, The (Louisville, KY)

Title: Seven-hour meet ends with Male, Assumption on top

Date: April 11, 2004

NATHAN CHAMBERS

nchambers@courier-journal.com

The Courier-Journal

Lenny Lyles stood at the top of the stands in Central High School's football stadium Friday night and peered down at the student-athletes competing in the track and field meet that bore his name.

"It's good to see so many young people participating - running, jumping, throwing," the 1954 Central graduate said during the Lenny Lyles Invitational. "That takes self-discipline to do, and that means a lot to me. That tells me they're doing a lot more than the negative things we see kids doing so often. We need more of it."

But Lyles, who starred at the University of Louisville and played in the National Football League for 12 years, had more than enough to watch during the seven-hour event, which produced an overwhelming girls' victory for Assumption and a much narrower win for the Male boys.

Assumption, which tied Ballard for second place in the Class AAA state meet last year, finished with a score of 154 - well ahead of second-place Eastern's 85 - in the 17-team field. Shelby County was third with 70, and Central was fourth with 66 .

Male was tied with Jeffersontown with two events remaining in the boys' meet but finished on a stronger note, completing a 105-93 win. Shelby County was third with 75 , and Manual and Central Hardin tied for fourth with 70.

The Rockets, who also won the season-opening Valkyrie Invitational earlier in the week, got victories from Trish Todd and Beth Faulkner. Their defending state champion 1,600-meter relay team also won.

Todd, a Bellarmine University basketball signee who was third in the state in the 400 last year, won that event in 59.51 seconds - more than two seconds ahead of state runner-up Brittany Davies of Central. Todd also ran in the 1,600 relay. Faulkner won the 100 hurdles in 18.52.

"I'm really pleased with how we've done," Assumption coach Barry Kornstein said. "We had some girls who did exceptionally well."

Cristin Samuels paced Eastern, winning the 3,200 in 13:02 and placing second in the 1,600 behind teammate Chani Clark. Angelia Tutt's triple jump of 33 feet, 11 inches took first place, and she was second in the long jump.

Central dominated the sprints, repeating its success from last year's Class AAA state meet with many of the same girls who led the team to sixth overall.

Junior Brittney Belle, who was third in the state in the 100, won that race in 13.0 and the 200 in 26.54 and then helped both the defending state champion 800 relay team and the 400 relay team finish first.

"The Central girls probably have the best spring relays in the state," Kornstein said.

Valley's Melissa Beasley narrowly won both throwing events. Her toss of 31 feet in the shot put was two inches better than Shawnee's Erica Dunn, and her discus throw of 94-11 beat Central's Gabrielle Goode by 11 inches.

Male's boys won only one event but were solid throughout the meet, taking four seconds and five thirds in their first full meet of the season. Terrence Lester got the team's only win in the 110 hurdles, finishing in 16.08. He also was second in the 300 hurdles.

"I think we're on target," Bulldogs coach Jason Neuss said. "We figured out where some kids can run, our strengths and what we need to work on."

Jeffersontown displayed its strength in the sprints and the jumping events. Senior Joe Petty, who was second in the state in the 100 last year, won both the 100 in 11.10 and the 400 in 51.48 despite a hamstring injury still lingering from last season.

"I've been hurting, so I thought there were a few people that would beat me in the 100," he said. "But I did better than I thought I would."

Petty was not Jeffersontown's only athlete who excelled with an injury. Senior Evan Calvin, the defending state champion in the triple jump, continues to be bothered by a sprained right ankle he suffered during the basketball season. But he still won that event by nearly two feet with a leap of 42-1.

Before the injury, he jumped a career-best 47-6 in the Mason Dixon Games last month.

"Before I got hurt, I was on track to break the state record," Calvin said. "I definitely think I'll win another state title."

He also was part of the 800 relay team, which crossed the finish line first but was disqualified for an illegal handoff, and the winning 400 relay team.

Calvin did not compete in the high jump or the long jump, two other events in which he appeared in last year's state meet. But teammate Anthony Randle picked up the slack and won the long jump, and CJ Bowen was second.

Shelby County's John Hinkle won the 800 in 2:03.80 and the 1,600 in 4:41.41. He also ran on the Rockets' first-place 1,600 relay team.

Seneca's Garry Williams, a University of Kentucky football signee, out-distanced Male's Megale Smith by nearly six feet in the shot put with a throw of 49-3. He fell four inches short of the toss that earned him third place in last year's state meet, which he considered a strong first step this season.

"I started out at 40 feet last year and jumped to 49," he said. "Now I'm starting at 49, so that's a good sign."

Note: Linescores not available, See Library Microfilm or Library KIOSK pdf pages

Author: CHAMBERS NATHAN

Section: SPORTS

Page: 11C