Setting herself apart from the competition meet after meet during her freshman season, Daviess County’s Lucy Spaw is The Owensboro Times 2021 Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.
“It is very exciting to receive this award,” Spaw said. “I have looked up to so many local runners in the past and to share the same award as some of my role models is really a great feeling.”
Spaw led the Lady Panthers in multiple meets throughout the season. She helped lead them to a City-County Championship when she grabbed first with a time of 19:46.9.
“I am really proud of how I grew as a runner this season,” Spaw said. “I went in not knowing what to expect at the high school level and the DCXC program definitely exceeded my expectations. Not only did I improve, but I truly had so much fun.”
The freshman continued to grab first place finishes all season long, helping take Daviess County deep into the postseason.
At the Region 1 Class AAA meet she grabbed first individually with a time of 19:03.54, leading them to a second-place finish as a team while qualifying for state.
The Lady Panthers finished 13th overall at state, led by Spaw who finished 20th with a time of 20:23.64.
Coming into the season Spaw really wanted to get faster, stronger, and build strong relationships with her teammates.
Following a strong year, she feels as though she’s accomplished those goals and then some thanks to a relentless work ethic that has made her such a successful runner.
“Hard work and dedication has turned me into the runner I am today,” Spaw said. “Running is definitely a hard sport and one that would be easy to give up, but when you have teammates that work together as a family and an encouraging coaching staff that goes above and beyond, it’s easy to get up and go to practice everyday and give it all you have.”
Along with the instant success she found in her high school career this season, Spaw said she will never forget the memories that she made with her teammates along the way.
“I will always cherish the friendships I’ve made with my teammates,” Spaw said. “XC camp in Gatlinburg, beating the gong in Centerville, OH for a PR, our Red-Line training days and, not that I’ll cherish it, but I’ll always remember the mud pit mess at state.”
Spaw credits her success to a number of people and said that she is excited to get right back to work and run at an even higher level next year with the Lady Panthers.
“I would like to thank Coach Kevin Hooker, my middle school coach, Coach Fortney and the DCXC Coaching Staff for their dedication and commitment to me and our team, the senior leaders for their guidance and encouragement, my teammates for working so hard this season, and my family for their support,” Spaw said. “The future looks bright for the girls DCXC program and I’m excited to see what’s to come.”
