Even though the 2023-24 school year is complete, George Rogers Clark High School spring sports are ramping up.
Within the past week, all of our spring sports were competing in various district and region competitions and GRC athletics came home victorious in multiple sports.
Let’s recap this exciting week.
Track and Field sends 13 athletes to State
The 2024 Track and Field Region meet will go down as one of the best in GRC’s history.
Thirteen Cardinal Track and Field athletes will advance to state after their strong showing at the Region meet.
Liam Parido broke his own school record for the 800-meter race, running it in 1;57.8 and finishing as Region champion.
Joey Hill had a strong meet, placing third in the 400-meter race, second in the triple jump, and winning the long jump.
Cooper Wasson came out on top in the 3200 meter race.
Reese Patrick showed her skills, winning the high jump competition and finishing third in the 300-meter hurdles.
Teigh Yeast won the triple jump and finished second in the 400-meter race.
It was an incredible team display, with many runners showing their strengths.
In GRC history, only 16 runners have completed a mile in under 5 minutes. Seven of those 16 accomplished the feat this year: Ty Balser, Charlie Castle, Harrison Culton, Liam Parido, Hunter Rogers, Lennon Smith, and Cooper Wasson all etched their names into the record books with these accomplishments.
GRC will be taking a loaded roster to state. Thirteen different athletes qualified with at least one participant in 14 different events.
Congratulations to Ty Balser, Evan Davenport, Joey Hill, Bailey Howard, Camahni John, Aidan Larkin, DeAndre McWilliams, Liam Parido, Reese Patrick, Jackson Rogers, Lennon Smith, Cooper Wasson, and Teigh Yeast.
Yeast qualified for four different events, and Hill, three.
Our Cardinals compete at state June 1 at the University of Kentucky.
Girls tennis wins third straight region tournament
This tennis season the region tournament was set up differently and was an adjustment for all teams. Instead of just having an individual and doubles competition, the addition of a separate girls and boys team regional tournament was added.
During the team tournament coaches put together a lineup consisting of five different doubles and singles pairing that they feel will win and in order to advance to the next stage of regions, teams must win three out of the five matches.
On May 16, the boys tennis team hosted Montgomery County for the first round of the team region tournament and came out victorious 3-1, sending them to the region semi-finals. This past Tuesday, May 28, they traveled to Harrison County to compete for the region title. Tuesday morning the boys were off to a promising start defeating Scott High in the semi finals 3-0, but fell short to Bourbon County in the finals losing 2-3. Junior doubles partners Drew Brookshire and Hayden Cockroll were key components for the tournament winning their matches in all 3 rounds of regional play.
On May 17, the girls team hosted Harrison County at the GRC courts for the first round and with a 3-0 sweep also got a ticket to the semi-finals. The girls team joined the boys in Harrison County on May 28 and defeated Bourbon County 3-0 in the semi-finals. They faced Montgomery County in the Region Championship and were victorious, winning 3-0. The girls team was undefeated during the regional tournament and returned home with the hard-earned Region Trophy for the third year in a row. Standout players for the girls team were Junior Sydney Ely winning her matches in all rounds and Senior doubles partners Ella Lowe and Lily Roberts also going undefeated.
The girls team will play in the state tournament June 3-5.
In individual and doubles tennis, four GRC athletes-Madelyn Settles and Cassi Lowe (region champs) and Clay Turley and Hayden Cockrell (region runner-ups) will compete in the state tournament May 28-30
GRC Baseball wins District Championship
The 26-11 Baseball Cards beat Bourbon County 9-0 to win the 40th District title for the first time since 2017.
On May 20 the number one seeded Cards traveled to Bourbon County to play against Paris in the district opener. They began with a rocky start going down 6-0 in the first inning. But in true Cardinal fashion, they didn’t let the early mistakes get them down. The team bounced back and ultimately won 16-6 mercy ruling in the sixth inning and advancing them to the District Championship.
On May 21 the Cardinals and Bourbon County Colonels were scoreless until the fifth inning when the Cardinals found momentum leading to a 9-0 victory giving the Cardinals the title of 40th District Champions.
Make sure to keep up with the Cardinals as they play again at 1 p.m., Monday, May 27, at Bourbon County versus Scott High in the first round of the 10th Region Tournament.
Softball gets runner-up in District Tournament
The 40th District Softball Tournament was held at GRC with our Cardinals finishing runner-up to Montgomery County. GRC took on the Bourbon County Colonels for the first round of the tournament and after a hard-fought battle, the Lady Cards were victorious with a score of 4-2 advancing them to the District Championship and securing a spot in the 10th Region tournament.
GRC Softball and Campbell County will open play in the 10th Region tournament on Memorial Day at 11 a.m. The tournament is being held at Scott High with GRC/Campbell meeting in the first game of four.
