The Kentucky State Cross Country Meet is here, a season of running is getting ready to come to end with a day chalked full of great racing and matchups. Let's take a look at the six races and see what is going to happen.
CLASS AA GIRLS:
"Going for the Win"
The easy choice to win is Gabby Karas, 8th grader at Collins High School in Shelby County. She has raced on a very limited schedule this fall, but when she has she has typically dominated. Her only loss came to Maggie Allen (Sacred Heart) at the Greater Louisville Classic. She cruised to victory at the Region 3 Championship with an 18:09 to lead the way with the fastest regional time regardless of class. She is the defending Class AA Champion, so it is her course to defend.
Aleja Grant from Paducah Tilghman is one to not write off completely as having a chance. The star from far western Kentucky has won most of her races by close to two minutes this fall and ran in one bigger race, the Fast Cats Classic in Owensboro. She finished third overall with an 18:23. Cassidy Hale from duPont Manual beat her that day by 13 seconds, giving us the only connection as Karas has beaten her this season.
"Team Hunt"
Out of the six races this is by far the most intriguing. South Oldham comes in winning the last four Class AA State Championships and they are the favorite to repeat. But this is the tightest race they have faced over the last few years. They have the big three up front in Grace Whitworth, Keitghtly Dudgeon, and Erin Wilson. They have depth to boost the chances as well. They have experience, so a lot of factors are in their favor. They beat cross-town rival North Oldham at the Region 3 Championship 53 to 70.
They will face competition from Highlands and North Oldham. Highlands comes in as the hottest team coming off a win at the Lexington Catholic Invitational in the Small School Race beating all of the top teams in Class A and AA EXCEPT South Oldham. Highlands counters South Oldham's big three with their own in Molly Mearns, Lauren Ossege, and Sydney Ossege. Lauren is a veteran with back to back successful finishes at the State Meet. Mearns and Sydney are both first timers at state. North Oldham is led by another first-timer in Erin Edmundson. They have solid Marissa Lowe and Maggie Fiorito to help lead the charge.
This race is going to come down to the front groups and who can get their packs in first. Highlands front two of Mearns and L. Ossege are both coming off sub 19 performances at the regional level. If they strike first and can put some gap on South Oldham's front two, the advantage goes to the Bluebirds. But South Oldham's Whitworth and Dudgeon are veterans who should be right there with them making this team battle extremely close. If Edmundson gets in front of all of them finishing in the top three that will bode well for North, but their pack must fill in the top 25.
Either way this race is going to be great to watch and should be close.
Class AA Boys
"Going for the Win"
Lexington Catholic senior Nicholas Laureano came into this season as the favorite after a terrific track season last spring and he has held onto that title all year. He finished second overall at Lexington Catholic behind only Class A stud Jacob Thomson. He was the second overall runner at the national level Trinity Invitational with a PR time of 15:23. He should set the pace early and look to leave the group behind. If someone will like Sye Head goes out with him that will help him go after Jared Skrabacz's Class AA State Record of 16:16. Laureano ran a 16:19 at Lexington Catholic Invitational.
"Team Hunt"
The defending champions North Oldham are back and look to be in position to take another state title giving them three of the last four. They have a pack up front that will look to fill in the top twenty with Luke Tarvestad, Nolan Ruhs, Luke Cummins, Matt Powers, and David Gardiner. They have David Terkula back this week as well and possibly even super frosh Trenton Fryman. On a team with plenty of depth, whoever is out there should do well.
They have a battle behind them for second between Highlands, Covington Catholic, and Lexington Catholic for second. All three schools are in the same regional and last week Highlands pulled off the win as a team. They have been led by John Michael Griffith all season and had freshman Ethan Shuley step up last week to second overall behind Laureano. This group is young and has the most possibilities to pull off a big performance but also lacks experience. Covington Catholic is solid up front with Brian Menke and a group typically close behind. The group has switched places on the team multiple times this season with Grant Guenther and Bradley Crouch being the most consistent. Lexington Catholic has the double Laureano's up front with Nicholas and his brother, Jackson. This is another youthful group to watch out for as they could roll it out with a big time race. Last week at the regional they scored Highlands 52, Lexington Catholic 64, and Covington Catholic 66.