LouisvilleCatholicSports.com

Defending champion Holy Cross boys fall short of repeat

The defending KHSAA Class A boys' track and field state champion Holy Cross High School settled for 3rd place (64 total points) in the 2012 state meet on Thursday afternoon, but there was still plenty of celebrate for the Cougars.

Holy Cross junior Jacob Thomson, considered to be the state's top runner, set a state record in the boys 1,600 meter run and won the event for the third straight year by finishing the race with a time of 4:10.8.

Thomson's blazing time was 35 seconds faster than his qualifying/seeding mark at regionals and broke the overall track record that was previously held by St. Xavier High School alum Bobby Curtis, whose previous record was 4:13.6 Thomson also went on to sweep all three of the long running events on Thursday at UofL's Cardinal Park by winning both the 800 meter (1:57.38) and 3,200 meter (10:01.58) events for the second consecutive year.

Jeremy Glass and Henry Vincent set the tone for the Holy Cross boys to start the day by coming in 1st and 3rd place respectively in the shot put event. Glass eventually won the individual state championship with a throw off 55 feet, 4.5 inches. Vincent's toss was registered at 47 feet, 7.5 inches.

Glass was also the individual runner-up in the discus throw with a distance just over 140 feet long.

In the other field events, Aaron Drury placed 3rd overall in the triple jump (42-10.50) and 5th in the long jump (20-10.75). Kendall Hammerstrom, who was the Class A champion in high jump in 2011, finished 11th this year. His highest clear was 5 feet, 8 inches.

The Cougars' title last season was the first in program history and also made history as the school's first-ever team state championship in any sport.

Seniors Maya Hardin and Julie Skaggs led the way during the Holy Cross girls' 7th place finish in the team standings during Thursday's competition.

Hardin won the individual title in the discus throw with a distance of 111 feet, 4 inches. She also finished runner-up in the girls' shot put with a throw of 35 feet, 7 inches and fell just short of Newport Catholic's Liz Gruenschlaeger.

Skaggs competed in three field events for the Cougars, but did not factor into the long jump points because of a disqualifying foul. She did manage to finish 4th in the high jump (5 feet) and 14th in the triple jump (32-05.25).

On the track, Holy Cross freshman Madison Riley finished 9th in the 300 meter hurdles, while Karly Gawarecki finished 8th in the girls' 3,200. The Lady Cougars' top-finishing relay team was in the 4x800 relay, in which the foursome of Gawarecki, Christa Brutscher, Jenna Johnston and Ashby Eggers finished 5th overall with a time of 10:13.88.

Final team standings (top ten):

BOYS

• 1) St. Henry District, 77       
• 2) Fort Campbell, 72       
• 3) Holy Cross (Louisville), 64       
• 4) Glasgow, 44       
• 5) Bardstown, 39       
• 6) Somerset, 38       
• 7) Green County, 35       
• 8) Newport, 26       
• 8) Beechwood,  26      
• 10) Fort Knox, 25

GIRLS

• 1) St. Henry District, 98.50    
• 2) Newport Central Catholic, 93       
• 3) Bishop Brossart, 47       
• 4) Fort Knox, 41       
• 5) Bardstown, 39       
• 6) Danville, 30       
• 7) Holy Cross (Louisville), 27.50    
• 8) Fairview, 25       
• 9) Mayfield, 24       
• 9) Somerset, 24