Triple Jump

Chrys Jones of Centre College won his fourth national championship in the triple jump Saturday, winning the title in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships at Bexley, Ohio, with his first jump. The Harrodsburg native cleared 49 feet, 8 1/2 inches on his first attempt, and that was good enough to give him his latest title. Jones finished nearly 11 inches ahead of runner-up Isaac Vazquez of Wisconsin La Crosse. “I have to say God truly answered my prayers this morning,” Jones said.

Harrodsburg's Chrys Jones won the triple jump at the 47th Adidas Golden West Invitational on Sunday in Folsom, Calif., with a leap of 47 feet, 2 inches. Jones had set a Class A state record of 48-6 a week earlier. "It was a windy, chilly night and tough conditions," Harrodsburg coach Terry Yeast said.

LEXINGTON - Chrys Jones knew he had a great shot at a Class A state title in the triple jump. The Harrodsburg sophomore came into Friday's competition at the State Track & Field Championships with the top jump and had broken his personal best twice at the regional meet a week earlier. But even Jones couldn't have predicted what he accomplished Friday on the University of Kentucky track. On his first attempt, Jones exploded for a leap of 45 feet, 9 inches, locking up the state title right then and beating his own best by nearly two feet.

LEXINGTON - Mercer County senior Chrys Jones won the triple jump at the University of Kentucky Invitational Saturday in Lexington with a leap of 45 feet, 1 inch. Jones, who recently committed to Centre College, edged Asaph Levy and Christian Taylor, both of Georgia, for the top honor. Jones also finished third in the high jump by clearing 6-2. Mitchell White of Tennessee was first and Kevin Carney of Tennessee second. He did not place in the long jump after injuring his leg on his second attempt.

Editor's Note: The writer attended the District 6 AAU meet that qualified participants to compete in the Junior Olympics in Ypsilanti, Mich. Her daughter, Diamond, a Danville freshman, competed in the district meet against others from Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois and qualified to go back to the national meet later this month to defend the triple jump title she won in 2007. There will be no pomp and circumstance, no extravagant parade of the state flags, no media-crazed final journey of the Olympic torch.

Mercer County's Chrys Jones went over 50 feet twice in the Class AA, Region 4 meet in Nicholasville on Saturday. Jones hit 50 feet, 3 inches on his first jump of the day, then jumped 50-9 on his second attempt. The overall state record is 49-3 by Keith Richardson of Bryan Station, but state records have to be set at the state meet. He had set a personal best and meet record with leap of 24 feet in the long jump on Wednesday (the state record is 24-1/2). Jones said watching, instead of jumping, paid off. "I took off practice except for Thursday, and I watched several videos, hours at a time, of the best of the best," he said.

LEXINGTON -- He heard the fans clapping. He saw his fellow competitors cheering for him. Chrys Jones was sure he was ready to triple jump at least 52 feet and extend the state record he had broken on his four previous jumps. However, at just the wrong time, his ankle betrayed him and he scratched on his final jump. However, the Mercer County senior had already put his name into the record book with a best jump of 50 feet, 2 1/2 inches here Friday during the Class AA State Track & Field Championships to break the previous state mark of 49-3 set by Keith Richardson of Bryan Station in 1978.

Michael Ross, Danville, track. He finished fourth in the District 6 Junior Olympics to qualify for the national Junior Olympics. Diamond Pace, Danville, track. She won the triple jump at the District 6 Junior Olympics to qualify for the national Junior Olympics.

East and West Jessamine track and field competitors competed on Saturday in Danville at regional championship. There, West's Abby Wiggins continued her success as she took home regional champion honors in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Robby Irgang's 44' 2.5" in the shot put also earned him the nod as regional champion. Wiggins' scores earned her a spot at the state meet at the University of Louisville on Friday. They will be joined by 10 other Colts who earned spot in either individual or team competitions.

Tabitha Evans was willing to do anything to get out of the 400-meter dash, even giving the 300 hurdles a shot. That turned out to be a great move for the Boyle County senior since the 300 hurdles is one of three events she qualified for in Friday's Class AA state track and field championships in Louisville. “Coming in, I was going to run the open 4 (400) and I absolutely hate that race. It's just a dead sprint the whole time and no one likes it,” Evans said. “So when Coach (Brent Wagner)

LEXINGTON - Liz Marcinek knows the competition she'll see at next week's Class A regional meet will be nothing like what she saw at Friday's Central Kentucky Conference meet at Henry Clay. And that competition made for a good night for the Burgin junior. She set personal records while placing second in the triple jump (32-11 1/2) and long jump (16-1). She also ran her best time in the 200 (27.97) to place fourth and took fourth in the 100. “Going against these girls, especially in the 200 and 100, being behind these fast sprinters makes me go faster.

Sophomore runner Brian Carlson was the lead runner in his last two 3200-meter races, capturing first place in the event at the Boyle County Invitational and the Pulaski County All-Comers meet. Carlson racked up his latest win at Danville Friday night, covering the 3200 distance in 10:06.86. The Boyle finish was an improvement in time from his win at the meet in Somerset, almost 21 seconds faster than his finish on the Pulaski County High track. Carlson won that event in 10:27.1.  Lincoln's top male runner didn't have to fend for first in his win at Pulaski, with Southwestern's Corey Owens six seconds back in a time of 10:33.8.

The George Rogers Clark track team was honored Saturday at the 10th Annual Ernie Chattin Memorial Invitational in Ashland. The Cardinals and host Ashland have participated in all 10 meets, held in honor of Chattin, a KHSAA Hall of Famer who served 20 years on the state track committee. Clark finished third in the boys meet. Rowan was first (169), followed by Mason County (155) and Clark with 93 points. "It was gratifying to walk away with a third place trophy this year,” Clark coach Dodd Dixon said.

The Lincoln County High School track and field teams exited the Boyle County High School track a little heavier than when they arrived, walking away from the Boyle County All-Comers Meet with 23 medals in their pockets. The girls 3200 and 800 relay teams, Lady Patriot Alex Bunch and Patriots Santana Hocker and Brian Carlson brought home Lincoln's top finishes in the meet, with all capturing the runner-up spot in their respective events.  Host Boyle County claimed the win in the girls 3200-meter relay with a time of 10:58.2, but Lady Pats Alex Bunch, Logan Godbey, Morgan Gourley and MaHaley Long finished ahead of the rest of the field.

The George Rogers Clark High School indoor track team opened its season Monday at College Park Gym. In a dual meet against Owsley County, the boys team won 54-21, while the girls team beat Owsley, 45-30. In the boys competition, Aaron Dieck and Darian Farris tied for first in the 30-meter dash.  Clark jumpers Jesse Camp and Nathan Dent placed first in the long jump and triple jump respectively. In the distance events, Grayson Brookshire placed first in the 800-meter and 3200-meter events,  while Ben Petrey was second in the 800-meters.

LOUISVILLE - It the lean that did Diamond Pace in. Pace was neck-and-neck with Keslie Courtney of Trimble County as the two cleared the final hurdle of the Class A girls 300-meter hurdles Thursday in the KHSAA State Track & Field Championships at the University of Louisville. But the Danville senior thought she needed and edge, leaned too far and fell at the finish line, allowing Courtney to edge her by .05 seconds. “It was a lot too much lean. It was really disappointing,” said Pace, who still ran her best time ever in the event she had won two other times including last year, finishing in 46.12 seconds.

The West Jessamine boys' track and field team took third place at the Boyle County Invitational on Friday. The girls placed fifth. The boys were led by three first-place finishes. The 4x800-meter relay team took first with a time of 8 minutes, 35.59 seconds. The team was made up of sophomore Isaiah Kang, senior Forrest Neyman, senior Joseph Durbin and senior David Smith. Durbin also took first in the boys' 800-meter run. He won with a time of 2:03.76. Sean Donaldson won the boys' triple jump, bounding 40 feet, 5 inches.

The Boyle County girls took first and the boys third Saturday at the Woodford County Luck O' the Irish Invitational in Versailles. The Rebels girls had a win from Natalie Settle in the 100-meter hurdles and posted wins in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays. They also had seconds from Maddie Kriz in the 1,600, Nikki Coffey in the 800, Emma Ditto in the 3,200, Settle in the 300 hurdles, Megan Holderman in the pole vault and Tabitha Evans in the triple jump. Boyle was also second in the 400 and 800 relays.