Site (host): Benton (Marshall County)

BOYS

The top challengers:

1. Thomas Ashby. Apollo's standout senior has won three of the last four races he's entered, and in the fourth set his PR (15:28.30). Ashby won this meet last season with a similar time (15:40.91) and followed that up with a runner-up finish at the KHSAA State Championships. His PR time is the third fastest time in the state by any boy in Class 3A this fall.

2. Drew Burden. The Madisonville-North Hopkins senior PR'd at the Daviess County Classic on Oct. 8, clocking in at 15:49.71 to finish second there. That time is the ninth fastest by an individual this fall. He placed seventh here last season (16:51.66).

3. Ethan McCarty. His seed time (16:27.32) was earned as a freshman in 2019 but the Marshall County senior his last time out ran sub-17 minutes for the first time this season (16:51.34) and ran well here last year (16:48.60, fifth place).

Fast facts: Runners from Apollo and Madisonville-North Hopkins each account for four of the top 10 times posted by runners in the region this season, all under 16:45. ... Apollo junior Emmitt Brock has the fastest time after Ashby and Burden this season; he ran 16:30.21 at the Daviess County Classic.

GIRLS

The top challengers:

1. Lucy Spaw. Her seed time of 19:02.50 was earned last October but she neared it in the same event (the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational) earlier this month. The 19:17.30 she ran there is the fastest time in the region this fall and a top-30 time across Class 3A. The Daviess County sophomore won this race in her debut last year (19:03.54).

2. Joy Alexander. The Madisonville-North Hopkins senior is three years removed from her seed time (19:13.33 in 2019) but is the only other current runner in the region to post a sub-19:30 time this fall - or ever. Her 19:22.36 at this year's Daviess County Classic ranks in the Class 3A top 40.

3. Madisyn Johnson. Also a senior at Madisonville-North Hopkins, Johnson boasts the fifth fastest time in the region this fall (20:04.66) and is seeded fourth.

Fast facts: Bentlei Stallings, a freshman at Daviess County, is seeded 10th with a time of 20:39.35 but she ran the Daviess County Classic in 19:47.48, the region's third fastest time this year. Apollo senior Ahmira Pickett ran the same race in 19:59.10, the region's fourth fastest time, but is seeded ninth (20:25.64). ... Henderson County senior Alyssa Shelton is seeded third but her times this fall are distant from her seed time set in 2018 (19:54.94).