The Daviess County Panthers continued to dominant Class 3A, Region 1 as they took the girl’s and boys’ title on Saturday at Muhlenberg County.
The Lady Panthers took the top spot after they finished with 21 points while McCracken County took second with 92 points. On the boys’ side, the Panthers finished first with 40 points while Muhlenberg County took second with 91 points.
DC coach Mark Fortney said he doesn’t get tired of helping lead the program to titles.
“It doesn’t get old, that’s for sure,” he said. “You want to stay up at the top as long as you can. We’ve had a really good run at it. We’ve had good kids. It’s fun, it’s exciting.”
Weather has been good for most races this season and despite a little dip in the temperature on Saturday morning, Fortney said it actually helped fuel his team.
“When you get down to around 50, it’s actually a plus,” he said. “We’d rather run at that temperature at any time than even in the 70s. Your body does so much better when it can stay cooler, it’s a plus.”
In the girls’ race, McCracken’s Maggie Aydt took the top spot with a time of 18:45.85 but Daviess County finished with seven runners in the top 10, including Emily Ann Roberts’ runner-up finish with a time of 19:23.35.
Ainsley Taylor (3rd), Emily Rempe (4th), Elli Crabtree (5th), Katelyn Ahart (7th), Kayley Payne (9th) and Avery Heath (10th) also delivered top 10 finishes for DC.
“Today, they were really laser focused,” Fortney said of his Lady Panthers. “The results really show that. Our 1-7 was as good today as it’s been, with any team I’ve had and I’ve had and I’ve had some good ones.”
He said several runners delivered their best performances Saturday.
“Big confidence booster,” he said. “We had four of them run PRs. That means a lot. They’re pumped and stoked and ready for another good week.”
Apollo’s Ahmira Pickett led the E-gals with her 20th-place finished while Owensboro was led by Ashley Colburn as she took 23rd.
On the boys’ side, Apollo’s Thomas Ashby finished third with a time of 16:20.36.
Daviess County’s Alex Adams (5th) and Brady Terry (6th) led the Panthers while Justin Shelton (8th) and Nolan Kurz (9th) also finished in the top 10.
“Our top three or four runners are still banged up,” Fortney said. “It definitely wasn’t our best performance but it was solid. Overall, we were strong. We’ve got to be a lot better going into next weekend but sometimes when you have injuries, it’s tough. Survive and advance is kind of what we did on the boy’s side.”
Owensboro’s Nathanael Turner led the Red Devils as he took 21st.
Fortney said they won’t change their technique as the state final is just a week away in Bourbon County.
“We’ll come back Monday and we’ll have one of our last big workouts of the year,” he said. “After that, we’ll go into a taper phase and then make sure the kids are getting the proper amount of rest. Just trying to get them healed up. A lot of times just getting everyone to the line healthy is a big plus because after you’ve spent three months training, you just have some breakdowns. Trying to get everybody healthy is what we’re looking for.”
The Panthers are currently second on the boy’s and girls’ side but Fortney said it’s still key for them to run their own race next week.
“I think what they did today, they can take a lot from that, especially on the girls’ side,” he said. “If they’ll just take what they did today and step it up just another notch then they’re right there in the mix. There’s no doubt. We’re going to have to beat some good teams to have a shot at winning it but we’re in the conversation and that’s what we tell them.”
