PULASKI COUNTY INVITATIONAL
October 11, 2014 @ GE Field in Somerset, KY
Hosted by Pulaski County
The 42nd Annual Pulaski County Invitational should once again live up to its nickname of “The Fall Classic.” This year’s field of teams should provide for a fast and competitive event. Can Southwestern’s Jordan Carrington win the meet hosted by cross town and region rival Pulaski County? Will Sam Smith defend his home course and come out with the win? Who can challenge Victoria Dotson and Devin Mayfield in the varsity girl’s race? All of these questions will be answered this Saturday at the GE Field in Somerset, its shaping up to be another fun weekend for high school cross country in Kentucky.
Boys Varsity
This race will star two of the best from Region 7AAA in Jordan Carrington (Southwestern) and Sam Smith (Pulaski County). Carrington edged out Smith last weekend at the Greater Louisville Classic by only two seconds, both ran exceptional races. Smith is coming off of a win this past Tuesday in Mercer County which is probably the toughest course he has ran on all season. Both have a lot of momentum and look to make a statement with region just around the corner. While those two are the favorites to take home first, the rest of the top ten is wide open and it will be interesting to see who steps up. Brennan Perkins (Pulaski County), Spencer Brainard (Southwestern), Tanner Carson (McCreary Central), Cameron Howard (Wayne County), Zachary Tucker (Wayne County), Drew Bell (Wayne County), Duncan Finch (Pulaski County), and Mikah Bailey (East Jessamine) should all be in the mix for a top ten spot. Perkins ran his best time of the season last weekend and looks to be in midseason form, he may very well be in the mix for first along with Smith and Carrington. McCreary Central’s Tanner Carson is coming off an impressive win last Saturday at North Laurel but this weekend he will have to beat out the trio from Wayne County (Howard, Tucker, and Bell) and Southwestern’s Spencer Brainard if he hopes to land a spot in the top five. It will be interesting to see if East Jessamine’s top runner, Mikah Bailey; can get back down into the seventeens this weekend. Bailey and Pulaski’s Duncan Finch have both posted very similar times this season and a breakout performance could give one of them a slight edge going into the region championship. The team competition looks as if it will be as close as the individual competition. Wayne County and the host Pulaski County are both projected to have three runners finish in the top ten and it looks like the fourth and fifth runners may be the deciding factor. East Jessamine, Barren County, and Southwestern will all be neck and neck for that last spot in the top three.
Girls Varsity
Just like in the boy’s race, there are two runners that should be pushing each other for the victory on Saturday. Rockcastle’s Victoria Dotson and Pulaski County’s Devin Mayfield are both having spectacular seasons and are two of Southern Kentucky’s best. Dotson has already posted three wins this year and beat out Mayfield last weekend in Louisville. Mayfield has the advantage when it comes to knowledge of this particular course; she finished second earlier this year at the Pulaski All-Comers meet. Another Rockcastle/Pulaski duo will be battling it out and looking to make a statement. Alyssa Hyden (Pulaski) and Sierra Mercer (Rockcastle) have run similar times this season and will not be far behind the lead. Hyden, last year’s Region 7AAA champion, has been consistently improving her time throughout the season and looks poised to make another run at a championship. Mercer beat Hyden previously this season at Franklin County but Hyden bounced back last weekend in Louisville and beat Mercer by over a minute. There rest of the top ten will be a tightly contested matchup between Kaeona Phelps (Southwestern), Leah Jessee (Barren County), Jenna Vaughn (Casey County), Kayla Roeder (Barren County), Ashley Phelps (Southwestern), and Whitney Clements (Casey County). All of these girls are capable of running sub twenty-two minute times and it will be very interesting to see which one can break away from the rest. Rockcastle and Pulaski look to be the favorites to win the team titles, their third, fourth, and fifth runners will ultimately decide who can pull out the win. Barren County, Casey County, and Wayne County will all be battling it out for that last spot in the top three.