DANVILLE - Junior Shanae Brown won the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints and anchored the winning 4x100 and 4x200 relay units to lead the Frankfort High girls to a second-place finish here Saturday in the Class 1A Region 5 track and field meet at Admiral Stadium.
Junior Cailyn Jouett posted the other victory for the Frankfort girls, throwing an impressive 37 feet, 7.5 inches to win the shot put.
Host Danville won the girls division with 100 points, while Frankfort’s Lady Panthers scored 84, edging out the Eagles of Lexington Christian, who came in third with 80 points.
The Frankfort boys were eighth out of 11 teams in their division, with junior Aaron Jackson leading the way, beaten by an eyelash in his specialty, the 400 meters, by Owen County senior Bobby Mingie, 52.35 to 52.36.
The top two finishers in each regional event automatically qualify for the state meet Thursday at the University of Louisville, along with a figurative handful of other at-large qualifiers.
Frankfort head coach Ed Fields appeared stunned by the runner-up spot of his girls.
“I just didn’t think we had enough events covered,” Fields said of the Lady Panthers. “I’m ecstatic. We got five first-place finishes. That’s phenomenal, you know? I like that. We have only got six girls, and out of the six, each of them placed today and will be participating at state. That’s an accomplishment in itself.”
The Lady Panthers were led by Shanae Brown who reached state in only the 200 last year, finishing eighth, but exploded on the post-season scene with Saturday’s performance.
Brown ran 13.22 in winning the 100 and 27.30 in winning the 200, in addition to anchoring the two sprint relays.
She ran with Shauntae Brown, Amber Wilcoxson and Jasmine Washington in a 1:52.6 4x200, and with Shauntae Brown, Shantiqa Shaw and Washington in a 52.92 4x100.
The Lady Panthers blew away the competition in both of those relays.
“The relays are our main events,” Shanae Brown said. “That’s what we practice on ... what we work for. So I thought we did pretty good. They went smooth.”
Brown’s biggest adversity of the day came in the 200-meter dash.
“Just when I started, a bug flew in my eye and I got a little dizzy, and I kind of lost track for a minute,” she said.
Asked if that worried her for a second, Brown said: “No, not really.”
Fields said Brown’s arrival on the scene has been a combination of hard work and opportunity.
“She’s been able to be at practice more this year,” Fields said of Brown. “Last year she was splitting time between AAU basketball and track. This year she’s been more dedicated to track, and I can see the payoff.”
Jouett, meanwhile, enjoyed as impressive a showing in her shot put win as any athlete did in any one event at region, winning the shot by nearly nine feet over runner-up Elizabeth Johnson of Nicholas County.
“I told my mom I was going to come here and get 38,” said Jouett, who was eighth at state in the shot put last spring. “I was close – 37-7. I told my mom I was going to yell on my last one (throw) and I did, and I think that’s why I threw better.”
Jouett just missed automatically qualifying for state in the discus, finishing third at 78-7. She was edged out of second by Allison Howard of Nicholas County, who threw 78 feet.
Jouett said she’s confident she can make a splash at state and win the shot.
“There’s a girl from somewhere like Newport Central Catholic who’s throwing 39,” Jouett said. “But I plan to get first.”
Shaw finished second in the girls long jump to earn a state qualifying spot in that event. Burgin sophomore Liz Marcinek won the long jump in 15-8 with Shaw, also a sophomore, next at 15-1.
If they perform close to regional standards, the Lady Panthers have high hopes of a top finish in Class A state.
“We could possibly win it,” Fields said.
If they do, it’ll start with their bread and butter – the sprint relays.
“We’re getting our times down,” Fields said of the relays. “We may only have two days of practice before state, so I don’t know how much we can add to this, but we’ll do the best that we can. The best we can do in this time is try to improve the timing between the handoffs.”
Said Brown: “We’ve been practicing hard for it, and now we’ve got to go get it.”
On the boys side, Jackson was involved in the most thrilling finish of the day, losing out to nemesis Mingie despite a surge down the home stretch that nearly caught the Owen County runner.
“I’ve already beat him twice this season,” Jackson said of Mingie. “He paces me all the time, and I was trying to keep him close to me. But I think on the last curve I took a little off when I should have picked it up.”
“Aaron didn’t run poorly,” Fields said. “The other guy ran faster. That happens.”
Jackson finished third in the long jump at 19-6 and fourth in both the 200 (24.56) and 100 (11.64).
Others gaining third-place finishes for Frankfort in regional action were Washington in the girls 100 hurdles in 19.38, and Shaw in the 300 hurdles in 51.16.
Wilcoxson was fourth for the FHS girls in the 400 in 1:09.12, and Chris Hawkins was fourth for the FHS boys in the shot put in 36-9.
Here’s a look at all regional events involving Frankfort High athletes:
Girls
Team scores – 1. Danville 100; 2. Frankfort 84; 3. Lex. Christian 80; 4. Trimble Co. 75; 5. Burgin 72; 6. Nicholas Co. 37; 7. Sayre 30; 8. Owen Co. 23; 9. Paris 20; 10. Bracken Co. 15; 11. Carroll Co. 10.
100-meter hurdles – 1. Elizabeth Farmer (LC) 18.45; 2. Summer Burke (B) 18.63; 3. Jasmine Washington (FHS) 19.38.
100-meter dash – 1. Shanae Brown (FHS) 13.22; 4. Shantiqa Shaw (FHS) 13.86.
200-meter dash – 1. Shanae Brown (FHS) 27.30.
400-meter dash – 4. Amber Wilcoxson (FHS) 1:09.12.
300-meter hurdles – 3. Shantiqa Shaw (FHS) 51.16.
800-meter run – Amber Wilcoxson (FHS) 3:17.68.
4x200-meter relay – 1. Frankfort (Amber Wilcoxson, Jasmine Washington, Shauntae Brown, Shanae Brown) 1:52.60.
4x100-meter relay – 1. Frankfort (Shantiqa Shaw, Jasmine Washington, Shauntae Brown, Shanae Brown) 52.92.
Long jump – 2. Shantiqa Shaw (FHS) 15-1.
Shot put – 1. Cailyn Jouett (FHS) 37-7.5.
Discus – 3. Cailyn Jouett (FHS) 78-7.
Boys
Team scores – 1. Lex. Christian 101; 2. Danville 96; 3. Owen Co. 70; 4. Burgin 63; 5. Nicholas Co. 56; 6. Bracken Co. 42; 7. Trimble Co. 38; 8. Frankfort 26; 9. Carroll Co. 25; 10. Sayre 22; 11. Paris 8.
100-meter dash – 4. Aaron Jackson (FHS) 11.64; 9. Kaleb Leach (FHS) 12.29.
200-meter dash – 4. Aaron Jackson (FHS) 24.56; 9. Kaleb Leach (FHS) 25.78.
400-meter dash – 2. Aaron Jackson (FHS) 52.36; 12. Kaleb Leach (FHS) 1:01.49.
Long jump – 3. Aaron Jackson (FHS) 19-6.
Shot put – 4. Chris Hawkins (FHS) 36-09.
Discus – 11. Chris Hawkins (FHS) 87-10.
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