The St. Xavier High School cross country team will aim for its second straight Class 3-A state title and 22nd overall during Saturday’s State Championships.
Races at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington will start at 9:30 a.m. with Class A boys and conclude at 2:15 p.m. with Class 3-A girls.
St. X should contend again in the Class 3-A boys race after cruising to the Region Three title last week at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park. The Tigers placed all seven of their runners in the top 10, led by junior Cooper Marchal in second place with a time of 16 minutes, 2.87 seconds.
Manual senior Yared Nuguse won the Region Three title with a time of 15:45.18 and is among the favorites to take the individual state crown Saturday.
The girls Class 3-A race could be a showdown between the past two champions in Manual junior Alena Sapienza-Wright (2015 champion) and Sacred Heart junior Kathleen Simms (2014 champion).
Three schools will put long title streaks on the line – North Oldham boys (six straight Class 2-A titles), St. Henry girls (five straight in Class A) and Highlands girls (four straight in 2-A).
Here’s a brief breakdown of each race:
CLASS A BOYS
* Time: 9:30 a.m.
* Defending team champion: Lexington Christian.
* Top individuals: Holy Cross’ Keeton Thornsberry; Cumberland County’s Levi Owens; Lexington Christian’s Adam Huff; St. Henry’s Ethan Snyder.
CLASS A GIRLS
* Time: 10:15 a.m.
* Defending team champion: St. Henry (five in a row).
* Top individuals: Willamsburg’s Selena Mattingly; Morgan County’s Kailee Perry; Newport Central Catholic’s Abby Jones.
CLASS 2-A BOYS
* Time: 11:30 a.m.
* Defending team champion: North Oldham (six in a row).
* Top individuals: North Oldham’s Alex McClarty; Shelby County’s David Jacobs and Matthew Paverd; Warren East’s Jacob England; Christian Academy’s Steven Ott.
CLASS 2-A GIRLS
* Time: 12:15 p.m.
* Defending team champion: Highlands (four in a row).
* Top individuals: Lexington Catholic’s Michaela Reinhart; Christian Academy’s Clara Lynch; Rockcastle County’s Victoria Dotson; Boyle County’s Ally Anderson; Mercer County’s Haley Blevins.
CLASS 3-A BOYS
* Time: 1:30 p.m.
* Defending team champion: St. Xavier.
* Top individuals: Manual’s Yared Nuguse; Meade County’s Logan Greco; St. Xavier’s Cooper Marchal, Zachary Larkin and Thomas Knepshield; Trinity’s Trevor Warren and Jacob Burnam; Tates Creek’s Alex Mortimer.
CLASS 3-A GIRLS
* Time: 2:15 p.m.
* Defending team champion: Daviess County.
* Top individuals: Daviess County’s Karlee Hoffman; Bowling Green’s Madisyn Peeples; Male’s Kaitlyn Lacy; Manual’s Alena Sapienza-Wright; Sacred Heart’s Kathleen Simms; Assumption’s Sarah Michels.