By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryle came out on top in a tight three-team race for first place in the Class 3A, Region 5 girls cross country meet on Saturday in Williamstown.
The Raiders’ winning total was 60 points, followed by Notre with 64 and Campbell County with 66. Nine of the top 10 finishers were from those three teams. Ryle senior Allison Kopser won the 5,000-meter race in 18:54.
Covington Catholic, last year’s Class 2A boys state champion, placed first in the Region 4 meet by a slim three-point margin, 32-35, over Bourbon County.
The first two finishers were CovCath runners Will Sheets (15:05) and Joe Mayer (15:30), but it was an 11th place finish by Jack Salyers that clinched the team title for the Colonels.
In another close meet, two-time defending Class 1A state champion Beechwood held off Villa Madonna, 34-42, to take the Region 4 girls title.
The winning runner in that race for the third consecutive year was Beechwood junior Lily Parke with a time of 19:18.
Villa Madonna did win the Class 1A, Region 4 boys meet after placing second last year in a tiebreaker. The top three finishers in the race were Villa Madonna teammates Mark Antrobus (16:50), Ethan Martin (17:04) and Brendan Ramdass (17:18).
Cooper took the championship trophy in the Class 3A, Region 5 boys region meet behind a first-place finish by junior Paul Van Laningham (15:42).
State cross country meets will be next Saturday at Kentucky Horse Park in Georgetown. The starting times are 10 a.m. for Class 3A girls, 10:45 a.m. for Class 3A boys, 12:30 p.m. for Class 2A girls, 1:15 p.m. for Class 2A boys, 3 p.m. for Class 1A girls and 3:45 p.m. for Class 1A boys.
Complete results for the region meets are posted on the khsaa.org website at these links:
Class 1A, Region 4
Class 2A, Region 4
Class 3A, Region 5