Boys Preview
The boys race will have a western Kentucky flair this year with two of the top three seeds coming from that region of the state. Led by Christian Parker of Masionsville-North Hopkins, the contingent will be strong. Our top seed is Austin Mathews of Paul Dunbar and has been solid this indoor season. The meet record of 14:49 from Jacob Thomson may get a good run if the race goes out quickly. Let's highlight the top three gentlemen that can take this title with a handful of other names that might squeak in.
Austin Mathews - Paul Dunbar
Mathews has a seed time of 14:58 and ran a 9:10 2 mile last week at New Balance Nationals Indoor. He finished a disappointing 3rd place at the state cross country meet after having a stellar season that ended with a trip to Oregon for Nike Cross Nationals. He picked up right where he left off with a great indoor season. Mathews won the UK High School Invite and Wildcat Classic 2 mile races while dropping 12 seconds from race to race. To top it off, his 15th place finish in the championship 2 mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor was the best finish by a Kentucky athlete.
Christian Parker - Madisonville-North Hopkins
The class AAA state cross country champion has been busy this indoor season. A runner up finish in the 2 mile at the Wildcat Classic and third place finish in the same event at the UK High School Invitational were his in state performances. He then took the trek to NYC and ran the 1500m, 1 Mile, 3000m, and 2 mile. The best part? He set a PR in three of those four races, only missing out on his 2 mile PR. The most impressive thing to me about Christian has been his progression over his cross country career. With the exception of one outlier (dare you to find it), he steadily improved over 4 years. He WILL give Mathews a run for his money this year!
Jonah Mitchell - Muhlenberg County
Jonah finished between Parker and Mathews at the state cross country meet after running one of his best races of his career. One difference between him and the other two is that he is a junior to their senior status. The experience he gained during the cross country season will lend well to his quest to being the 2019 state champion. Up first is his first track race of 2019. He was absent during the indoor season and the 5K Showdown will be the first time we see him on the oval. He was 4th in this event last year with a 15:24 and took 4th in the state track meet in the 3200m with a PR 9:36. Watch for Jonah to be in the mix and possibly surprise the other two as they cover 12.5 laps.