Despite not finishing where they would have liked Saturday afternoon in Bourbon County, the Daviess County Panthers and Lady Panthers still delivered fourth-place finishes at the KHSAA Class 3A State Cross Country Meet.
St. Xavier won the boys’ team title while Oldham County took the girls’ championship.
“Everybody’s just got to bring it and we had a few that were off today, tough course,” DC coach Mark Fortney said. “Kids, they put a lot of pressure on themselves. You just got to be able to handle that pressure. We didn’t handle it the best that we could have but we hung on and still made the podium.”
Fortney and his teams had a lot of success in this shortened season and he wants them to look at the year as a whole when they remember how well it went.
“We can’t let this one race take away from what’s happened not only this year, but the last four years,” he said. “You got to sit back and let it all play out then look at the big picture instead of the small picture of one day. I’m proud of my kids. When you know you’ve got a chance, sometimes you just put a little bit too much pressure on yourself and on them.”
For the Panther and Lady Panther seniors, Fortney’s first compliment came from what they’ve done off the course.
“What they’ve done is they’ve been role models and taught the younger kids what they’re going to have to do in the future to lead the team and be a good team,” he said.
The veteran coach said he’s already looking toward the future.
“It’s been a good ride with them,” he said. “When you come to the state meet, everybody’s got to be on if you’re going to win a state title. We had a few off today. That’s part of it. We’ll take from it and learn.”
Daviess County’s Brady Terry was the top local finisher on the boys’ side, as he took 9th to finish All-State for his senior year.
Despite his top-10 finish, Brady said he could have ran better Saturday.
“A little disappointed in myself,” he said. “I just came off of injury so it’s good to be back but I wish it could have been different.”
Terry knows an injury wasn’t ideal for his senior year but he said he was able to battle through the adversity.
“It hurt, it hurt a lot,” he said. “It’s not how you dreamed it would be. It throws you off course but that’s the way life is and you gotta compensate and do your best.”
Both of the Daviess County teams have plenty of seniors and Terry said it’s been great competing with them through the years but also just being their friend.
“They’ve meant everything,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot together. Not even in running, just life in general. It’s been an honor to run with them. It’s been great.”
Terry still has track to compete in before he wraps up his career as a Panther, but when decades go by and he looks back at the success of the program, he’ll be glad to know his name is mentioned as a building block.
“It’s going to mean something special that I was a part of it, knowing that I helped contribute to some of the history,” he said.
Apollo’s Thomas Ashby finished 20th, while DC’s Alex Adams took 24th. On the girls’ side, DC’s Emily Ann Roberts was the top local finisher as she took 21st.
Adams said it’s been a great career with his brothers and they gave it their best shot.
“Honestly, wasn’t what we wanted but we ran our hearts out, gave it all for each other and that’s all I can ask for,” he said of Saturday’s performance.
Ashby, a sophomore for the Eagles, wanted a top-15 finish but given his start in the third wave, he wasn’t sure how he stacked up during the race.
“I ran alone the whole race,” he said. “I don’t really know where the other kids came because they ran right before.”
Ashby said he knew it was going to be difficult with the way the meet was set up but added it helped that he didn’t have nerves going into it.
“I like races like this,” he said. “I like big races. I didn’t run in a very big race, only 50 kids, but I don’t usually get very nervous right before the race.”
The young Eagle is already looking forward to track and the next two years, as his 20th finish will set a standard for him going forward.
Apollo coach Charlie Shoulta said Ashby has a lot of talent and the future is bright.
“Pretty thankful for it,” Ashby said of his coach’s praise. “I’ve been running for a long time before high school. My dad’s a really good runner so I have all the resources in the world to be pretty good … But not handed to me.”
Owensboro was led by Nathanael Turner and his 105th-place finish.
On the girls’ side, Roberts was the top local finisher but she wasn’t happy with how she started the race.
“Today I think my biggest issue was I didn’t go out fast enough,” she said. “I didn’t get ahead of the people I should have. I did catch some people toward the middle but the finish, it was uphill, it was very tough and there was some tough competition. I think in the future I really need to trust myself more and go out faster.”
After the race, Roberts and her fellow Lady Panthers went on their cooldown, as they do after every race. But with it being their last one as a team, she said it was a little more special.
“We hugged each other and told each other how much we loved each other and even though we still have track in the spring, it’s not the same,” she said. “This being our last race, it means a lot to everyone, even the coaches. I told them how much they mean to me, they told me how much I mean to them. I think even though we didn’t get second, we’re really happy with fourth.”
Despite being successful throughout her career as a Lady Panther, when she thinks about her best moments, none of her top finishes will come to mind.
“The teammates, the people I was around, the things we did together,” she said. “We’ve had sleepovers, we’ve had pumpkin painting, we’ve done everything together for four years so they’re my best friends. If someone were to say ‘What was cross country like,’ I’d say ‘Well I ran with this person or I hung out with this person.’ Not really ‘Oh I ran this time or I placed this place.’ More of who I was with.”
Owensboro’s Kiley Palmer led the Lady Devils while Baylee Hare led Apollo as she finished in 185th.
Results
Team Boys
1. St. Xavier 93
2. Conner 116
3. Trinity 143
4. Daviess County 248
5. Greenwood 248
19. Apollo 536
Team Girls
1. Oldham County 58
2. Assumption 134
3. Ryle 137
4. Daviess County 151
5. Dupont Manual 158
34. Apollo 916
Individual Boys
1. Jackson Watts (Madisonville)
2. Brady Masters (Madison Central)
3. Noal Hester (St. Xavier)
9. Brady Terry (Daviess)
20. Thomas Ashby (Apollo)
24. Alex Adams (Daviess)
48. Nick Szemethy (Apollo)
66. Justin Shelton (Daviess)
69. Nolan Kurz (Daviess)
70. Bryson McGary (Daviess)
105. Nathanael Turner (Owensboro)
128. Adrian Askin (Owensboro)
133. Caleb Twidwell (Daviess)
151. Josh Thomas (Apollo)
157. Jake Alvey (Apollo)
184. Logan Gish (Daviess)
239. Ethan Bell (Apollo)
257. Austin King (Apollo)
266. Jonathan Hooker (Apollo)
Individual girls
1. Ciara O’Shea (Madison Central)
2. Tula Fawbush (Oldham County)
3. Addison Moore (Woodford County)
21. Emily Ann Roberts (Daviess)
30. Elli Crabtree (Daviess)
33. Katelyn Ahart (Daviess)
40. Ainsley Taylor (Daviess)
54. Kayley Payne (Daviess)
81. Emily Rempe (Daviess)
87. Avery Heath (Daviess)
161. Kiley Palmer (Owensboro)
185. Baylee Hare (Apollo)
191. Natalie Winfield (Apollo)
201. Adyson Mattingly (Apollo)
203. Ashley Colburn (Owensboro)
205. Abby Rumage (Apollo)
252. Madeline Wahl (Apollo)
255. Caroline Ashby (Apollo)
258. Natalie Estes (Apollo)
