The 800-meter dash is often considered one of, if not the toughest race in track, requiring a combination of both speed and endurance.
Lincoln County’s Lucy Singleton apparently doesn’t find it too difficult of a race. The Lincoln County Middle School eighth-grader outraced all her competitors to win the 800 in the Class 3A, Region 7 High School Track and Field Championships in May to earn her first trip to state. Then on Saturday, Singleton found her way to the top of the awards podium again by winning the 800-meter dash in the KTCCCA Middle School State Championships at the University of Louisville.
Singleton turned in the fastest time out of a field of 37 competitors in Saturday’s race to claim the state championship title. She was all alone as she crossed the 800-meter dash finish line, finishing almost 2-1/2 minutes ahead of the second-place runner. Singleton claimed the first-place spot in a time of 2:25.48. Ella Henage of Oldham County Middle School finished as runner-up with a time of 2:27.95.
Singleton was one of six individuals and five relay teams taking to the track for Lincoln at the state meet.
The girls 4×800-meter relay team posted the only other top 10 finish at the meet, placing seventh out of 35 relay teams with a time of 10:52.10.
The Lincoln girls had four relay teams running at the state meet. In addition to the 4×800, they competed in the 4×100, the 4×200 and the 4×400. Lincoln finished 26th in both the 4×200 and 4×400, posting times of 2:02.88 and 4:55.20, respectively. The Lincoln 4×100 ran 31st in a time of 59.92 seconds.
The Lincoln boys competed in just one relay, the 4×800. The team ran 34th overall in a time of 11:09.58.
The other Lincoln individuals competing at the middle school state championships were Maddy Slone, Chloee Dunn, Alexis Slone, Sam Singleton and Jerek Pope.
M. Slone and Sam Singleton both ran in two separate individual races Saturday, with Slone hitting a sprint in the 200- and 100-meter dashes and Singleton going for distance in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs. Slone placed 30th and 32nd, respectively, in the 200 and 100, finishing the 200 in 29.08 seconds and the 100 in 13.91 seconds. Singleton had his best finish in the 3200-meter run, placing 34th in a time of 12:22.74. He  ran 50th in the 1600 in 5:39.46.
Dunn and A. Slone competed in distance runs like Sam Singleton, with Dunn running in the 1600-meter run and Slone coming on for the 3200-meter run. Dunn ran a time of 6:12.43 to finish 27th in the 1600 and Slone posted a time of 14:42.24 to place 34th in the 3200.
Pope was Lincoln’s lone hurdler in the state meet, entered in the boys 300-meter hurdles. He completed in the race in 1:01.34 to place him 50th.