Cross country teams bring four state titles back to Lexington in 2025

Lafayette and Trinity’s boys cross country teams had held a dual meet in Louisville on Sept. 6. It was the second meet of the year for both squads, who entering the season were the presumptive top dogs in Class 3A.

Xavier Richardson and Van Weimer finished 1-2 for the Generals but Trinity won the head-to-head matchup by five points among the scored runners. The Shamrocks placed 19 of the event’s top 25 runners.

“They absolutely killed us there,” Lafayette head coach Caleb Joy said. Thirteen days later at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational, “they killed us again, and that really shook us up. We knew that the gap was getting bigger than it was last year.”

Lafayette closed the gap last season, ultimately cruising past Trinity to become the first Lexington public school to win a boys cross country team title. It was much tighter Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park, but the Generals left the Kentucky Beef Council Cross Country State Championships with a second straight trophy.

The final margin between them and the Shamrocks? Five points.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys for all that they battled through,” Joy said. “With the leadership that we lost (from last year), injuries, doubt, but we knew that because of last year we had a chance. We ran the numbers and needed everything that happened for us today to happen. We needed help from some other teams to help fill in the gaps on points because it was such a head-to-head battle. But we also had some guys who ran out of their minds.”

Particularly, Andrew Grace and Colson Somervill, who were Lafayette’s No. 4 and No. 5 finishers in 18th and 19th overall, less than two seconds separating them. They rounded out five Generals inside the top 20. Trinity had four of the top 17 but their fifth-place runner, Ben Cebe, was 21st.

“They worked as hard as they could,” said Weimer, his arm draped around Somervill. “They saved our team.”

Weimer finished fifth overall and second to teammate Xavier Richardson, the Class 3A runner-up behind defending champion Paul Van Laningham, a senior at Cooper.

Richardson, who was sixth overall at state last season, on Saturday ran the course in 15:14.34, about 35 seconds faster than his time on the same grass last year.

“I knew it was gonna come down to me and Paul, we talked about it together before the race,” said Richardson, who’s headed to Syracuse after he graduates in May. “Obviously, I’d like to have won, but a team win always feels so much better. Winning the race would’ve just been a one-point difference for the team. Our team got the job done and that’s what matters.”

Lafayette’s girls were third in their team standings, the program’s best finish in school history. Caroline Fritz paced them with a time of 19:07.76, 12th overall. Teammate Macyn Heenan-Menges (19:40.59) wasn’t too far behind; she ran 21st overall.

Fritz said it was a “bittersweet” accomplishment. She’s among five seniors set to depart.

“But we’ve had a lot of amazing freshmen like Macyn come up, and we’re really excited about that,” Fritz said.

Paul Laurence Dunbar senior Susanne Estepp finished second overall, the best among all Lexington runners, with a time of 18:26.30. While that was significantly slower than champion Addison Moore of Woodford County, it was well ahead of the nearest Lexington runners — Billie Phemister (19:06.03) and Sophia Anderson (19:07.02), both of Henry Clay, and Fritz.

That’s a notable distinction since she ran behind all three of them, in addition to Moore, just a week ago at the Class 3A 6th Region meet held in Shelbyville.

“Better than I anticipated,” Estepp said of her second-place finish. “This was really exciting for me. I have never placed on the podium in cross country or track, either, at state. I got through the mile and felt good, I wasn’t really struggling. My goal was just to come out and have a fun race.”

While the race winner wasn’t in doubt by the end, the immediate runners-up finished about one second apart. Estepp fended off Manual’s Bailee Montgomery for the second-place medal.

“It was super close towards the end, but I kicked and was happy with how I placed,” Estepp said with a grin. “I worked hard this season. This year I’ve been putting in more work and racing harder, so I’ve been competing at a higher level.”

Two course record-setters in Class 3A

Moore, a senior at Woodford County, was a near shoo-in to win her third straight individual Class 3A title. But she did more than outclass her competition on Saturday.

She ran the course in 17:38.31, nearly a full second faster than any other girl, regardless of class, who’s ran it since the state meet moved to the Kentucky Horse Park’s Paddock Course in 2009. Van Laningham, who finished in 15:01.13, obliterated the equivalent boys record set in 2015 (15:20.38).

Moore’s time bested the mark set by Gabriella Karas in 2013 (17:39.04). Karas, who went on to star for South Carolina and Virginia in college, entered with three of the four top times recorded. Lexington Catholic’s Michaela Reinhart is the only other girl to have broken 18 minutes on the course during the state meet; she ran it in 17:57.70 in 2016.

“My team, right before we prayed, we got a little emotional because a lot of us are seniors and this was our race together,” said Moore, who’s headed to Lipscomb. “It was really sentimental for me. I wanted to run this race and make my team and coaches proud. I wanted to show them what I was made of and do something that would give back to this team. That and running for the Lord were always the most important things to me.”

Van Laningham successfully defended his championship before heading off to Wisconsin. Before he crossed the finish line he held out his left hand and demonstrably signaled using four fingers to supporters, a reference to a meme originated by the cast of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and his personal accomplishments at various state meets. He has won two cross country titles as well as two in track and field.

“I’m not an underdog this year, and it’s arguable whether I was one last year,” Van Laningham said. “This year I was definitely more known. I haven’t had a bad race in a while. It was tougher with the expectations built by that, but I have a team that was really supportive all year.”

Lexington Catholic sweeps Class 2A meet

Lexington Catholic’s girls won their fifth straight Class 2A team title in a row and their 10th overall. They became only the third girls team, regardless of class, to win five straight (Western Hills, St. Henry).

This year, the boys were able to join them atop the podium: That side of the program won its first team championship since 2018 and fourth overall. The boys’ 2018 trophy was the last of three straight.

Lexington Catholic swept the team titles for the first time.

“We said on the start line, ‘We know that it’s gonna be hard, but we’re doing it together. We’re here for each other, and we have the Lord’s strength in us,’” said Abigail Turner, who finished third with a time of 18:49.39. That was about eight seconds in front of her nearest chaser, teammate Anna Dawahare (18:57.95).

Just two seniors, Nora Parker and Sarah Scott, were on LexCath’s girls roster entering the meet, and Parker was the only one among their seven allowed competitors on Saturday. She finished 42nd in a field of 223 runners, but last among her teammates.

Dawahare and Turner, both juniors, were quick to laud their senior teammates’ leadership throughout the season — the program’s first following the graduation of standout Caroline Beiting, who now runs for Michigan.

“They were really awesome at helping keep our team together and adjust to the changes,” Dawahare said.

Mark Reinhart led the way for LexCath’s boys, completing that race in 16:19.20. Teammates Asher Feddock (16:37.77, seventh) and Liam Havens (16:46.68, eighth) weren’t far behind to help spearhead the Knights’ effort to overtake region rival Covington Catholic for the second week in a row.

LexCath spoiled CovCath’s bid for a third straight team title. The Knights’ practices between region and state were “very light,” they said.

“We’ve done all the work, you can’t improve that much in a week,” Reinhart said. “We tapered off a little bit so our legs could be more fresh for today.”

How do you celebrate a near decade-long drought between championships?

“They used to always go to Buffalo Wild Wings, so maybe we’ll bring that back,” Reinhart said with a grin.

LCA defends Class A girls championship

The sixth-place runners came into play last year to decide the Class A girls team title in Lexington Christian Academy’s favor. After that, a five-point victory to successfully defend its title seems like a rout.

LCA fended off Owensboro Catholic to claim its third girls championship, all earned since 2021. Kennedy Moughamian, a sophomore running in her third state meet, completed the race in 19:11.07 and again finished runner-up. Teammate Hadley Raisor (19:48.13) ran fourth overall; Sayre’s Molly Chambers (19:29.26) finished in between them.

“Last year definitely made us hungry to win again this year,” said Moughamian, who finished fourth overall as an eighth grader and will be the presumptive favorite entering 2026. Beechwood senior Lily Parke was the only finisher in front of her each of the last two seasons.

Parke, the only Class A girl to crack 19 minutes Saturday, committed to Kentucky a few weeks ago. She had several other official visits planned but canceled them after visiting the UK and getting to know Tito Medrano, the school’s new cross country and distance coach hired in July, and his staff.

Chambers is also a sophomore and hopes to someday run in college. The local duels between her and Moughamian in the coming years will be hotly contested but friendly; both girls expressed admiration for the other afterward.

“Kenendy’s awesome. She’s such a good runner,” Chambers said. “I’m really excited to be competing with her in the future.”

Kyle Stickel, a junior at LCA, finished sixth overall in the Class A boys race. That was nine spots better than a year ago, and his time (16:47.05) was significantly faster. “The experience of going out with the lead pack” at state will help Stickel going into his final season, he said.

KHSAA CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

Top 15 finishers make podium in all classes. Team scores also include central Kentucky placements outside the top 10.

CLASS 3A

Boys’ top 10 teams—1. Lafayette 56, 2. Trinity 61, 3. St. Xavier 106, 4. Cooper 164, 5. East Jessamine 232, 6. Apollo 249, 7. North Oldham 251, 8. Male 303, 9. Manual 310, 10. Central Hardin 359, 21. Frederick Douglass 587, 23. Woodford County 631, 24. Madison Central 632, 25. Henry Clay 665, 28. Great Crossing 718, 30. West Jessamine 775, 35. Paul Laurence Dunbar 872.

Boys’ top 15 individuals—1. Paul Van Laningham, Cooper, 15:01.13; 2. Xavier Richardson, Lafayette, 15:14.34; 3. Nick Sanders, St. Xavier, 15:37.46; 4. Kobey Yates, Marshall County, 15:41.97; 5. Van Weimer, Lafayette, 15.42.58; 6. Justin Doran, 15:50.21; 7. Ethan Mann, Conner, 15:51.97; 8. Ayden Taylor, Trinity, 15:53.40; 9. Christian Stewart, Trinity, 15:54.75; 10. Henry Kiser, Male, 15:57.75; 11. Noah Gray, Apollo, 15:58.41; 12. Jackson Proffitt, Lafayette, 16:00.77; 13. Drew Koon, 16:02.69; 14. Jake Hagan, Trinity, 16:04.76; 15. Matthew Frick, St. Xavier, 16:04.78.

Girls’ top 10 teams—1. Assumption 129, 2. Sacred Heart 159, 3. Lafayette 162, 4. Manual 168, 5. Ryle 196, 6. Greenwood 214, 7. Notre Dame 229, 8. North Oldham 232, 9. Daviess County 264, 10. Highlands 357, 11. Frederick Douglass 377, 14. Henry Clay 428, 15. Woodford County 457, 22. Anderson County 533, 25. East Jessamine 643, 26. Madison Central 681.

Girls’ top 15 individuals—1. Addison Moore, Woodford County, 17:38.31; 2. Susanne Step, Paul Laurence Dunbar, 18:26.30; 3. Bailee Montgomery, Manual, 18:27.53; 4. Abby Jones, Ballard, 18:41.54; 5. Mabel George, Assumption, 18:41.59; 6. Savannah Mooney, Bullitt East, 18:50.89; 7. Shelby Lamb, Madison Central, 18:51.93; 8. Celia Maudlin, Manual, 18:52.84; 9. Allie Doran, Greenwood, 19:01.78; 10. Billie Phemister, Henry Clay, 19:06.03; 11. Sophia Anderson, Henry Clay, 19:07.02; 12. Caroline Fritz, Lafayette, 19:07.76; 13. Lucy Gaunt, Sacred Heart, 19:08.27; 14. Elle Cargould, North Oldham, 19:11.39; 15. Grace Horan, North Oldham, 19:12.07.

CLASS 2A

Boys’ top 10 teams—1. Lexington Catholic 56, 2. Covington Catholic 67, 3. Bourbon County 106, 4. John Hardin 188, 5. Corbin 206, 6. Russell 216, 7. Union County 245, 8. Webster County 259, 9. Boyd County 269, 10. Henry County 285, 23. Mercer County 592, 27. Franklin County 688.

Boys’ top 15 individuals—1. Joe Mayer, Covington Catholic, 15:44.15; 2. Daniel Filiatreau, Thomas Nelson, 15:54.38; 3. Christopher Wells, Bourbon County, 15:58.95; 4. Mark Reinhart, Lexington Catholic, 16:19.19; 5. Charlie Wolfrom, Paducah Tilghman, 16:32.80; 6. Landon Higdon, Webster County, 16:33.45; 7. Liam Feddock, Lexington Catholic, 16:37.77; 8. Liam Havens, Lexington Catholic, 16:46.68; 9. Olin Inscore Essick, Henry County, 16:49.42; 10. Drew Kurtzner, Covington Catholic, 16:52.83; 11. Darian Gibson, John Hardin, 16:55.11; 12. Chase Simpson, Harrison County, 16:56.46; 13. John Nerswick, Covington Catholic, 16:56.83; 14. Reeves McCullough, Lexington Catholic, 17:00.85; 15. Grant Perraut, Bourbon County, 17:00.86.

Girls’ top 10 teams—1. Lexington Catholic 63, 2. Bourbon County 77, 3. LaRue County 160, 4. Harlan County 163, 5. Harrison County 198, 6. Corbin 236, 7. Calloway County 281, 8. Ashland Blazer 292, 9. Webster County 292, 10. John Hardin 330, 19. Boyle County 513.

Girls’ top 15 individuals—1. Baili Hoten, Thomas Nelson, 18:32.15; 2. Marleigh Estes, Bourbon County, 18:45.66; 3. Abigail Turner, Lexington Catholic, 18:49.39; 4. Anna Dawahare, Lexington Catholic, 18:57.95; 5. Isabella Day, LaRue County, 19:00.87; 6. Mayci Moore, Webster County, 19:33.35; 7. Brianna Hillock, Adair County, 19:33.85; 8. Danielle Shone, Bourbon County, 19:46.98; 9. Emma Massengill, Corbin, 19:52.79; 10. Abby Creason, LaRue County, 19:59.73; 11. Anabelle Plummer, Christian Academy-Louisville, 20:02.69; 12. Sami Govey, Boyd County, 20:06.70; 13. Julia Lowry, Lexington Catholic, 20:13.89; 14. Macey McKinzie, Bourbon County, 20:18.95; 15. Adalyn Filiatreau, Thomas Nelson, 20:25.75.

CLASS A

Boys’ top 10 teams—1. Collegiate 68, 2. St. Henry 136, 3. Beechwood 193, 4. Bethlehem 246, 5. Villa Madonna 248, 6. Lexington Christian Academy 297, 7. Owen County 317, 8. Edmonson County 324, 9. Green County 328, 10. Bishop Brossart 336, 21. Danville 534, 23. Frankfort 592.

Boys’ top 15 individuals—1. James Gurley, Collegiate, 15:51.44; 2. Grant Greenwell, Bethlehem, 15:59.87; 3. Tanner Daniels, Harlan, 16:11.87; 4. Easton Bourland, Dawson Springs, 16:31.29; 5. Thomas Mathews, Walden School, 16:36.14; 6. Kyle Stickel, Lexington Christian Academy, 16:47.05; 7. Chance Collins, Leslie County, 16:57.58; 8. Adam Tarvin, Bishop Brossart, 16:59.19; 9. Samuel Claunch, Highlands Latin, 17:01.46; 10. Bruce Hayden, Paris, 17:06.65; 11. Everest Snyder, Collegiate, 17:07.31; 12. Brendan Ramdass, Villa Madonna, 17:10.07; 13. Aidan Meredith, Edmonson County, 17:11.76; 14. Sam Neuhaus, St. Henry, 17:13.23; 15. Hayden McIntosh, Collegiate, 17:18.40.

Girls’ top 10 teams—1. Lexington Christian Academy 57, 2. Owensboro Catholic 62, 3. Villa Madonna 103, 4. Bishop Brossart 150, 5. Beechwood 159, 6. Collegiate 231, 7. St. Henry 236, 8. Danville 316, 9. Green County 318, 10. Pikeville 334, 11. Somerset Christian 344, 12. Fort Campbell 364, 13. Somerset 372, 14. Dawson Springs 375, 15. Walton-Verona 462, 27. Nicholas County 662.

Girls’ top 15 individuals—1. Lily Parke, Beechwood, 18:55.64; 2. Kennedy Moughamian, Lexington Christian Academy, 19:11.07; 3. Molly Chambers, Sayre, 19:29.26; 4. Hadley Raisor, Lexington Christian Academy, 19:48.13; 5. Elizabeth Mathews, Walden School, 19:48.43; 6. Peyton Reid, Owensboro Catholic, 20:10.96; 7. Callie Ochsner, Bishop Brossart, 20:12.30; 8. Abigail Ford, Villa Madonna, 20:12.80; 9. Margaret Dulaney, Collegiate, 20:18.62; 10. Nina Tibbs, Villa Madonna, 20:23.40; 11. Annie Sewell, Lexington Christian Academy, 20:30.34; 12. Charlie Reid, Owensboro Catholic, 20:33.97; 13. Jade Green, Murray, 20:34.82; 14. Caroline Wathen, Owensboro Catholic, 20:47.62; 15. Cadence Compton, Pikeville, 20:50.63.