The Panthers dominated the Fayette County track-and-field championships, which were held at Panther Stadium on Saturday, March 14. All teams except the boys’ junior varsity came in first place in their overall team competitions. The boys’ junior varsity came in second place behind Whitewater.

Junior Alexis Farley was one of the best performers, placing in the 100-meter hurdles, the long jump, and the triple jump. Farley’s performance for the long jump and triple jump earned her national elite performances with a jump of 38-8.75, a new school record. Teammate senior Mary Valli, who finished second in the 1,600-meter run and the girls’ team’s sweep of the pole vault event, helped to lead the girls to their almost 20-point win.

“I just went out there and gave it my best effort,” Farley said. “The goal was to win county, and we did that. I’m very proud of this team.”

Head coach Chad Walker praised the junior for her outstanding performance at the county championships.

“She is something special,”  Walker said. “We feel like she is going to give us a solid performance every time she competes, and she delivers every time.”

The boys won as well, finishing with a six-point win over McIntosh. Senior Taylor Brunskole, who plans to attend Harvard University, won both hurdles events, finishing with a time of 15.02 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 40.63 seconds in the 300-meter race. Both performances were good enough for him to win by more than two seconds.

“Taylor is another guy who can perform when he’s asked to,” Walker said. “He swept all of the hurdle events, and did a great job being a team leader. We need that from the seniors.”

The team’s next meet is the Region 4-AAAAA championship at home on April 22-23. The team will be looking to win the region championship for the first time since 2010.

“We always look to do good at home,” Walker said in preparation for the upcoming event. “We won the Friday Night Lights event a few weeks ago, and we want to defend our home track.”