Over 1000 of the state’s top track & field athletes came together on the Christian Academy track, for one of Kentucky’s most competitive meets – the Harry Greschel Invitational. The 7th edition of the invitational, named after the founder of the Christian Academy’s track & field program, attracted 22 of the best girls & boys teams in the area.

The raw numbers were staggering: 19 state-leading performances were set, 5 national elite and 145 state elite marks were exceeded. The highlight was the jaw dropping 200 turned in by North Hardin’s Kianna Gray. Her 23.92 second time is the fastest 200in Kentucky history!

The girls team finished an outstanding 7th place in the team standings, pushed by medalists in 4 events. Junior Lilli Popovich threw to medals in both the shot put (33′ 10″) and the discus (104′ 11″). Tessa Sipe soared 8′ in the pole vault to take the bronze. And the 4×800 relay team of Hannah Herd, Callie Donaldson, Candace Putlakand Clara Lynch clipped off 8 laps in a season best time of 10:34.28 toalso earn third place.

Placing at this meet (top 8), earns team points and in a meet this big, that is an accomplishment worth recognizing.After her 4×800 relay duties, Callie also scored in the 3200, as she has become the 5th fastest 2 miler in school history.In a dual of field eventschool record holders, Tessa finished the slimmest of margins – one-hundreth of a second – to grab 8th place in the 100 hurdles over Lilli. Tessa was also on two other scoring relays – the 4×200 joining Hannah Herd, Eva Bohne’& Taylor Ross and the 4×400 again joining Hannah & Taylor, with Candace filling out thequartet.

The boys team place 16th place, scoring in 4 events. Sprinter Adam Shelton showed his off-season work ethic payed off, blazing 11.62 for 7th in the 100. Adam showed his ability in longer sprints also, joining Eric Lesmeister, Luke Montgomery and Conner Cloyd, to get a team best placing of 5th. Eric was also on the placing 4×800 relay team with Austin Schaper, Michael Good and Alex Curry. The final team points were earned by Jed Clay in the shot put.

Kicking off the Harry Greschel Invitational weekend is the Friday night KYtrackXC.com 5K Showdown, which gathered 80 of the best distance runners from all over Kentucky, plusa couple of Hoosier standouts, for this invitation only event. 26 national elite marks were achieved, in spite of the windy conditions.Maggie Allen of Sacred Heart ran 17:38, the 3rd fastest time in the country, as she used a fierce kick to take the win. Daviess County’s Witney O’Brienwas runner-up, with her 17:47 also putting her in the top 5 in the nation. Christian Academy’s own Hannah Herd and Clara Lynch showed that they are among the state’s elite, with Hannah running 19:41 for 19th place and Clara getting a PR 19:47 for 21st.

St. X showed why they have been nationally ranked for the last several years, grabbing 1st (William Mulloy 15:05) and 3rd (Chris Striegel – 15:07), sandwiching Barr-Reeve’s (IN) Jarit Perkins.