Kentucky Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Preview
Kentucky has had one school compete in Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon since the implementation of the event. St. Xavier was selected as a team in 2005 before the regional qualification process was developed. This year Kentucky will look to score their first girls entry with AAA State Champions Assumption.
Girls Action
The ladies of Assumption simple put just dominated Kentucky this year and won nearly every meet they entered. They won the Palantine Invitational in Illinois which attracts many of the best in the Chicago area. They were second at the Valkyrie Invitational in Louisville to Carmel (IN). To get an idea of what talent it takes to beat Assumption, Carmel won the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional two weeks ago, the same weekend as the Kentucky State Cross Country Meet. Assumption has achieved many first in Kentucky history. They are the first team in Kentucky history to have four girls run under 19 minutes in one race and they did that several times throughout the season. They have a front trio that trades positions with Katherine Receveur, Emily Bean, and Bailey Davis. Those three finished 2nd, 4th, and 7th at state with fourth runner Caroline McCaslin in 8th place just one second behind Bean. The rest of the squad (Kenzley Defler, Kate Crawford, and Amanda Vokoun are not too far behind the front four. All seven ladies came in before 17th place, which led to a score of 34 points and a winning margin of 119 points.
They will face tough competition from Tatnall (DE) and Green Hope (NC) for the top two spots. Each school has runners comparable to Assumption’s big three but they each have a big five. Hidden Valley (VA) and Midlothian (VA) are others school to watch out for. Good luck ladies, make Kentucky proud.
Boys Action
The boy’s race brings us AAA State Champs St. Xavier looking to make it to Portland. They ran a great race at the Kentucky State Championship two weeks ago placing five in the top 12. There had not been a dominant performance like that since 1986 when Trinity went 1,2,4,5,8,9. AAA Champ Connor Sheryak leads with AAA Runner-Up Sam Lewis right behind him. The junior combo has been very consistent this year and look for the trend to continue tomorrow. Senior Zach Beavin is normally right there with Sheryak as well. The key to this team is Mark Johnson and Nick Reader, if they are able to keep the gap small, similar to their performance at the KY State Meet. If that holds true than this team will be able to get into the mix for a top placing at NXN SE. This team runs at the Nike Cross Regional every year so they do not lack experience on the course. Good luck to the boys of St. Xavier tomorrow.