The Class A Girls Race will follow at 10:15am with two-time defending champion Maddox Patterson (Sayre) racing for another win. Patterson, a freshman, will be challenged by regional foe Kaitlin Snapp (Danville.) The duo have gone head to head four times this season including last week at the Region 5 Championship at Lexington Christian. Patterson has won all four with the gaps at 17, 43, 8, and 11 seconds. The final cross country showdown between these two comes on Saturday with Patterson obviously as the immediate favorite. But it is a safe pick to put the senior Snapp very close by in her final high school XC race. Last year, Patterson cruised to a 23 second win and was in complete control by the two mile mark. This time around if they are together at the two mile mark then the race will be close to the line. The key will be what happens in the middle mile when they go up the first long hill at the 1.25 mile mark. This is going to a good race to watch.
Following the front two the race for third looks likes St. Henry’s Lindsey Hinken. She has improved nearly every week and won the northern Kentucky Region 4 Championship last week by 35 seconds. The group she will lead will be deep with Olivia Nienaber (Bishop Brossart), Philippine Couturier (Sayre), Karly Gawarecki (Holy Cross, Lou.), Sarah Bode (Collegiate), and Olivia Cason (Owensboro Catholic.)
The team race is one of the closest of the day. Defending champion Fairview comes in as the favorite led by Lyndsey Burke. Running mainly in eastern Kentucky they have not faced off against their closest competitor St. Henry this season. They have won most of the races they have attended this season. This team is a pack running team that will need their front three to at their best. They really need all three of them coming in before 15th place if possible. Burke is a solid pick to be in the end part of the top 10. If any of the front three can get in front of St. Henry’s Samantha Hentz or Ashley Svec that will help concrete their chances of winning again. If four and five don’t have a gap on St. Henry’s four and five then Fairview will lose their advantage. The big question mark in this race is Ashley Svec. She has not competed since October 1st due to an injury. Initially, St. Henry hoped to have her back for regionals, but there is still uncertainty on whether or not she runs on Saturday. If she is running then the team race will be close between Fairview and St. Henry, but without Svec the chances of winning drop as their advantage lies up front.