The following represents a historical account of Assumption High School Track and Field teams, from 1969 to the present. This information was drawn from old issues of the Courier Journal and Louisville Times, and from information obtained from former Assumption athletes. If you have any information which you believe may benefit this page, then please contact me via email.
The discussion below comes in three sections, based upon the structure of end-of-season competition. You may move down this page to read about each period, or click on the following links to see how each year's team did in Regional, Sectional and State meet competitions.
1969-1978:
Assumption High School track had its official beginning on April 25th,
1969, at the Louisville Catholic High School Invitational Games. This
was the first meet where individual events for girls were included (in
the previous year, a girls 440 yard relay was included in the meet). The
furthest distance that girls were allowed to run in this meet was 880
yards, and Assumption had two entries in this race: Bonnie Owens and
Linda Thomas. When Bonnie won the race in 2:50.4, she became the first
Assumption Track and Field athlete to win an open event. Linda wasn't far
behind, placing 4th (only the winning times were reported). Also placing
in this inaugural meet were Cherie Sapp (3rd, 440 yards), Ellen Crutcher
(4th, 440 yards), and Cos Metzroth (3rd, Long Jump).
Over these early years, Assumption was surprisingly successful in State meet competition. Between 1971 and 1978 Assumption had five State Champions. The bulk of this early success was in the High Jump. Assumption's first State Champion was high jumper Karen Abrams. Karen tied the state high jump record in winning the 1971 State meet and then broke the existing mark in winning the 1973 State meet. Later, in 1976, Ann Deters won another State Champion for Assumption in the High Jump (missing the state mark by only a half inch in a regular season meet).
Assumption's successes were not restricted to the High Jump. Teresa Wright and Christian Lanham became the first non-field-event Assumption athletes to win State Championships. Teresa won her's in the 440 yard dash (1974) and Christian won her's in the 100 yard dash (1978).
The early years of Girl's Track and Field in Kentucky witnessed many race distance changes. For example, girls did not run further than 880 yards until 1974 when the one mile run was added to girls competition. Other changes in girl's track competition are listed here.
1979-1992:
In 1979, the Regional and State meet running races were no longer
measured in yards, and switched to meters. This also marked the first
year in which teams outside of Louisville were allowed to compete in the
AAA State meet. In 1980, a Sectional Championship (sometimes called
a "Semi-State meet") was added to end-of-season track and field
competition.
The top 4 athletes in each Regional meet event advanced to their
respective Sectional meet. At these Sectional meets, the top two athletes
in each event qualified for the State Championship meet. Soon after this
(1982), Kentucky also added a girls 3200 meter race to the list of
competitive events.
In 1980, Gabrielle Sweeney began her streak of three consecutive State Championships in the Discus. She broke the state record in the Discus in 1981, a record which still remains today. During the 1980s, Assumption was also finely represented in State meet competition by Amy Corbett, Sandy Schaefer, Linda Falk and Kathleen Clark. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Assumption many other athletes continued to lead the way. Among them were two pairs of twins: Michelle and Melea East, and Amy and Heather Pace. Melea placed second in the 800 meters in the 1991 and 1992 State meets, while Michelle placed in the top six in two events at the 1991 State meet (an injury prevented her from competing again in the 1992 state meet). At the end of this period, freshman Trish Hamilton emerged as a powerful distance running force, placing in the top six of the 1600 and 3200 meter races at the 1992 State meet.
1993-1999:
Beginning in 1993, Kentucky Track and Field athletes would
once again advance to the State Championship meet by qualifying in their
Regional meets. As before, an athlete would have to finish within the
top two places in their Regional meet to qualify for the State meet. In
1998, another rule change expanded the opportunity to compete in State.
All athletes would continue to automatically qualify for State by
finishing in the top two places at their Regional meet. Now, however,
an athlete could also qualify for State by achieving certain "qualifying
marks" in the Regional meet (i.e. if they placed lower than second).
After qualifying in three individual events in 1993, Trish Hamilton again placed within the top six in the 1600 meters at the State meet. Assumption Track and Field would also continue a string of Regional titles that lasted through 1997. One of Assumption's most versatile track and field athletes during this period was Maeghan Ramser. Maeghan made it to the State meet in at least one event four years in a row, and, in 1996, she won the Long Jump State championship. Two years later, yet another strong field event contender from Assumption emerged in 1998's State meet when Leah Pullem placed second in State in the Discus and fourth in the Shot Put. In this same year, field events were expanded when the Triple Jump was added to girls competition.