Class 2A Girls State Championship Preview

Saturday will feature the most exciting day in KY cross country, the State Championships. All season our athletes have been building towards this point where everything is on the line. We will see great heartbreak, but also exceptional happiness. Without further ado, let's take a look at the KHSAA State Championships Class 2A Girls championship race.

To begin, let's talk about how this girl's individual race will play out. Similarly to the boys race, there are three key athletes who will likely decide the Individual champion while three others battle for a Top 5 position. The first is Caroline Beiting of Lexington Catholic. The senior is mostly known for her dominance on the track where she won both the 1600m and 800m State Championships yet the strength she has shown this year has been impressive. Her resume is superb, the only thing lacking, a cross country state championship. Beiting has never been able to capture the individual title and doing so would be an excellent end to a great XC career. Beiting has a season's best 17:58 and a season's average of 18:15. Her biggest threat is likely to come in the form of Baili Hoten from Thomas Nelson. The Sophomore is the reigning State Champion in Cross Country and has gotten stronger as the year has gone on. She has a season's best of 18:04 and an average of 18:34. It's the ultimate track speed versus cross country strength battle and given the horse park's topology, strength could be the deciding factor here. Another name in contention for that individual title is Isabella Day of Larue County. Day had a season's best of 18:23 and was undefeated well into September. Her 18:43 average is the third fastest in this race and sets her up for a run at the individual state championship. The other three challengers are Lexington Catholic's Anna Dawahare and Abigail Turner and Christian Academy-Louisville's Anabelle Plummer.

On the team's side of things, the obvious front runner are the Lexington Catholic girls. On paper, Lexington Catholic is supposed to dominate the field Saturday where they are projected to place 3 in the Top 6 and 4 in the Top 10. Their 19:04 average is by far the best in the field and barring any sudden changes, Lexington Catholic should bring home their second consecutive Championship. However, they will be pushed by 4 teams behind them. The biggest threat to their repeat attempt is Bourbon County. Bourbon County is projected to put 1 in the Top 10 and 1 other in the Top 20. There 3-5 runners are also scheduled to finish in the Top 35. While this Top 5 may seem far behind from the Lexington Catholic pack, all it takes is a great team running effort to find the Bourbon County pack in the Top 25. If that happens, then it truly is anybody's race. Other team's who are serious podium threats include last year's runner-ups Harlan County, Corbin, and Boyd County. 

Milesplit Team Predictions