Lafayette, Lexington Catholic and LCA sweep cross country regionals
Lexington schools made a clean sweep of their cross country region championships on Saturday as Lexington Christian, Lexington Catholic and Lafayette claimed the No. 1 team spots for both genders in Class A, 2A and 3A, respectively.
Lafayette’s Xavier Richardson set a Shelby County Cross Country Course record time of 15:14.30 over the winding 5-kilometer course in Shelbyville as the Generals took the top four individual spots to claim their fifth straight team title.
Lafayette’s girls won their third straight team championship thanks to a strong showing that included Caroline Fritz in second place.
In Class A’s 5th Region at the same course later in the day, Lexington Christian hogged both the team and individual titles. LCA sophomore Kennedy Moughamian won her third straight individual title, while junior Kyle Stickel claimed his first.
In Class 2A’s 4th Region at Idlewild Park in Burlington, Lexington Catholic’s boys team won its first title since 2020 while its girls team won its fourth straight team championship.
It was also a milestone day for Woodford County’s Addison Moore, who finished with a near 30-second margin for her sixth Class 3A region championship out of her six tries since seventh grade.
Lafayette commands the field
A surprise boys team winner at last year’s state championships, Lafayette knows the odds will be against them again going up against top-rated Trinity on Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park.
But Richardson and his teammates could barely go into state on more of a high after taking the top four spots to go with ninth-, 11th- and 15th-place finishers on Saturday.
“This year, we definitely have high expectations coming off last year, but at the same time, last year was last year,” said Richardson, a Syracuse commit who claimed his second straight region race win and will be looking to improve on last year’s sixth-place state finish. “This is a new team. Same goal, though: to just dominate.”
Van Weimer (15.14.30), a junior, and seniors Jackson Profitt (16:03.8) and Andrew Grace (16:12.30) got off to a good start heading into the first of about 60 turns on the rolling Shelby County course. That’s double what they’ll see at the Horse Park.
“The turns definitely killed momentum,” Richardson said. “But it was really good for me and Van working together early to gather our momentum back together and push through and still have a strong time for both of us.”
Dylan Brock finished just outside the medals in ninth ahead of teammates Cole Shaver in 11th and Jackson Barkley in 15th. Although only the top five finishers of each team count toward its point total, high finishes by the sixth and seventh can take points away from their rivals.
“It was a really solid showing going into next week,” Richardson said. “We’re really dialed in.”
The Lafayette girls team also placed four runners on the medals podium to claim its third straight region title.
Seniors Fritz (18:15.20), Callie Tyson (19:16.40) and Elizabeth Folsom (19:26.00) finished second, sixth and eighth, respectively. Freshman Macyn Heenan-Menges (19.21.20) took seventh. Another senior, Lexi Hunt (20:20.30), rounded out the team score in 16th, but freshman Dylan Kerr was right behind her in 17th. Senior Maggie Hill finished in the top half of the field in 33rd.
“We’ve got a really tough group this year,” said Lafayette coach Caleb Joy, who returned to coaching both boys and girls this year after a few seasons just on the boys side. “They’re really running dominant. … They’ve all overcome obstacles, and we have some phenomenal freshmen that really popped off today.”
Strong showing for Douglass and other Lexington teams
Lexington had three boys and three girls from other schools achieve top-eight finishes. On the boys’ side, Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Matea Ivanov took fifth, Henry Clay’s Wesley Buck was seventh and Frederick Douglass’ Jackson Weir finished eighth. For the girls, Henry Clay’s Billie Phemister and Sophia Anderson finished third and fourth, respectively. Dunbar’s Susanne Estepp placed fifth.
Douglass claimed the boys and girls team runner-up trophies, led by Weir, an eighth grader, and 10th-place finisher Landon Emery on the boys side and top-25 girls finishes by Sadie Parks (11th), Sophia Kustelski (12th), Adelyn Myers (13th), Tye Park (15th), Julie Howell (19th), Olivia Truex (20th) and Breanna Zeigler (24th).
It was the first cross country trophy for the Douglass girls team, which has four sophomores and three freshmen.
“Our boys ran our best race of the season today,” Douglass coach Lindsey Roberts said. “The girls placed third in region last year and our goal the next day was to send two teams to state. I never thought we’d get two second places at region the following year, but that’s been our goal and I couldn’t be more happy.”
Woodford County’s Moore goes 6-for-6
Woodford County’s Addison Moore has not only won every cross country region title since seventh grade, she’s also dusted the field in doing so.
The senior Lipscomb commit has twice finished more than a minute in front of second place and on Saturday, her roughly 29-second margin was about average for the other three wins.
As is her custom, Moore broke to the front in the first few strides.
“That’s one of the key points. If you get out good, you’re setting yourself up really well,” she said. “I’ve been so grateful, because last year was a little difficult, and I just really tried to work on my faith a lot, because my faith in God is just so important to me.”
Saturday, Moore will try for her third state title.
“You know what? I’m ready. Bring it on,” she said.
Lexington Christian takes all the gold
LCA junior Kyle Stickel knocked more than a minute off his second-place mark in last year’s regional to win going away Saturday in a time of 16:11.60 and help the Eagles earn their fourth straight boys team title via tiebreaker over Owen County.
“I just tried to hang in there and outlast them at the mile mark and tried to run away so they couldn’t outkick me at the line,” Stickel said. “It feels amazing. … Some of us were sick and injured coming into here, but we all ran pretty good.”
Though Stickel was the only LCA runner to medal, the other six Eagles dotted the top half of the field from 11th to 27th place.
LCA sophomore Kennedy Moughamian claimed her third straight region win as part of another 1-2-3-4 Lexington finish on the Shelby County course. She also knocked more than a minute off her mark last year with a time of 18:49.80.
“I really wasn’t worried about the time today,” said Moughamian, who finished in 18:49.80. “I just kind of wanted to win, and my teammates all did really good. We wanted to win as a team and just get ready for state.”
LCA’s 12th straight girls region championship included an incredible five runners in the top eight with Moughamian followed immediately by June Karls, Annie Sewell and Violet Griese. Seventh grader Farris Renfro finished seventh with Gemma Nyman in 13th and Kate Moore in 15th.
The Eagles will be looking to defend their state title Saturday. Moughamian finished second in that effort.
“I’m just going to pray throughout the race and know that whatever happens is God’s will for me,” Moughamian said.
Lexington Catholic teams sweep Class 2A regional
With four medalists and all seven Lexington Catholic runners in the top 25, the Knights’ boys team captured its first region title since 2020 as its girls team made it four in a row at Idlewild Park in Burlington.
Mark Reinhart, Asher Feddock, Liam Havens and Reeve McCullough finished third, fourth, seventh and eighth, respectively, for Lexington Catholic behind Covington Catholic senior Joe Mayer’s winning time of 15:38.05.
Grant Shear’s 11th-place finish rounded out LexCath’s team score of 31, 10 points better than Covington Catholic, the defending champion.
Lexington Catholic’s girls fared even better with junior Anna Dawahare’s second-place time of 18:39.34 just a few steps off the winning mark of Bourbon County senior Marleigh Estes’ 18:36.25.
Lexington Catholic’s Abigail Turner and Julia Lawry finished third and fourth; Addison Mason, sixth; Abby Etherington, 10th; Ainsley Adair, 11th; and Nora Parker 17th.
LexCath’s girls team will be trying for its fifth straight state championship on Saturday. Its boys have not had a team state win since going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
KHSAA State Cross Country Schedule
What: The 2025 Kentucky Beef Council State Cross Country Championships
Where: Kentucky Horse Park
When: Saturday
Start times: Class 3A boys, 10 a.m.; Class 3A girls, 10:45 a.m.; Class 2A boys, 12:30 p.m.; Class 2A girls, 1:15 p.m.; Class A boys, 3 p.m.; Class A girls, 3:45 p.m.
Saturday’s regional cross country results
Team standings and individual medalists (top eight). Complete results online at ky.milesplit.com
CLASS 3A, 6TH REGION
At Shelby County Cross Country Course, Shelbyville. The top six teams advance to state.
Boys medalists: 1. Xavier Richardson, Lafayette, 15:14.30*; 2. Van Weimer, Lafayette, 15:31.20; 3. Jackson Profitt, Lafayette, 16:03.80; 4. Andrew Grace, Lafayette, 16:12.30; 5. Matea Ivanov, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 16:17.61; 6. Wesley Buck, Henry Clay, 16:18.20; 7. Dylan Russell, Great Crossing, 16:28.50; 8. Jackson Weir, Frederick Douglass 16:33.40. Individual qualifiers: Emerson Bishop, Scott County; Hunter Rogers, George Rogers Clark; Carson Blake, Tates Creek; Theo Meads, Bryan Station; Elijah Johnson, Montgomery County.
Boys team standings (points are runners’ combined finish numbers): 1. Lafayette 19; 2. Frederick Douglass, 111; 3. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 117; 4. Henry Clay, 130; 5. Woodford County, 134; 6. Great Crossing, 135; 7. Bryan Station, 178; 8. Tates Creek, 219; 9. Scott County, 234; 10. Montgomery County, 257; 11. Anderson County, 260; 12. George Rogers Clark, 320.
Girls medalists: 1. Addison Moore, Woodford County, 17:45.60; 2. Caroline Fritz, Lafayette, 18:15.20, 3. Billie Phemister, Henry Clay, 18:19.10; 4. Sophia Anderson, Henry Clay, 18:33.71; 5. Susanne Estepp, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 19:10.10; 6. Callie Tyson, Lafayette, 19:16.40; 7. Macyn Heenan-Menges, Lafayette, 19:21.20, 8. Elizabeth Folsom, Lafayette, 19:26.00. Individual qualifiers: Jaden Balser, George Rogers Clark; Summer Kern, Bryan Station; Marissa Thomas, George Rogers Clark, Olivia Fereday, Bryan Station; Tinsley Smith, Great Crossing.
Girls team standings: 1. Lafayette, 39; 2. Frederick Douglass, 70; 3. Woodford County, 99; 4. Henry Clay, 112; 5. Anderson County, 121; 6. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 169; 7. George Rogers Clark, 189; 8. Bryan Station, 209; 9. Great Crossing, 222; 10. Montgomery County, 263; 11. Scott County, 279.
CLASS 2A, 4TH REGION
At Idlewild Park, Burlington. The top four boys and top two girls teams advance to state.
Boys medalists: 1. Joe Mayer, Covington Catholic, 15:38.05; 2. Christopher Wells, Bourbon County, 15:39.05; 3. Mark Reinhart, Lexington Catholic, 16:03.43; 4. Asher Feddock, Lexington Catholic, 16:10.73; 5. Grant Perraut, Bourbon County, 16:16.24; 6. Chase Simpson, Harrison County, 16:16.32; 7. Liam Havens, Lexington Catholic, 16:32.28; 8. Reeves McCullough, Lexington Catholic, 16:37.43.
Boys team standings: 1. Lexington Catholic, 31; 2. Covington Catholic, 41; 3. Bourbon County, 56; 4. Franklin County, 135, 5. Lloyd Memorial, 138; 6. Pendleton County, 162.
Girls medalists: 1. Marleigh Estes, Bourbon County, 18:36.25; 2. Anna Dawahare, Lexington Catholic, 18:39.84; 3. Abigail Turner, Lexington Catholic, 18:46.00; 4. Julia Lowry, Lexington Catholic, 19:31.44; 5. Danielle Shone, Bourbon County, 19:37.98; 6. Addison Mason, Lexington Catholic, 19:51.53; 7. Macey McKinzie, Bourbon County, 20:03.13; 8. Madison Hunt, Harrison County, 20:06.48.
Girls team standings: 1. Lexington Catholic, 25; 2. Bourbon County, 38; 3. Harrison County, 66.
CLASS A, 5TH REGION
At Shelby County Cross Country Course, Shelbyville. The top four teams advance to state.
Boys medalists: 1. Kyle Stickel, Lexington Christian, 16:11.60; 2. Bruce Hayden, Paris, 16:40.50; 3. Tyler Cammack, Owen County, 17:05.00; 4. Banks Bratcher, Danville, 17:09.20; 5. Talon Wilson, Owen County, 17:26.40; 6. Eli Marshall, Frankfort, 17:27.30; 7. Lucas Hanks, Bracken County, 17:34.50; 8. Joey Reed, Eminence, 17:59.10.
Boys team standings: 1. Lexington Christian, 46; 2. Owen County, 46; 3. Frankfort, 70; 4. Danville, 93; 5. Bracken County, 95; 6. Nicholas County, 169; 7. Burgin, 200.
Girls medalists: 1. Kennedy Moughamian, Lexington Christian, 18:49.80; 2. June Karls, Lexington Christian, 19:44.30; 3. Annie Sewell, Lexington Christian, 19:54.20; 4. Violet Griese, Lexington Christian, 20:01.40; 5. Molly Chambers, Sayre, 20:53.90; 6. Jaycee Morse, Danville, 21:27.30; 7. Farris Renfro, Lexington Christian, 21:33.40; 8. Brooklyn Rudd, Bracken County, 21:42.00.
Girls team standings: 1. Lexington Christian, 16; 2. Danville, 58; 3. Frankfort, 66; 4. Gallatin County, 118; 5. Nicholas County, 119; 6. Burgin, 156.
