By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
It took 37 years, but veteran coach Dave Schuh finally got to watch his Bishop Brossart girls’ cross country team receive a state championship trophy on Saturday at Kentucky Horse Park.
The Mustangs won the Class A girls’ state title for the first time under Schuh, who took charge of the program in 1980 when it was going into its third season.
“We were all pretty happy, but I think when you work with kids so long there’s more that defines the season than winning a state championship,” Schuh said. “But it was really awesome that the girls did it. It’s something that can never be taken away from them.”
Brossart topped the small-school field with 107 points, followed by Walton-Verona with 149. St. Henry, winner of the previous 17 state titles, placed fourth with 192 points.
The five scoring runners for Brossart were seventh-grader Amy Klocke (12th), junior Rebecca Schroer (18th), sophomore Maria Klocke (25th), junior Ashley Beck (32nd) and eighth-grader Claire Curtsinger (33rd). They all finished within a span of 54 seconds.
“That’s kind of what we’ve done all year, ” Schuh said. “They all run as a nice pack, which in cross country is very important.”
The coach said Maria Klocke had been the team’s lead runner most of the season. She was sick earlier in the week and not in top form for the state meet, but the Mustangs’ pack still prevailed.
“I’m very happy with the way we performed,” Schuh said. “Things don’t always work out the way they should. I thought we had a shot at it, but anything can happen when you’re going against 25 other teams.”
The first local runner across the finish line in the Class A girls’ race was Walton-Verona sophomore Ashley Akins, who placed seventh in 20:39. St. Henry senior Malia Heck came in a fraction of a second behind her to place eighth.
Highlands won the Class 2A girls’ team title for the fifth time in the last six years with freshman Maggie Schroeder leading the way. She placed second with a time of 19:17 that was faster than any local runner in any class at the girls’ state meet.
The other scoring runners for Highlands were sophomores Maria Broering and Alissa Campbell and seniors Brianna Collins and Karsen Hunter. Their team finished with a 77 points and runner-up Ashland Blazer had 91.
None of the local teams in the Class 3A girls’ state meet placed among the top 10. Simon Kenton senior Sophia DeLisio finished 11th in that race with 19:35 on the clock.
Three boys’ teams from Northern Kentucky — St. Henry, Highlands and Cooper — all placed fourth in their respective classes.
St. Henry senior Ethan Snyder was runner-up in the Class A boys’ race with a time of 16:35. The only local runners who posted faster state meet times than him were in the Class 3A race. Simon Kenton senior Kyle Martin came in sixth in 16:05 and Cooper senior Nathan Byrd placed eighth in 16:10.
Congratulations Dave.