NORTH LAUREL/AREA 8 CHAMPIONSHIP
October 04, 2014 @ North Laurel in London, KY
Hosted by North Laurel
Results
This morning in London there were several runners who ran their best time of the season, which does not happen very often at North Laurel. “The Jungle” has never been known to have the easiest course but circumstances were a little different today. Due to construction on the school’s tennis courts, the course had to be altered which ultimately made for a faster and more exciting race than in the past.
Boys Varsity
There were several runners that were expected to contend for first, as stated in the preview. That prediction held true as there were many lead changes within the first mile. Hayden Wilson (South Laurel) came out of the gates fast had a good lead for about the first half mile until the rest of the pack eventually caught up to him. At the mile it was McCreary Central’s Tanner Carson who began to pull away, he clocked in at around5:25. Garrett Napier (North Laurel) was only a few strides behind at 5:30 and looked poised to make a move as they went up the longest and steepest hill of the race. There was quite a large pack following the two lead runners that included Noah Brown (Casey County), his teammate Chase Williams, Hayden Wilson (South Laurel), Dane Imel (Knox Central), and Jacob Nichols (North Laurel). Still in the lead, Carson finished mile two in 11:43 and he seemed to be widening the gap between himself and Napier who was 17 seconds behind. Not far behind was Brown, Imel, Nichols, and Drew Meader (South Laurel) who made up a lot of ground between miles one and two. Tanner Carson never let up and finished first with a time of17:57, Napier finished second at 18:10 which is his best time of the season. Dane Imel and Noah Brown were neck and neck until Imel pushed ahead with about ten yards to go. Imel finished at 18:55 and Brown finished with a time of 18:57. South Laurel’s Drew Meader, North’s Jacob Nichols, Hunter Higgens (North Laurel), David Owens (McCreary Central), Zach Collins (North Laurel), and Hayden Wilson (South Laurel) all rounded out the top ten. North Laurel took home the team championship, despite their usual third runner (Trey Feltner) not running today. Knox Central finished second with a score of 44, and the Cardinals of South Laurel finished third with a score of 73.
Girls Varsity
South Laurel’s Sydney McWhorter continued her impressive season this morning as she cruised to a first place finish. She came out strong and never relinquished her lead. At the mile she was 10 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor which was Jenna Vaughn of Casey County. Those two looked to be in control of the top two spots but about 20 seconds behind them was a pack of four girls fighting it out for the third position. Alyssa Hamilton (South Laurel), Mary Melhuish (Madison Southern), Sidney King (North Laurel), and Whitney Clements (Casey County) were all within seconds of one another. It was all Sydney McWhorter at mile two; she finished her second mile in 13:50 and looked very comfortable as she increased her lead. Jenna Vaughn was still in control of second, she crossed the two mile mark at around14:14. Hamilton (14:46) and King (15:00) were still in contention to grab that third spot; they both separated themselves from that small pack at the 1.5 mile mark. McWhorter won with a fast time of 21:01, which was more than a minute ahead of the second place finisher Jenna Vaughn who finished at 22:04. Alyssa Hamilton (22:23) and Sidney King (22:40) both finished with season best times as they placed third and fourth respectively. The rest of the top ten, in order, were Whitney Clements (Casey County), Kendall Myers (North Laurel), Madison Gibson (Knox Central), Mary Melhuish (Madison Southern), Caseylynn Brooks (Knox Central), and Laura Cuin (Casey County). South Laurel edged out crosstown rival North Laurel by three points to take first in the team competition. Casey County finished third with 53 points, and Knox Central finished fourth with 77 points.
