It will be a chilly finish to the 2019 cross country season Saturday as runners compete in the state championships at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Several locals will be in action after strong finishes in their respective region meets last week, and expectations are generally high.
Perennial contender Daviess County — who swept the boys’ and girls’ Class 3A Region 1 meets — could finish on the podium in both races according to head coach Mark Fortney.
“If we run like we are capable, we will be in the mix of finishing top three on the boys’ and girls’ side in the team standings,” he said. “Competition is steep with six to eight very good teams on both sides.”
Fortney said his top three girls — Ainsley Taylor, Emily Ann Roberts and Emily Rempe — all have a good shot of making the top 15, which could lead to a strong finish.
“There are 290 athletes in the race. If those three are in that range and our four and five runners are in the top-30 range, we will have an excellent shot at being a top-three team,” he said.
The DC boys have been led all year by Brady Terry and Alex Adams, who will be in the mix for top five and 15, respectively.
“If we get our one through five runners’ split around one minute, our chances of being top three are pretty good,” Fortney said.
The Apollo boys are also looking to make some noise in their final race after several strong finishes this year.
“We’ve had a really solid season, but what the state meet is going to come down to simple execution,” said head coach Charlie Shoulta. “One through five I believe we can run with nearly any team in the state. If those guys can toe the line Saturday afternoon focused, confident and ready to race, we have a tremendous shot at surprising a lot of teams.”
The Eagles’ top runner this year has been Thomas Ashby, and Shoulta has high expectations for his young leader, who finished 40th overall and first among 8th-graders last season.
“Thomas is currently ranked as the number one freshman in the state and has had a tremendous year,” Shoulta said. “He’s trained incredibly hard and he’s putting everything together at the right time. If Thomas can sneak into the top 20 that would be huge for both him and the success of our team.”
In the Class 1A race, Owensboro Catholic’s John Cason had the third-fastest qualifying time. He’ll have a strong chance at a top-three finish and could help his team place well.
For the Lady Aces, Alex Scheithe and Katie Hayden are among the top 20 individuals. As a team, the Catholic girls’ won their region last week and will look to build off that finish.
Race times are as follows (all times listed CST):
1A girls at 8:30 a.m.
1A boys at 9:15 a.m.
2A girls at 10:30 a.m.
2A boys at 11:15 a.m.
3A girls at 12:30 p.m.
3A boys at 1:15 p.m.
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