BARDSTOWN – With the absence of Jacob England due to injury, Colton Bullington knew he had a lot of responsibility pulling the Warren East boys’ team this season.

But he’s gotten plenty of help across the board in other events, which helped Warren East carry on another successful Class 2A, Region 2 meet Tuesday with new faces earning the points.

The Raiders’ boys’ team turned in three region champions and earned top-five finishes in 11 events to finish runner-up in the region for a second straight year at Garnis Martin Field.

“It feels pretty good,” Bullington said. “Everyone had their own set goals and we all thought if everyone does their best in individual races, we’ll have a good shot.”

Bullington won the boys’ 800-meter run at a personal record of 2 minutes, 5.39 seconds and also turned in a third-place finish in the 1,600 in 4:44.24. In the past, the junior has used his teammate England – a Cumberlands signee who won three region events last year and the 2A cross-country title in 2017 – as direct competition in the race.

Instead, England has been more like another coach, and Bullington turning in a solid night of work at region gives him all the confidence he needs going into next week’s state meet at the University of Kentucky.

“I’ve had to step up on the team and be competition for everyone else,” Bullington said. “It’s worked out well for everyone. He’s still encouraging us as we practice. It’s helped me a lot and he’s always been there for everyone.”

Bullington turned in his best 800-meter run using a strong kick in the last 60 meters.

“I’m not usually the fastest guy finishing, so I tried to give it all I got,” Bullington said. “I’ll probably do the same thing again (at state). The past couple of meets, I was always getting outkicked in the end. I wanted to see if I could break out one so no one could outkick me. I was obviously dead at the end, but I felt great running so well.”

Warren East earned field championships from Matt Mellencamp in the boys’ discus and Jackson Harrell in the boys’ triple jump. Mellencamp played baseball for three years before deciding to try throwing discus and shot put this season.

He said he stepped off the bus Tuesday feeling good about his throws, then had a PR on his first attempt. He topped it again with another PR on his final throw, winning the event with a toss of 124 feet, 10 inches.

“I knew there would be competition here,” Mellencamp said. “It got me a little nervous, but coming out and getting first, it eases my nerves and kind of made the whole day good.

“First year coming out, I didn’t expect any of this.”

In all, Harrell turned in three top-five finishes to go with his winning triple jump distance of 43-10.00. He placed fifth in the boys’ long jump (18-06.00) and fourth in the boys’ 100-meter dash (11.33).

Bardstown ran away with the boys’ team title with 120 points. Taylor County finished third (77 points), Elizabethtown fourth (56) and Glasgow rounded out the top five with 45 points.

The Scotties claimed a region title in the 4×200-meter relay race in 1:32.93. Brayton Sewell stepped in for injured freshman Carter McKeever in the first leg of the race to give Dewayne Legg, Dontavius Oates and Tayshawn Bradley a strong start to the championship race.

“Brayton played a pretty big role,” Oates said. “If we didn’t have him, we don’t know how it would’ve went. He hasn’t practiced with the people on the team. With Carter, things could’ve went smoother, but Brayton stepped up.”

Rylee Fansler helped the Warren East girls finish fourth in the team standings with her region title in the pole vault, clearing 8 feet.

The Lady Raiders had 59 points with Fansler’s title, a runner-up finish by Tonya Bailey in the 200 (27.17) and four third-place finishes.

Warren Central finished sixth in the girls’ standings with 43 points thanks to a strong day by Tiffany Taylor, who grabbed two second-place finishes and helped the Lady Dragons win the 4×100-meter relay.

The senior Taylor anchored the young relay team of seventh-grader Aniyah Davis, eighth-grader Ariana Simmons and freshman Jaida Tooley to finish in 51.85.

Taylor finished second in the 100 (13.09) and second in the long jump (14-06.50).

Class 2A, Region Team standings

Boys

1. Bardstown, 120

2. Warren East, 82

3. Taylor County, 77

4. Elizabethtown, 56

5. Glasgow, 45

7. Warren Central, 31

10. Franklin-Simpson, 20

12. Butler County, 15

14. Allen County-Scottsville, 5

Girls

1. John Hardin, 120

2. Bardstown, 80

3. Elizabethtown, 65

4. Warren East, 59

5. Nelson County, 51

6. Warren Central, 43

9. Butler County, 18

10. Glasgow, 15

12. Franklin-Simpson, 10{&end}