The 2023 High School girls’ cross-country season begins at the KY-IN Border Clash at Yellow Creek Park on Tuesday. Local teams and individuals are eager to prove themselves this season. Here’s what local coaches said to expect from their teams this year.
What are some expectations you have for the season?
Apollo head coach Charlie Shoulta: I have no doubt that the Apollo girls’ distance program can become a power, and that’s going to start by drumming up excitement and getting girls out.
Daviess County head coach Josh Bratcher: I believe our girls will keep their tradition of winning the region this year. Our hope is to work our way back to one of the top teams in the state.
Owensboro head coach Matt Morris: The Lady Devils will look to continue growing throughout the season. This has been a young team over the past couple of years, but now we have some junior leadership that has raced at most of the courses in the area. As always, our goal will be to continue competing well and earn bids to the state championship in October.
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jacob Reid: We’re hopeful to have another good showing at region and make our way back to state.
What will be some challenges?
Apollo head coach Charlie Shoulta: Our biggest challenge this year will most likely be our depth or lack thereof. Personally, that will be one of my biggest focuses this year. This will be the first time in over a decade that the only thing on my “coaching plate” is focusing on distance/mid-distance runners, and I’m super excited about that.
Daviess County head coach Josh Bratcher: Keeping the team free from injuries is one of the biggest challenges we face. We have started implementing more strengthening exercises to help prevent these further into the season.
Owensboro head coach Matt Morris: Our biggest issue we will face this fall is depth. We have always had low numbers, and this year that seems to be especially true. That lack of depth creates holes that we will need to overcome before region.
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jacob Reid: As a small school, we’re going to have several girls playing multiple sports, but our coaches all recognize this, and I think we’re doing a good job sharing athletes and making sure they don’t overtrain. Fortunately for us, XC complements all other sports very well.
Who are some of your top returners?
Apollo head coach Charlie Shoulta: We return three of our top five from last year’s team. Adyson Mattingly is currently our only senior and will provide a tremendous amount of leadership for our team both on and off the course. Adyson really came into her own during this past track season, and we feel certain that she’ll continue to build on success throughout the fall. We also return Ava Falloway and Kirii Mattingly, both of whom had solid freshmen seasons last year. I have no doubt that both of these young ladies will have a big impact on our team by the end of the season.
Daviess County head coach Josh Bratcher: Our top runners will be juniors Lucy Spaw, Blakely Greer, and Sally Tidwell; sophomores Bentlei Stallings, Mallory Raines, Melanie Reesman; and freshman Ellie Girten. We have many other strong runners that we hope may move up and challenge these positions as well. All of these girls are extremely consistent and reliable in races. We hope to continue that trend.
Owensboro head coach Matt Morris: Our top returner is sophomore Kiley Palmer, who will be looking to grab her fourth appearance at the state tournament. Fellow sophomore Abby Ladwig and junior Addison Edge will also be looking to make a splash after a great summer preseason.
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jacob Reid: Four of our top five runners last year at state are returning this year, and our squad has grown quite a bit this season. I’m very optimistic with the returning crew we have, but we’ve gotten stronger with the new additions to the team. We have a few new girls joining the team this year that are really strong and, I believe, are going to make a significant impact. Peyton Reid, Ainsley Sutter, Ashlie Hayden, and Ruthie Jones were all in the top five at state last season.
What areas do you hope to improve this season?
Apollo head coach Charlie Shoulta: We want to continue to bridge the gap between our one and five runners and look to compete this season. This team is full of hard workers committed to putting Apollo girls’ cross country on the map.
Daviess County head coach Josh Bratcher: The main area we want to improve is our one through five pack split. If we can move our six and seven runners up, I think it will push our four and five closer to the front. We will do lots of pack running to work on this throughout the season.
Owensboro head coach Matt Morris: Our biggest area of improvement(s) will be consistency and depth. Having a team that is relatively young tends to lead to some inconsistent performances early in the season, but the work they have put in this summer indicates they are ready to compete more consistently throughout the fall.
Owensboro Catholic head coach Jacob Reid: I’m hopeful that our depth this year is going to be a big factor for us to improve our overall team scoring in our meets. Our girls have definitely put in the work and are ready for the season the get started.
