The Class 3A State Track Meet was held in Lexington on Saturday, and the McCracken County Mustangs left their mark with multiple impressive performances on the day. Overall, the boys finished in fourth place, and picked up three gold medals along the way.
All three first place finishes for McCracken came on the track. The 4x100 relay, 4x200 relay, and 200 meter dash were all taken home by Mustangs. Both relay teams consisted of the same four Mustangs, as Cooper Falconite, Maddox O'Neal, James Barragan, and Ayden Hunter all competed.
In the 4x100, the McCracken squad ran a 42 second flat race, which was enough to beat out second place Tates Creek by 0.34 seconds. In the 4x200, that gap between first and second doubled, beating Pleasure Ridge Park by three quarters of a second with a time of 1:26.94. The Mustangs won the 4x200 last year as well, with Barragan, Falconite, and Hunter in that race as well.
"I feel great," Maddox O'Neal said following the race. "We were going for that state record but we'll definitely take first place."
"Our second leg Maddox is new this year. We had a strong second leg last year in Cannon Ford, but Maddox came today and stepped up," Cooper Falconite said. "We got a school record, and dropped a great time. I feel great."
Sophomore Ayden Hunter add, "It feels great to win back-to-back. Like he said we were going for that state record, but pretty great to come in first again."
The only solo gold came from long-time star James Barragan in the 200 meter dash, his final race as a Mustang. In an incredible race for all 21.464 seconds, Barragan beat out Douglass's Kaden John by merely six thousandths of a second for claim the title.
"I had to really work for this one," Barragan admitted after the 200. "21.4 is my second lifetime best. This year I was injured a lot. I came back in regionals and wasn't sure how that was going to go, but the work I put in while I was hurt gave the confidence I needed in that 200."
After spending the last five years in a Mustang uniform, accomplishing so much for this program, Barragan now will take his talents to the collegiate level, planning to run track in the fall at Indiana State. He expressed how he is nothing but grateful for the opportunity and the time he spent at McCracken.
"I'd say it was pretty successful." James said about his high school career. "I have around seven or eight school records, multiple state championships. I've been placing in state since eighth grade. It's been a great ride. I'm glad I came to McCracken. It's been an amazing time."
Coming just short of a gold medal but still having an excellent day, junior Dawson Hayden placed second in the boy's pole vault. Originally seeded at 12', Hayden propelled himself over the bar at a whopping 14 feet in his second attempt at the height to shoot up into that runner-up spot.
Over on the throwing side of the meet, sophomore Janaye Reed put up solid outings in both shot put and discus. Her better of the two events was shot put. There her put went 35-03.00, which was enough to earn her a spot on the podium at 5th place.
The girls had a hard time finding the podium on the racing side, but a lot of Lady Mustangs still put up solid performances, plus the added bonus of saying they are state qualifiers. Freshman Annaleise Ruzich competed in four events in the meet, running individually in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, as well as with a team in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.
McCracken County proved yet again they are one of the premier track programs in the region and in the state after a great performance at the state meet on Saturday. The Mustangs made sure their presence was felt with multiple gold medals, school records, and solid performances all around. From veterans closing out their careers on a high note to underclassmen starting to make a name for themselves, McCracken County continues to stand out in the track and field space, and will continue to do so with that established tradition.