Jacob Brizendine not only beat the sun down, but the Oldham County sophomore also beat a trend during Saturday evening’s 25th annual South Oldham Dragon Invitational high school cross country meet.
Brizendine became the first underclassmen in more than a decade to win the boys’ varsity race, while South Oldham senior Hallie Searcy continued her in-state hot streak by defeating recovering Sacred Heart junior star Kathleen Simms to claim the girls’ title.
Oldham County swept the team championships, with its boys winning the 39-runner, four-team race with 19 points and the girls claiming the 29-runner, three-team race with 31 points.
“We practice out here every day, so it’s kind of like our home-field advantage,” said Oldham County coach Kirk Thomas.
BOYS: Brizendine didn’t realize how little impact young runners have had in the meet, with former South Oldham star twins Cole and Tanner Dowdy claiming the previous two titles and Portland Christian senior Jonathan Taylor winning in 2013.
However, Brizendine is looking forward to see how he progresses in his final two years.
“I’m really looking for the big picture, like how I’ll turn out as a junior or a senior,” said Brizendine, who earned his first in-state varsity win of the year. “But it’s great to be this fast.”
Brizendine was fast enough, finishing the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course in 16 minutes, 47.35 seconds. That was about 10 minutes before the sun set and a little more than 10 seconds faster than runner-up Elijah Miller, a Boyd County sophomore.
Considering Miller’s school is separated by 175 miles from Brizendine’s, it was the first head-to-head meeting between the two.
Miller led early before Brizendine passed him up a 50-meter hill near the 4,000-meter mark and pulled away when they hit the track around the football field.
“I was a little nervous about him catching back up, so I really just tried to gap him,” said Brizendine, who won the boys’ blue race at the Great American Cross Country Festival last weekend in Cary, N.C.
Oldham County’s Michael Drury (17:07.98) was third. Ryan Lentini (17:43.96) was seventh to pace Kentucky Country Day (fourth with 95 points), Adam Osborne (17:46.32) was eighth to lead South Oldham (second with 51 points) and Cordell Adams (21:39.34) was 34th for Waggener (no full team).
GIRLS: Searcy finished with two boys in the mixed race, clocking in at 18:53.68. That was nearly 20 seconds faster than Simms, who didn’t return to racing until August because of a stress fracture.
Searcy has had to battle issues of her own, finding out earlier this year that she had an iron deficiency which had been plaguing her.
Searcy joked that she feels like Popeye the Sailor Man with all of the spinach she now eats.
But after her third straight in-state win — and fourth consecutive top-two finish counting a race in Ohio — she might be able to afford to splurge on some dessert.
“It’s helped me a lot this season to get back in shape and to get back where I was earlier on before I had the problem,” said Searcy, whose personal record of 18:46.51 came as a freshman. “It’s made a huge difference. It’s affected my training a whole bunch and my times this season and toward the end of my last track season.”
Simms was third in Class 3-A in last year’s state meet in 18:24.18, so Saturday’s time was far from indicative of what she can do when she’s at full strength. The injury in her left leg kept her out of action for five months.
“Today was kind of like an experiment for me. I wanted to see what I could do with some new competition,” Simms said. “It’s been hard getting back in it, but I’ve been working really hard and I just wanted to see what I could do today and get ready for Lexington Catholic and State.”
Simms said she’s not where she wants to be, but she’s “getting there.”
Valkyries volunteer coach Emma Brink said Simms shouldn’t get too discouraged just yet.
“We’re getting back in there and she’s doing really well and we’re proud of her,” said Brink, a four-time 3-A state champion who went on to run at the NCAA Division-I level for North Carolina. “Coming back from injury, that’s never easy on anyone.”
South Oldham’s Haley Webb (19:30.07) was third, Oldham County’s Anna Constant (20:09.49) took fourth, Lana Fahsah (24:10.42) was 25th for KCD (no team score) and Vyteis Tolbert (24:17.08) was 26th for Waggener (no full team).
TEAMS: The Oldham County boys placed their five scorers in the top six as they won the meet for just the second time in 10 years.
“The boys ran great. Jacob, of course, being out front and he’s been there all year, but the rest of the guys keep moving up and getting closer together, so we’re shrinking the gaps between our pack,” Thomas said.
The Oldham County girls, meanwhile, won this meet for the third straight year and fifth time in six years by placing all five scorers in the top nine.
“They’re almost identical to the boys,” Thomas said. “We’ve got that five and those three girls up front, they switch back and forth a lot. But our fourth and fifth keep moving up.”