Mercer’s Lleyton Penn Breaks 26-Year-Old Record At Heart Of The Bluegrass
Image: Happy Herd Photography
Mercer senior Lleyton Penn broke a 26-year-old record for the shotput at AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass on Saturday, April 15.
Timberlynn Yeast
Herald Contributor
It was a beautiful day as the Mercer County Titans hosted the 36th Annual AJ’s Heart of the Bluegrass Track Classic at Alvis Johnson Field. There were 32 teams across the state and West Virginia who participated in the track meet.
The boys track team had a great day on Saturday. There were many personal records set and a single meet record was broken. The boys placed fourth overall. Senior Lleyton Penn started out the day breaking the 26-year-old meet record in the shot put. The throw was 57-01.00 which was also a personal record for Penn as well. Junior Byron Collier had a big day at the discus ring with a throw of 132-01, placing him sixth and setting a new personal record. Sophomore Marshall Hart placed fourth in the 3,200 meter run. His time was 10:05.88. Thaddeus Mays had three top 10 finishes on the day. He placed seventh in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.97. He tied the school record with a vault of 12-6 in the pole vault and placed second in the triple jump. The 4×800 meter relay team of Marshall Hart, Liam Potts, Mason Sanders and Sam Lewis took sixth place. Lastly, senior Beau Brown topped it all off placing third in the 100m, second in the 200m and fifth place in the long jump. Overall, the boys had a phenomenal day finishing fourth and was the only AA school in the top eight.
The Lady Titans had a good day as well with four girls scoring and still placing seventh. While missing a key piece, they looked strong with good performances from a couple of athletes. The top performer on the girls’ side was senior Lindsay Jessie. She took home a gold medal in the discus and a bronze in the shot put. Senior Jai Maria Piazza was back on the track after a few weeks off. She placed second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.45. Senior Clayra Darnell had two top 10 finishes, which included eighth place in the 1600m and fifth place in the 3200m. Sophomore Ralasia Piazza had a great day in the jumping pit. She set a personal record in the triple jump with a jump of 35-06.25 and took second place. She also took third in the high jump.
Over all, Head Track Coach Terry Yeast was very happy with both team’s performances. He feels like they are heading in the right direction with six weeks until region.
