The high school cross-country season is in the literal homestretch.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association state championships will have plenty of Northern Kentucky flavor as teams and individuals from all across the state line up at the Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday.
In Indiana, East Central’s Callie Bentley will run in her fourth and final state championships.
Here’s what to watch for ahead of the season’s final meet.
Lily Parke, Paul Van Laningham ready to defend individual titles
Can Beechwood’s senior star nab the 10th individual state title of her career? It certainly seems that way based on her times so far this season and the fact that she coasted to a 65-second margin of victory at regionals on a course where many other runners ran personal bests.
Parke’s main challenger is Lexington Christian sophomore Kennedy Maughamian, who ran a time of 19:07 at the Horse Park during the KTCCCA Meet of Champions. The two haven’t gone head-to-head this season but their times have charted on a similar path.
Van Laningham has far and away looked like the best boys runner in the state this season. He has two sub-15 minute times this season, and it will probably take a third to win the title as he goes up against Lafayette’s Xavier Richardson and Marshall County’s Kobey Yates. PVL, as he’s known in running circles, set the state championship course record last year (15:19.87) and should easily break it this year.
It would be the fifth individual title in Van Laningham family history as his dad was the state champion at Boone County in 1990, and his mom won in 1990 and 1992, also at Boone County.
Callie Bentley returns to Terre Haute one last time
The senior and Butler University commit is the lone runner from East Central, Lawrenceburg or South Dearborn to toe the line this weekend. The gun goes off for her final high school race at 1 p.m. on Nov. 1.
After winning each of the last three Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference and sectional titles, she took second place to Batesville freshman Ava Wade. This season, Bentley hasn’t come particularly close to her lifetime best of 18:09, but there’s no better time than the state championships on a fast course to run the race of her life.
She has a position on the far end of the starting line and will have to work a bit to make her way to the front of the pack, but the LaVern Gibson Championship Course opens with a one-kilometer straightaway that’s a perfect fit for a fast start.
In her three previous trips to Terre Haute, Bentley placed 29th as a freshman, 23rd as a sophomore and 20th as a junior.
Covington Catholic’s team state title streak on the line
Jeremy Mosher’s team has won six straight titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track since moving to Class 2A at the start of 2023.
That undefeated streak appears to be under threat after CovCath finished 10 points behind Lexington Catholic at the Region 4 meet on Oct. 25. In 2024, the Colonels edged out Bourbon County by three points at regionals before winning the state title by 17 points. Maybe this year, they’re better equipped to win a state title when there are more runners involved.
Even though Will Sheets missed the majority of the 2024 season with a hip injury, Joe Mayer, who was the No. 2 runner at the time, stepped up. Now Mayer is the lead runner and Luke McLane, the Colonels’ typical No. 2, hasn’t raced since Sept. 13. John Nerswick, Jackson Germann and Drew Kurtzner are all candidates to fill the gap, but CovCath will have to improve upon their one-minute, 27-second one-to-five split from the regional meet.
How will team races shape up in Class A and 3A?
After the Beechwood girls won titles in 2022 and 2023 and took second place in 2024, there may be a new top team in Class A this season.
With a young lineup led by Nina Tibbs and Abigail Ford, the Villa Madonna Vikings have the third-best average time in the state (20:35) and an average one-to-five split of 1:58.7. Bishop Brossart, with its own young talent in Callie Ochsner and Allison Kuper, is right behind with an average time of 20:54.
For the boys, St. Henry won the regional title by 43 points. Sam Neuhaus, Logan Vaniglia, Bryson, Colyer, Mason Fields and Mac Pearce all finished in the top 10 and are peaking at the right time. The Crusaders actually have a shot to win the team title if they can keep up with Louisville Collegiate.
Behind Van Laningham, Cooper has been the best boys team in Northern Kentucky in Class 3A this season. The problem is, Louisville Trinity, Lafayette and Louisville St. Xavier will be the main contenders for the team state title. All three teams have at least three runners with a sub-16 minute season’s best and a much faster one-to-five split than Cooper, but the Jaguars should net a top-five team finish.
Ryle and Notre Dame are the top girls teams in Class 3A, but thanks to surprise performances from grade schoolers Sadie Chalfant, Clara Kaiser and Evelyn Carpenter, the Lady Raiders easily captured the regional title. With such a young core, they may be a few years from competing for a team title but should be the top team in Lexington on Saturday.
Which Northern Kentucky teams and individuals qualified for the 2025 cross country state championships?
Class 1A girls individuals: Aidan Clifton, Dayton; Charlotte Morris, Dayton; Gracie Riggs-Pez, Bellevue; Ava Willen, Newport Central Catholic; Kailynn Wise, Ludlow
Class 1A girls teams: Beechwood; Bishop Brossart; St. Henry; Villa Madonna; Walton-Verona
Class 1A boys individuals: Jonah Cockrell, Walton-Verona; Ian Darnell, Newport Central Catholic; Colin Desmond, Newport Central Catholic; Everett Pfeffer, Walton-Verona
Class 1A boys teams: Beechwood; Bellevue; Bishop Brossart; Holy Cross; St. Henry; Villa Madonna
Class 2A girls individuals: Peyton Baker, Holmes; Rosie Brady, Lloyd Memorial; Savannah Gerding, Lloyd Memorial
Class 2A boys individuals: Alexis Lopez-Jaurez, Holmes
Class 2A boys teams: Covington Catholic; Lloyd Memorial
Class 3A girls individuals: Karsyn Kreidenweis, Simon Kenton; Madeline Olsen, Dixie Heights
Class 3A girls teams: Campbell County; Conner; Cooper; Highlands; Notre Dame; Ryle
Class 3A boys individuals: Dylan Clemons, Scott; Ben Gallagher, Highlands; Jacob Gubser, Highlands; Lincoln Treas, Scott; Connor Warner, Simon Kenton
Class 3A boys teams: Campbell County; Conner; Cooper; Dixie Heights; Ryle
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What to watch for at Kentucky, Indiana high school cross country state championships
Reporting by Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
