The Harlan Green Dragons traveled to Lexington on Thursday to compete in the KHSAA Class A Track and Field State Championship. They placed 35th in the boys division with four points. Beechwood won both divisions.
“We came to the meet ready and the boys were ready to give it their all,” Harlan coach Dakota Owens said. “It has been tough practicing this year without a track and for them to make it this far and to qualify in multiple events is pretty astonishing.”
Tanner Daniels placed seventh in the 1,600-meter run to lead the boys. Tayquan Vick, Noah Sharp, Darius Akal and Kyler McLendon finished seventh in the 4 x 200-meter relay.
“Tanner had an impressive time of 4:30 in the mile which put him in seventh at the meet. He is starting to get more comfortable with how fast he truly is and next year I believe you will see a different version of him on the track,” Owens said.
Akal finished 19th in the 100-meter dash. He was immediately followed by McLendon.
“Kyler and Darius have improved in the 100m all year and they both finished with consistent times of mid 11s (seconds),” Owens said.
Nate Montanaro was 18th in the 110-meter hurdles.
“Nate had a PR run of 17.15 in the 110mh,” Owens said. “This year has been challenging for Nate without a track to work hurdles efficiently, but next year he will come back ready and may even try out more running events.”
Vick, Akal, Sharp and McLendon were 10th in the 4 x 100-meter relay.
“Our relays came out strong this meet,” Owens said. “They were originally ranked 10th (4×200) and 12th (4×100), but they ended up finishing seventh in the 4×200 and 10th in the 4×100,” Owens said. “This was a huge milestone for them to get on the podium at the state meet and they did.
“This has been a great season for all my athletes and next year the majority of them will be back.”