Woodford Invitational Offers Warm-Up Before KHSAA Postseason

Chris Hawboldt



The last weekend of competition before the KHSAA postseason is upon us, and this year's Woodford County Invitational promises a solid showcase leading into next week's regionals.

Let's break down the top entrants in each varsity field.

Girls

Addison Moore: It seems like a matter of when, not if, Moore will break the 18-minute threshold. Will the Woodford County freshman do it this fall? She's shaved a full minute off her best time from last season (19:20.34) and set a PR in each of her last four races, most recently running 18:19.12 in the Central Kentucky Conference meet on Sept. 27. The overall pace of the field here might slow her, but Moore's star should keep rising as the postseason approaches.

Abigail Bastin: She's the only runner in the field who probably has a shot at keeping Moore from taking gold. Fittingly, Bastin is also a rising freshman out of central Kentucky; she competes for Lincoln County. Her best effort came in her last meet - an 18:31.30 to win the Cougar Prowl Invitational last weekend - and it was the second time she's finished under 19 minutes. The only other girl in the field who's achieved that feat is Woodford County's Maggie Twehues, who did so once as a freshman in 2019.

Kinley Kunkel: Talk about a marathon runner - Kunkel has competed in every weekend of the KHSAA season going back to Aug. 20. Her times have mostly come in above 20 minutes, but she PR'd about a month ago (19:25.05) and ran sub-20 in the Haunted Woods Classic last weekend (19:58.35).

Esther Kratzer: The West Jessamine junior ran faster last season than she has in 2022 (her PR, 19:33.53, came in a KHSAA regional last October). Her best time this fall, 20:16.66, came in the Double S Stampede on Sept. 17. Kratzer raced in the Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational the next weekend but has not competed since. Lilliana Greathouse, a freshman teammate, could finish higher; she's running a minute faster than she was at the start of the season and was not too far off her PR (19:48.03, set last October) in her last race (also the Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational).

Eden Anderson: Her second-place finish in the non-elite race at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational was the best of her career, and also was the event in which she set a PR (19:40.45). The Frederick Douglass junior finished 10th, sandwiched right between Greathouse and Kratzer, in the Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational.

Boys

Tiger Bartlett: The junior out of Ryle ran a 15:26.00 at the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational on Oct. 1. That was just a couple weeks after he broke under 16 minutes for the first time at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational (15:30.40). Bartlett's been among the most consistent runners in Kentucky this season and won his last time out (16:03.50 in the NKAC/St. Henry Invite). 

Ryan Hendrix: Since this time a year ago, Hendrix is nearly three minutes faster. He's clocked under 16 minutes each of his last two times out and ran a PR 15:40.47 to win the Central Kentucky Conference meet on Sept. 27, the second varsity victory in his career. The Woodford County sophomore has plenty more ahead of him.

Philip Lamartiniere: Tates Creek's top threat will compete for just the third time this fall. The senior PR'd (15:57.70) in the Saturday Night Lights 17th on Oct. 1. He won this race with a 16:15.19 the last time he raced it in 2020.

Jase Crume: Woodford County has an opportunity to claim the top two spots in its home meet. A junior, Crume is a few weeks removed from a PR (16:10.50 in the Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational) and has had a top-10 finish in all but one race he's entered this season; the lone "dud" was at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational, in which he finished 57th with a respectable time (16:40.90).

Malcolm Robertson: Like Lamartiniere, Robertson has raced just twice prior, but his layoff has been longer; he's not competed since the Ryle Invitational on Sept. 3 (17:31.12 there). The Highlands junior is seeded high with a 16:35.88 earned last September, but he's clocked under 17 minutes only one time since that PR.

Clayton Nau: The biggest threat out of Northern Kentucky might be Nau, a junior at Highlands Latin. His PR (16:48.80) happened at this year's Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational, and was the second time this fall that he ran sub-17 minutes. Nau won the Class A race at last year's KTCCCA Meet of Champions, which is also scheduled for this weekend.

Marshall Hart and Collin Shay: If you're looking for a "wild card" at the Woodford, you could do worse than either of these fellas. Hart, a sophomore from Mercer County, and Shay, a junior at Gallatin County, each PR'd with sub-17 minute times their last time out. Hart ran 16:52.03 at the Central Kentucky Conference while Shay put up a 16:54.61 in the Haunted Woods Classic. For Hart, it was quite a leap - his best time prior to that was a 17:49.17, posted in August. Shay ran below 17 minutes one other time this season - 16:57.63 about a month prior - but mostly has hovered in the 18-minute range this fall.

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