Lady Cols take fifth
The Henderson County Colonels have several track and field athletes headed to the state meet after putting together one of the biggest postseason runs in recent program history.
One week after winning the first Area One championship in school history, Henderson County captured the Class 3A Region 1 championship on its home track May 9, finishing with 117 points, 23 points ahead of Marshall County’s 94.
The regional title marked the Colonels’ first boys’ regional championship since 2007, the same season first-year head coach Wes Fehrenbacher was a sophomore in the program.
“We basically flipped the script on Region One,” Fehrenbacher said. “For a number of years, Marshall and McCracken had been the teams to beat in our region, and Henderson County was kind of fighting to be the best of the midfield.”
Instead, the Colonels spent the postseason proving they belonged at the top.
At the Area One Championships on May 2, Henderson County edged Marshall County 102.5-100 to claim the first Area One boys title in school history. Fehrenbacher said the groundwork for the season’s success began months earlier.
“I knew what our talent coming back was,” Fehrenbacher said. “The goal this year was to level out the playing field a little bit more.”
The Colonels’ depth quickly became one of their biggest strengths.
Henderson County carried more than 75 athletes on its roster this season, creating competition that translated into postseason production across nearly every event group.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re putting as many kids on the track and in the field and in as many events as we could,” Fehrenbacher said. “That competition within the program leads to those really good finishes on Saturdays.”
The depth showed throughout both championship meets.
“You look at the results from the field events to the jumps to the pole vault, distance crew, sprint hurdles, relays, throws–every single group put up considerable points for us,” Fehrenbacher said. “That’s what you’ve got to do at regionals. It shows a total team effort.”
The Colonels’ relays led the way during the postseason.
Henderson County swept the 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relays at both Area One and Region 1 while also winning the regional title in the 4×400 relay and finishing second in the 4×800 relay.
“Our relays did an exceptional job,” Fehrenbacher said after the Area One meet. “We got 36 points out of our relays at area.”
Senior sprinter King Combest helped headline the effort.
Combest won regional championships in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes after claiming the Area One title in the 200. He also anchored Henderson County’s regional champion 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams. He has committed to continue his track career at Highland Community College (Kansas).
Henderson County’s 4×100 relay currently sits as the fourth-fastest time in Kentucky entering the state meet.
The jumps crew also played a major role in Henderson County’s rise this season.
Junior Mason Webb continued his breakout campaign by winning the Area One long jump title before placing third in the regional long jump and fourth in the triple jump.
Fehrenbacher said Webb’s development has been one of the program’s biggest success stories after entering indoor season around the 17-foot range in the long jump.
“He kept working and he kept showing up,” Fehrenbacher said. “He found his confidence this year.”
Fehrenbacher also praised the work of the Colonels’ coaching staff for helping bridge gaps throughout the lineup and maximize the roster’s depth.
“It takes a lot of work from a lot of people to make that happen,” he said. “The coaching staff has stepped up to the plate with the challenges that I put before them, and the kids performed.”
On the girls’ side, the Lady Colonels finished eighth at Area One before improving to fifth at the regional meet against what Fehrenbacher described as a very tough field.
Avery Thomson won both the Area One and Region 1 pole vault championships, while Lilly Clark claimed a regional title in the triple jump.
Automatic state qualifiers for Henderson County boys included Combest in the 100 and 200, Austin Dunn in pole vault, Jacob Nunn in shot put, Thomson in pole vault and Clark in triple jump. The Colonels also qualified all four boys relay teams for state competition.
Several additional Henderson County athletes remain in contention for at-large state bids following the regional meet. Final at-large qualifiers will be determined once results from all regions across Kentucky are finalized.
Now, after ending a 19-year regional title drought, Henderson County will try to carry its momentum into the state championships.
“There’s still a lot more to go,” Fehrenbacher said.
Region point scorers and state qualifiers
Point scorers for the Lady Colonels:
• Alex Rendle – 6th place in the 100m hurdles
• Sadie Smith – 6th place in pole vault
• Kali Brewer – 6th place in shot put
• Estelle Erbst – 6th place in discus
• Callie Burnett – 5th place in the 1600m
• Harper Brewer, Paislee Toombs, Hazel Erbst, Callie Burnett – 5th place in the 4x400m relay
• Estelle Erbst – 5th place in shot put
• Estelle Erbst – 4th place in high jump
• Lilly Clark – 4th place in long jump
Automatic state qualifiers for the Lady Colonels:
• Avery Thomson – Regional Champion in pole vault
• Lilly Clark – Regional Champion in triple jump
Point scorers for the Colonels:
• JShawn Gumbs – 6th place in the 400m dash
• Christian Smith – 5th place in the 800m run
• Troy Butler – 5th place in the 110m hurdles
• Ross Plummer – 4th place in the 800m run
• Tyreese McCombs – 4th place in the 110m hurdles
• Tyreese McCombs – 4th place in the 300m hurdles
• Troy Butler – 4th place in high jump
• Mason Webb – 4th place in triple jump
• Jordan Haynes – 3rd place in the 400m dash
• Mason Webb – 3rd place in long jump
• Jacob Nunn – 3rd place in discus
Automatic state qualifiers for the Colonels:
• Austin Dunn – 2nd place in pole vault
• Jacob Nunn – 2nd place in shot put
• Christian Smith, Jordan Haynes, Kegan Cummings, Ross Plummer – 2nd place in the 4x800m relay
• King Combest – Regional Champion in the 100m dash
• King Combest – Regional Champion in the 200m dash
• Jack Dalton, Alex Bowley, Avant Baxter, King Combest – Regional Champions in the 4x200m relay
• Tyce Smith, Avant Baxter, Jack Dalton, King Combest – Regional Champions in the 4x100m relay
• Jordan Haynes, Ross Plummer, Christian Smith, Avant Baxter – Regional Champions in the 4x400m relay
