Franklin County Invitational Recap: Brianna Wolken & Mitchell Poynter Win at the Horse Park

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY INVITATIONAL

September 20, 2014 @ New Horse Park in Lexington, KY

Hosted by Franklin County

Results

 

Boys Varsity

Tippecanoe (Ohio) came down to Lexington this morning and proved that they were in a class of their own. The Red Devils finished with five runners in the top fifteen, led by Mitchell Poynter who placed first with a time of 15:50. Poynter and Robert Rupp (North Hardin) battled throughout most of the race; they both ran their first mile at a blazing 4:40. Not far behind them was Brennan Fields (Madison Central) who was at4:45 after a mile and Daniel Frame (Tippecanoe) who was only ten seconds behind the lead at 4:50. The large pack behind the first four runners included Aaron Wier (LCA), Thomas Hill (Lafayette), Seth Gard (Eaton), Josh Hannon (St. Henry), and Logan Campbell (Owsley County). Rupp and Poynter were still at a dead heat at the second mile; they both ran a 9:53 and were putting a lot of distance between themselves and Fields who had a comfortable third place position. With about a half mile to go, runners started to make their moves. Poynter pulled away from Rupp and did not relinquish his lead, Rupp finished second with a time of 16:08. The third place finish was an exciting one as Tippecanoe’s Daniel Frame overcame a ten second deficit at the two mile to ultimately beat Madison Central’s Brennan Fields; they finished with times of 16:14 and 16:30 respectively. There were a lot of impressive performances today, some of which were unexpected based on recent rankings. Jordan Carrington (Southwestern) ran a very fast 16:42 and finished fifth, right behind his regional rival from Madison Central. Sam Smith (Pulaski County) also snuck into the top ten with a time of 16:44 and St. Henry’s Josh Hannon made a statement with a time of 16:46 as he as finished in tenth place. This meet featured several fast times, with twelve runners finishing in under seventeen minutes. Tippecanoe won handily but Kentucky was well represented as St. Henry, Madison Central, North Hardin, and Russell all rounded out the top five.

 

Girls Varsity

Coming into this race, Brianna Wolken (Mercy) was the clear favorite and she did not disappoint. She never gave up her lead and looked very comfortable as she was the only girl to finish with a time under nineteen minutes (18:55). The closest she ever was to another runner was the mile mark where Taylor Broermann (Eaton) was only six seconds behind. After Wolken and Broermann, there were a handful of girls vying for the third spot. Sam Hentz (St. Henry), Jennah Flairty (Campbell County), and Selina Mattingly (Williamsburg) were all in the mix as they finished their first mile in 5:50. Wolken extended her lead at mile two where her time of 11:54 was eighteen seconds ahead of Broermann who had second place all to herself. At that point it was obvious that those two were separating themselves from the rest of the competition. Flairty and Hentz were still in a tough battle for third, they both finished mile two at 12:21. Wolken led the rest of the way to come away with the title, Taylor Broermann held on to the second spot and finished with a time of 19:20. Sam Hentz pulled away from Flairty the last few hundred meters to take third place; they finished with times of 19:30 and 19:35. The only other girl that ran under twenty minutes was Williamsburg’s Selina Mattingly who finished at 19:56. The rest of the top ten finishers included, in order, Brinna Price (Tippecanoe), Victoria Dotson (Rockcastle), Kendall Hayes (Woodford County), Devin Mayfield (Pulaski), and Hailey Brumfield (Tippecanoe). Just like in the boy’s race, Tippecanoe had an overwhelming victory with a score of 70. Another Ohio team took second place, as Eaton came away with 123 points. The top team from Kentucky in this race was St. Henry, followed by Madison Central, and Mercy.