2019 Louisville XC Classic Boasts Huge Fields Filled With Quality Talent All Around
#LiveInLouXCC @EasternRelays @SportsInLou @KYTrackXC
Eastern High School in partnership with the Louisville Sports Commission will host an amazing field of high school, middle school, and elementary runners at Tom Sawyer Park on Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th. The annual event has drawn in one of the biggest and best fields in event history including entries from 111 high school teams, 62 middle school teams, and 42 elementary school teams. All told, over 3700 scholastic athletes are set to descend on Tom Sawyer Park, along with almost 2700 collegiate runners.
The field has drawn entrants from all over Kentucky as well as some of the top teams from Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio.
Girls Invitational
Virtual Meet
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The race of the weekend may be the girls' varsity race. The race features two national class individuals along with a deep group of individuals and teams that will be chasing them around Tom Sawyer's renowned course. The headliner for the meet is West Virginia's top distance runner, Victoria Starcher, a senior from Ripley HS. Coming off a stellar 2019 track season that saw her run 10:20 for 3200, 2:08 for 800m, and the nation's #1 mile time of 4:38.19! Her XC season best is 17:43. She has won her last 2 XC races by over a minute and is looking to test her fitness on the renowned Tom Sawyer Park Course.
She will be challenged by one of the nation's top freshman, Kentucky's defending AAA state XC champion, Ciara O'Shea who has already run 17:50 this fall. She is undefeated against KY competition this season and will look to defend her turf and make another step forward on the national stage in the battle with Starcher.
Behind those two headliners is a deep field of ladies. Seven of Kentucky's top 10 ladies are entered. In addition to O'Shea, Kentucky #2 Anna Rupp at 18:26 (Lexington Christian) and Kentucky #3 Ashlyn Liddle at 18:29 (Bluegrass United) lead the chasers from Kentucky, while teammates Kaitlyn Vanderkolk, Brooke Tyll, and Eden Mittlesdorf from Brentwood TN have run 18:24, 18:27, and 18:41 respectively. Marisa Jacknewitz from Nerinx Hall has run 18:58 and leads the Missouri contingent.
The team battle is as close as they come as Brentwood (TN #2) and Nerinx Hall (MO #3) are projected with the same team score through 5 runners. Kentucky's #1 Oldham County will also look to defend the home turf. Ripley (WV #3), Francis Howell (MO #5), Daviess County (KY #3), and Sacred Heart (KY #4) will also look to make a case for the podium!
Boys Invitational
Virtual Meet
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The high school boys field includes some tremendous out of state talent as a few of the heavy hitters in Kentucky head up to The Nike Valley Twilight meet in Indiana. The teams to watch will be one of Missouri's top teams in Francis Howell High School and the always dangerous Brentwood High School from Tennessee.
The boys individual battle should also be a classic. Kentucky's 8 fastest individuals will all take to the same starting line and with three separate classes at the Kentucky state championship meet next month, this may be the best opportunity for each of these runners to make their case for Kentucky's best in a head to head race. Thus far Jonah Mitchell's 15:15 is Kentucky's fastest mark in 2019, but Conner O'Shea has run 15:19 and defeated Mitchell head to head in the Rumble Through the Jungle. Miles Ally from Martin Luther King (TN) has the 3rd best seasonal mark and he took down O'Shea in the Memphis Twilight meet in August. Behind them will be a battle as Jackson Watts (Madisonville-North Hopkins), Levi Streeval (Frederick Douglass), Brady Terry (Daviess Co.), and Griffin Staude (Western Hills) all claim season bests between 15:45 and 15:50.
All of this amazing high school action will follow a terrific morning of collegiate action.
Access LIVE Results-> HERE
Follow the action all weekend long at http://greaterlouisville.milesplit.com.