Jared's World

The Lady Titans continued their dominant late-season streak, blowing past Garrard County in two double digit match wins.

Midway through game one, the Lady Lions were able to climb back within reach to a 12-10 deficit. but Mercer would soon leave them in the dust.

For a complete report on the Lady Titans in the post-season, along with a full feature on the team’s growth during the season, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

The Burgin Bulldogs set out to make their name among the Lexington-area schools and did just that with a win. Last weekend’s 2009 Dunbar Invitational at Masterson Station Park was Burgin’s sixth win in seven races.

Burgin now has bragging rights over the city’s boys cross country squads, having beaten every Lexington school at least once.

While the cold, rainy weather might be enough to keep casual runners indoors, Mercer and two other teams braved the conditions Tuesday night for a meet.

The Titans hosted Casey County and Madison Southern and dominated the field for the most part. The Titans boys counted for three of the top five finishers, including a winning performance from Bryant Qualls with a time of 20:00.
Mercer’s Tori Gray came in eight seconds behind the leader, finishing second in the girls run at 25:06.

For more info on both teams, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

Tuesday, October 6: The Lady Titans picked up their fourth win in a row with a decisive victory over the visiting Burgin squad 2-0 Tuesday evening.

Burgin was shorthanded with several absent due to sickness or vacation and Mercer was able to take advantage of the short-staffed Lady Bulldogs for their third district win in the past two weeks. Mercer won the two games 25-14 and 25-9.

“Everyone is pushing themselves harder than ever to try and make up for those not here or not feeling up to par.”

“They made an admirable effort against Mercer tonight, and I hope we will be at full strength when we meet them again at the District Tournament on Tuesday,” Burgin coach Maggie McKnight said.

The district tournament schedule is now clear, with Mercer County hosting this year’s competition next week. It begins on Tuesday with Mercer facing Burgin at 6:00 p.m.

For a complete report on both teams, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

BURGIN: The Burgin Lady Bulldogs played Garrard about as close as a team can, but couldn’t take the extra step for a win.

Burgin pushed the Lady Lions but lost both sets 26-24. Burgin is now 1-3 in extended sets this season.

For pictures from Burgin’s match against Burgin, click here to view the gallery.

MERCER: The Titans dropped a match Tuesday to Boyle County, falling to 1-5 in the month of September. It was the first match in a week for the Lady Titans.

Mercer was playing back-and-forth on the scoreboard with Boyle in game one, taking the lead at 13-12 at one point.

Boyle soon took the reins and beat Mercer 25-14 in set one and followed that up with a 25-11 set two.

They’ve had the long drives since the beginning, but a developing short game has Mercer’s girls golf team on the fast track just before regional competition.

Lauren Yates shot a season low 41 to lead the team to a season low score of 179 Thursday night as the Lady Titans defeated East Jessamine High School at Bright Leaf. Co-captain Ally Perrin was close behind with a score of 43 on the night.

The team impressed head coach Terry Dailey from the first practices with their long drives. The girls have worked very hard to improve their games on the greens and it’s starting to pay off in the late stretch.

Dailey said the girls have been experimenting with different equipment, but that the small tweaks have made dividends on the course.

“Different club selection and better technique has made the difference around the green. These changes take time for everyone to become comfortable with,” Dailey said.

“We feel like we are peaking at the right time with the region just a little over a week away and we are excited about finishing the season playing our best.”

The Lady Bulldogs picked up their first win in 12 matches against KSD Thursday night, winning 25-14 and 25-12 on the road.

Senior Beth Miller and junior Abbey Worley each had five kills in the match. Sophomores Kaelin May and Lindsey Monson each had four service aces over KSD.

Coach Maggie McKnight said the win is encouraging and her team is buckling down for an important stretch coming up.

“We are showing improvement. The girls are working hard to get ready for the next three games at home.”

The MCSH boys may be without one of their starters in this weekend’s Hyundai Pulaski Challenge Cup championship game this weekend. Assistant coach Tim Shannon said that Zach Bailes will miss the deciding game of the tourney with a severe concussion.

Bailes was originally injured Tuesday night in the Pulaski Hyundai Challenge Cup against North Laurel when he fell awkwardly on his neck and shoulders.

Bailes was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The team found out Thursday night that Bailes’ injury was a grade three concussion, the most severe type.

The MCSH girls soccer team may also be losing a key cog for the rest of the season after a 1-1 tie against Southwestern Thursday night.

According to assistant coach Chris Kehrt, Grant re-injured her knee during Thursday night’s game in the Pulaski Hyundai Challenge Cup and will be out for the rest of the season. Kehrt said Grant was playing with a partial tear in her ACL and that she further injured it when planting and turning on the field.

Burgin was back at it Saturday.The Bulldog boys took home a third win at the eighth E.G. Plummer Invitational Meet last weekend.

Burgin girls runner Mackenzie Kibler won her middle school meet, while Mercer middle schooler Jacob Crowell earned second place in his meet.

For more details on both schools and their results at the E.G. Plummer meet, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald.

The Lady Titans golf team won their evening match against Frankfort Tuesday.

Mercer had a team score of 201 to Frankfort’s 226 on their home course at Brightleaf.

Mercer’s co-captains Ally Perrin and Lauren Yates, pictured in order at right, notched scores of 42 and 49 respectively.

Mercer girls: Down 1-0 at the half, the Lady Titans surged for two goals in the second. They surrendered a goal for the tie score and were unable to score in extra time. Final score: 2-2 tie.

Mercer boys: The Titans ran away with the competition with two goals in the first half. After beating Pulaski by five in the season opener, Mercer stretched the lead to three and walked away with the shutout win. Final score: 3-0.

For pictures from both games, click here to check out The Harrodsburg Herald’s sports Flickr page.