By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Scott qualified to compete in the Class 2A girls state cross country meet for the first time in three years and pulled off a major upset Saturday by winning the team title with three junior high school students in the lineup.
The Eagles topped the team standings with a 106 total that was nine points better than Highlands, the Class 2A state champion five of the last six years.
Highlands sophomore Maggie Schroeder won the 5,000-meter race on the soggy course at Kentucky Horse Park. Her winning time of 19:07 was the best mark of any local runner in any class at the girls state meet.
Scott freshman Dyllan Hasler placed sixth to lead her team to the title. The Eagles’ other scoring runners were seventh-grader Maddie Strong, eighth-graders Allison Clemons and Lexi Rogers and sophomore Laney Coleman.
Scott placed sixth in the regional meet the last two years and did not qualify for the state meet. The Eagles made it back by placing third in last week’s regional meet behind Highlands and Bourbon County. They outscored both of those teams on Saturday to win their program’s first state championship since 1998.
Bishop Brossart repeated as Class A girls state champion, winning the team title by a hefty 78-point margin over Lexington Christian.
The Mustangs’ team leader for the second consecutive year was eighth-grader Amy Klocke, who placed 11th overall. Her older sister, Maria Klocke, came in 15th, followed by teammates Ashley Beck, Natalie Reis and Claire Curtsinger.
The first local runner across the finish line in the Class A girls race was Walton-Verona junior Ashley Akins, who placed eighth in 20:31.
None of the local teams in the Class 3A girls state meet placed among the top five. Simon Kenton senior Sophia DeLisio finished eighth in that race and Cooper teammates Macey Ruth and Megan Ketler placed 13th and 14th.
Three boys’ teams from Northern Kentucky — St. Henry, Highlands and Conner — all placed sixth in their respective classes. Conner junior Peyton Fairchild finished the Class 3A boys race in 16:45, the best time posted by a local boy in any class at the state meet. Andrew Schultz of Walton-Verona placed ninth in the Class A boys race in 17:00.
Here are the top 10 times recorded by local boys and girls at the state cross country meet. Complete results are available on the khsaa.org website.
