Region 7
Site (host): Cave Lake Park (Wayne County)
BOYS
The top challengers
1. Will Stanko. The South Laurel is the only boy in this region with a top-50 time in Class 3A this season, and it came just a couple weeks ago at the Cougar Prowl Invitational. He ran a 16:39.07 there. He finished third last season (16:49.94) but is the top returning runner from last year's race.
2. Jacob Tapscott. Stanko's toughest challenger in his final year with the Cardinals may come from a fellow senior at South Laurel. Tapscott PR'd with a 16:59.91 to win the Berea Community Invitational on Sept. 24 but his average finish in nine meets this season is almost a full minute slower (17:58.45). He ran fourth last year (16:59.99).
3. Carter Lamb. Madison Central's top time this fall came from the junior, who posted a 17:00.83 at the Haunted Woods Classic on Oct. 8. That was his second straight PR; a third here could put him in the conversation to win his first region title after running sixth last fall (17:47.11).
Fast facts: The top returning runner from last season's meet would have been runner-up Nathanael Turner, who competed for Southwestern as a junior but now runs for host Wayne County. ... Madison Central senior Stephen Lochmueller is another name to look out for; he was right on Lamb's heels at the Haunted Woods Classic with a PR time of 17:03.74.
GIRLS
The top challengers
1. Ciara O'Shea. The fastest high school girl in Kentucky cross country history as an eighth-grader won her first region title with a time of 18:54.88. That would be the fastest time by any Region 7 girl this fall. Enough said? The Madison Central senior is just chasing more history at this point.
2. Shelby Lamb. Madison Central also is responsible for the No. 2 seed. Lamb, a freshman, PR'd to open her fall campaign (19:00.54 in the Central Kentucky Run for the Gold) but has hovered near that time through much of the year, sporting an average finish time of 19:08.88 in five races. She finished eighth last season, third among middle-schoolers a year ago.
3. Taylor Allen. It's likely to be a duel between Lamb and Allen for second place, and the latter is coming off a PR time (19:02.31) that earned her a runner-up finish at the Daviess County Classic.
Fast facts: Esther Kratzer, last year's runner-up and the third-place runner in 2020, is seeded fourth. The West Jessamine junior's best time this season came in the Double S Stampede, which she ran in 20:16.66. ... Now freshmen Lilliana Greathouse (West Jessamine) and Maggie Bertram (Pulaski County) finished ahead of Lamb last season at this meet. They have the sixth (19:59.80) and seventh (20:11.00) best in-season times in the region this fall.