High School Sports

Two Lexington runners favored in Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational

Lexington Catholic's Michaela Reinhart smiled midway as she cruised to victory in 17:49.49 the girls 5K at the UK Tates Creek Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational held at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday September 12, 2015.
Lexington Catholic's Michaela Reinhart smiled midway as she cruised to victory in 17:49.49 the girls 5K at the UK Tates Creek Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational held at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday September 12, 2015. Herald-Leader

Alex Mortimer is favored to take the boys’ race at the fourth annual Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational at Masterson Station Park this weekend, but a field full of local contenders will look to outperform the Tates Creek speedster.

Mortimer’s 15:55.60 at last weekend’s Henry Clay/Tanner Duke Invitational is the fastest boys’ mark in the state this season. Spencer Carman (Lexington Catholic) and Adam Huff (Lexington Christian) are expected to compete for top-three positioning.

Two Paul Laurence Dunbar seniors — Matthew Inman and Mikah Bailey — are projected top-10 finishers. Adam Walker and Joshua Castillo, both of Lexington Catholic, give the Knights three runners with top-20 times — more than any other school.

Lexington Catholic’s Michaela Reinhart, the defending Class 2A state champ, is a prohibitive favorite in the girls’ race. Her Lexington Christian’s Kendall Hayes and Tates Creek’s Jenna Strange, both sophomores, are among the other top runners in the event.

Every school in the city except Lafayette and Sayre is scheduled to compete in the event, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and is co-hosted by Tates Creek and the University of Kentucky. UK, Eastern Kentucky, Cincinnati, Bellarmine and Illinois are scheduled to appear in the college races.

Josh Moore: 859-231-1307, @HLpreps

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Two Lexington runners favored in Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational."

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