By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Conner had five of the top six finishers in the Class 3A boys regional cross country meet on Saturday and won the team title by a large margin for the second straight year.
Peyton Fairchild crossed the finish line first for the Cougars with a winning time of 16:56 on a rain soaked 5,000-meter course at Sherman Elementary School near Dry Ridge. He was followed by teammates Will Hanak (second), Jack Murphy (fourth), George Johnson (fifth) and Joseph Impellitteri (sixth) to give Conner a winning score of 18.
Covington Catholic senior Joseph Kiely placed third to keep Conner from recording a perfect score. CovCath took second place in the team standings with 46 points.
In the Class 3A girls regional meet, Ryle won a tight scoring battle for the team title with 69 points. Campbell County placed second with 71 and Conner was third with 74. The top two finishers were Campbell County seventh-grader Olivia Holbrook (20:13) and Ryle sophomore Renae Kopser (20:58).
Brossart is the Class 1A girls regional champion for the third consecutive year. With five runners among the first 12 finishers, the Mustangs topped the team standings with 24 points. Villa Madonna placed second with 72.
The winning runner was Brossart freshman Amy Klocke with a time of 20:20, followed by St. Henry freshman Reganne McMain (20:32). Klocke and three of her teammates — Claire Curtsinger, Maria Klocke and Natalie Reis — were among the leading runners on Brossart’s Class 1A state championship team last year.
Williamstown won the Class 1A boys regional meet on Saturday and St. Henry placed second. The top two finishers in that race were St. Henry senior Sean Ryan (17:30) and Newport Central Catholic senior Johnny Powers (18:01).
In the Class 2A regional meet at Bourbon County, Scott eighth-grader Maddie Strong won the girls race in 18:40 and led the Eagles to the team title. Strong is one of the runners returning from Scott’s state championship team last season.
Highlands and Lexington Catholic tied for first place in the Class 2A boys team standings with 44 points. The championship trophy went to Lexington Catholic because its sixth runner finished two places ahead of Highlands’ sixth runner.
Griffin Staude of Frankfort Western Hills won the boys race in 15:53, followed by Scott senior Will Sandlin (16:32) and Highlands freshman Sam Hopper (16:35).
Twenty-three local teams qualified to compete in the Kentucky state championship meet on Saturday at Kentucky Horse Park. Here’s a schedule for the state meet that includes local teams and starting times for each race:
9:30 a.m. / Class 1A girls — Brossart, Villa Madonna, St. Henry, Walton-Verona.
10:15 a.m. / Class 1A boys — St. Henry, Beechwood, Brossart, Villa Madona, Walton-Verona.
11:30 a.m. / Class 2A girls — Scott, Highlands.
12:15 p.m. / Class 2A boys — Highlands, Scott.
1:30 p.m. / Class 3A girls — Ryle, Campbell County, Conner, Cooper, Notre Dame.
2:15 p.m. / Class 3A boys — Conner, Covington Catholic, Ryle, Campbell County, Simon Kenton.