Lafayette senior, Woodford County seventh-grader roll in cross country regional
On a wet and chilly weekend morning, a veteran and a youngster tamed a challenging cross country course in Central Kentucky.
Lafayette senior Will Cahill pulled ahead late to win the boys’ title at the Class 3A Region 6 meet at Lykins Park in Winchester on Saturday, while Woodford County seventh-grader Addison Moore breezed to the girls’ championship.
The boys were up first, taking their marks at the beginning of the serpentine course around 9 a.m. Soon after the starting pistol kicked off the 5K race, Cahill maneuvered near the front along with Scott County senior Tyler Walker.
The pair edged away from the pack, with Walker leading around the halfway mark. Cahill made his move nearing the final stretch and pulled in front, crossing the finish line with a time of 16:03.31 — about eight seconds ahead of Walker. Third-place finisher Jordan McHugh of Anderson County followed some 45 seconds later.
“Coming down the backside I knew I had to put the hammer down or else (Walker) would catch back up to me,” Cahill, who was runner-up in last year’s meet, said. “I’ve been focused on state because that’s the biggest thing, but I knew I had to make a point here. I’ve wanted to be at the top since freshman year.”
In the girls’ race, Moore made quite a statement. Officially running for the first time among high school competition, the middle-school phenom dominated.
Moore was all smiles as she crossed the finish line with a time of 18:43.70 — exactly one minute ahead of her Yellowjackets teammate, sophomore Maggie Twehues.
“It feels awesome,” Moore said. “I looked around and saw I had a lead, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I stayed focused and kept running.”
Neither Moore nor Cahill spent much time celebrating their impressive victories. Shortly after completing their respective races, each of them jogged back down the stretch run of the course and loudly encouraged teammates who were nearing the finish.
That act of humility came as no surprise to Lafayette Coach Brett Robinson, who said Cahill is a consummate team player.
“He is a great leader and I’m so proud to have him. He’s been encouraging and helping the other guys all year, and over the last four years he has sacrificed for them,” Robinson said. “They don’t make many kids like him … I’m really proud of him.”
While running for Woodford County Middle School, Moore has become close with her older peers on the high school squad. Woodford County Coach Brooke Stickel recently discussed with her team the idea of adding Moore to the roster for the regional and state meets. The suggestion was met with unbridled enthusiasm.
“She’s been training with the middle school team all year … I saw how well she was doing and I was like, ‘I’ve got to pull her up,’” Stickel said. “I talked it over with the team and they were all excited, they said, ‘Yes, absolutely pull her up.’ I told them she hadn’t run a 5K in a while and they said, “We don’t care, pull her up.’
“She trains so hard and she loves running. She’s so motivated and she has it in her to do her best every single time she steps out there … I tell her to rest and she’s like, ‘I don’t know how. How do I rest?’”
Now, it’s on to the state meet at the Bourbon County Cross Country Course in Paris on Oct. 31. Cahill will be looking to improve on last year’s 10th-place showing, while Moore will aim to turn even more heads.
Safety measures
Because of safety protocols related to the coronavirus pandemic, things looked a bit different from typical cross country meets on Saturday.
Athletes were required to wear face coverings while warming up on the course and teams were separated by 6 feet at the starting line. Five minutes before each race began, runners were allowed to report to their team “boxes” — which were indicated by painted outlines — and could remove their coverings. Some wore the coverings around their necks throughout the race while others handed them off to coaches or parents.
There was a 6-foot buffer zone between the course and the area where spectators could observe the race. At the finish line, mask-clad officials worked to quickly disperse runners and encouraged them to replace their face coverings as soon as possible.
Meet results
Boys’ team standings
1. Lafayette, 1:29.21; 2. Anderson Co., 1:29.25; 3. Tates Creek, 1:31.38; 4. Great Crossing, 1:32.39; 5. Henry Clay, 1:32.56; 6. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1:33.53; 7. Clark Co., 1:35.26.
Top individual boys
1. Will Cahill (Lafayette), 16:03.31; 2. Tyler Walker (Scott Co.), 16:11.84; 3. Jordan McHugh (Anderson Co.), 16:56.73; 4. Mason Pierce (Anderson Co.), 17:07.34; 5. Philip Lamartiniere (Tates Creek), 17:15.61; 6. Daniel Whitaker (Lafayette), 17:32.08; 7. Robbie Joseph (Henry Clay), 17:34.67; 8. Eric Rafferty (Lafayette), 17:41.30; 9. Carter Russell (Great Crossing), 17:43.76; 10. Logan Stafford (Montgomery Co.), 17:44.69;
11. Reeve VanDemark (Tates Creek), 17:47.93; 12. Jackson Gordon (Woodford Co.), 18:07.92; 13. Ben Tennill (Anderson Co.), 18:11.42; 14. Jake Swicegood (Great Crossing), 18:19.28; 15. Kaiden Johnson (Great Crossing), 18:20.70; 16. Ben Crockett (Dunbar), 18:23.05; 17. David Edmonds (Dunbar), 18:30.52; 18. Nathaniel Lykins (Anderson Co.), 18:30.96; 19. Eric Walker (Frederick Douglass), 18:31.00; 20. Ethan Orr (Henry Clay), 18:36.74.
Girls’ team standings
1. Woodford Co., 1:42.27; 2. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1:49.44; 3. Henry Clay, 1:50.27; 4. Tates Creek, 1:53.38; 5. Montgomery Co., 1:59.00; 6. Frederick Douglass, 2:08.22; 7. Scott Co., 2:13.39; 8. Great Crossing, 2:14.13; 9. Clark Co., 2:15.55.
Top individual girls
1. Addison Moore (Woodford Co.), 18:43.70; 2. Maggie Twehues (Woodford Co.), 19:43.70; 3. Victoria Holliday (Lafayette), 20:14.90; 4. Morgan Remley (Lafayette), 20:35.90; 5. Erin Luckett (Scott Co.), 20:43.70; 6. Eden Anderson (Frederick Douglass), 20:48.60; 7. Madelein Lepley (Lafayette), 20:49.90; 8. Cassidy Gilbert (Woodford Co.), 20:50.90; 9. Anna Gedritis (Dunbar), 20:55.10; 10. Anna Schweigardt (Tates Creek), 21:05.50;
11. Kennedy Stamper (Montgomery Co.), 21:10.60; 12. Eva Probus (Woodford Co.), 21:23.90; 13. Katelin Ralenkotter (Henry Clay), 21:35.50; 14. Abbott Renfro (Henry Clay), 21:38.10; 15. Meredith Wilson (Lafayette), 21:42.80; 16. Morgan Reynolds (Woodford Co.), 21:45.30; 17. Katie Schweigardt (Tates Creek), 21:46.80; 18. Natalie Seng (Dunbar), 21:56.20; 19. Haley Noehren (Henry Clay), 21:59.00; 20. Nina Daman (Dunbar), 22:00.20.
