[Stardust]

St. Henry girls' track and field coach Tony Harden prefers to be alone along the back stretch during meets. The isolation keeps his head clear and allows him plenty of space to pace.

Harden was doing plenty of pacing, worrying and cajoling while spurring on his team Thursday at the Class A championships at University of Louisville's Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park. In the end, he and his Crusaders did a lot of celebrating.

St. Henry won the small-school team championship for the sixth time under Harden's direction, but this was especially sweet. It's the girls' first since 2008.

"A great feeling," Harden said. "We were down, but we started getting points and I knew it was close. I think our triple jumpers were the difference."

The Crusaders accrued 98.5 points while edging three-time defending champion Newport Central Catholic (93 points). Bishop Brossart (47) finished third, giving Northern Kentucky teams a sweep of the top three spots.

St. Henry won five straight from 2004-08. The only non-Northern Kentucky team to win the Class A title in the last 16 years was Fort Knox in 2003. Brossart won the first three championships of the new century.

"It's a credit to all three teams to finish 1-2-3," Harden said. "We knew we had our work cut out for us."

St. Henry won just one event, the meet-opening 3,200-meter relay. The team of Sam Hentz, Taylor Connett, Lindsey Hinken and Ashley Svec came in with a time of 9 minutes and 55.31 seconds. High placers for the Crusaders included triple jumpers Celia Eltzroth, who came in third, and fourth-place Meghan Burke, who also finished third in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the long jump.

Svec was runner-up in the 800 and 1,600 meters. Hinken was second in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600. Eltzroth was second in the 100 hurdles. Hents was fourth in the 3,200 and Connett was fifth in the 800. Laura Felix was fifth in the pole vault.

NewCath was sparked by titles in four events. Liz Gruenschlaeger won the shot put and finished second in the discus. Chandler Cain won the 100 meters and finished second in the 400 and third in the 200. The Thoroughbreds' 800 and 1,600 relay teams also grabbed firsts. Abbie Lukens was fourth in the shot put.

Nicole Goderwis was part of a pair of firsts for Brossart. She won the open 400 and ran a leg on the winning 400 relay team also featuring Elizabeth Patterson, Suzi Brown and Lauren Goderwis. NewCath was second in the 400 relay.

Other top-five finishers of note: Villa Madonna's Lauren Dumaine third in the shot put; Beechwood's Sarah Irwin fourth in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump, and the Tigers' Lauren Miller third in the discus; Walton Verona's Madison Peace tied for fourth in the high jump.http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...305170035/