Runners from West Stanly compete at KYA Indoor Classic
Published 6:37 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Austin Huneycutt runs in the turn during the KYA meet at East Tennessee State University this past weekend. (Photo contributed by Johnny McManus)
Brooklyn Simpson competes at the KYA meet at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. (Photo by Johnny McManus)
On Friday, 13 runners who attend West Stanly High School and their parents traveled to Johnson City, Tenn. to compete in the KYA Indoor Classic at East Tennessee State University.
High school and college teams across the Southeast have a chance to compete at a high level while the meet also gives athletes an opportunity for college recruitment.
The group entered the distance medley relay on Friday night with two women teams and one team for the men. The relays were distances of 400, 800, 1,200 and 1,600 meters.
The team of Natalie Almond, Maddie Miller, Rachel Efird and Pierson McManus ran a 14:33 for eighth place.
The second team saw Brooklyn Simpson run a 1,200 to lead, with McKenzie Whitley, Kaylee Hartsell and Katherine Pollard providing the finish.
The men had Noah Almond lead off with a fast 1,200 of 3:36 to lead Daniel Brattain, Logan Huneycutt and Austin Huneycutt.
Two of the women had a quick turnaround with seniors McManus and Simpson entered in the two-mile race Saturday morning.
McManus ran even mile splits of 6:24 and 6:25 for a 12:49 time and a seventh-place finish. The senior entered against some of top runners from Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, missing the medal stand by 1.5 seconds.
Simpson developed a muscle cramp in her side halfway through the race and was slowed from her normal performance.
Up next were the milers with Natalie Almond finishing as the second freshman overall, running a 6:18, with junior Katherine Pollard running 6:33.
The men saw sophomore Austin Huneycutt run 5:33 and junior Daniel Brattain run 5:38, while senior Logan Huneycutt was a little off his normal performance.
The group closed the day with the 800 meters. Senior Maddie Miller ran a season-best 2:45, while sophomore Rachel Efird ran a season-best 2:49. Junior Kaylee Hartsell had her first race at ETSU in 3:07.
Senior Noah Almond finished the group’s day with his second race of the weekend, running a personal-record 2:09.63. Almond finished 21st out of 78 in the event.
Freshman Chayse Huneycutt got his first taste of racing in the mini dome with a personal-record 2:32.
About Charles Curcio
Charles Curcio has served as the sports editor of the Stanly News & Press for more than 16 years and has written numerous news and feature storeis as well. He was awarded the NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He has also won an award from Boone Newspapers, and has won four North Carolina Press Association awards.
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