Staff writer
OWENSBORO -- The first cross country meet of the year is one in which no one is really trying to do too much, but are just trying to get in shape for the upcoming season and to get an idea of where the competition is coming from.
With that in mind, the Cougar varsity boys' and girls' identical 11th-place finishes on a very warm muggy August morning should not be too much of a concern as both teams figure to get better. Better shape and better times.
The bright spot of the day was senior Chris Belcher's sixth-place finish in the boys' varsity race. Belcher said he was pleased with his first race of the year, saying he had a better time than he had in the same race last year. Belcher ran a 17:38, well behind Greenwood's Michael Eaton, the defending state champion who blew away the competition with a time of 16:16.
Perennial powerhouse Louisville Trinity took the boys' team title with a total of 54 points, well ahead of second-place Lexington Dunbar at 110. Host Daviess County was third at 121 and Greenwood finished fourth at 139. The Cougars were 11th with 284 points.
Grayson County's girls' team will get a much-needed shot in the arm next week when senior Cassie Newton returns to the team. Originally Newton, a three-time state qualifier, was not going to run this season, but couldn't stay away.
"Cassie will really help Alicia (Mattingly) improve because right now we have no one who can run with Alicia and push her to get better," said assistant coach Mary Embry.
Mattingly had the Cougar girls' best time of the day as she finished 45th in a time of 18:17. Kylee Sipes, bothered with sore feet, and Victoria Wright ran together during the race and finished 72nd and 73rd respectively. Sipes' time was 19:57 and Wright finished at 20:00.
Newcomers Megan Norris and Tyra Shepherd showed promise by finishing 83rd and 84th. Norris ran 20:28 and Shepherd was right behind at 20:30. Allison Embry was 96th in 23:04 and senior Elizabeth Carwile was 99th in 24:39.
For the boys, Josh Smith finished 58th in 19:31, while Steven Stewart came across in 60th place in 19:33. Blake Clemons' 19:50 was good for 66th place, while Chad Byrd closed out the scoring runs by finishing 99th in 21:53. Senior Jesse Mudd finished 107th in 22:36.
Freshman Andrew Wright earned a medal in the JV race by finishing 18th overall in a time of 20:51. Jonathan Jones finished 36th in 23:29, Jon Coates was 41st in 24:34, Ryan Tucker was 42nd in 24:38 and Talon Vincent was 50th in 26:46. The JV boys finished fifth of the six full teams participating with 135 points. Daviess County was first with a rare perfect score of 15.
Neal Saltsman has taken over the cross country program at the Grayson County Middle School and has recruited a large number of youngsters for his team. He has 18 boys and 13 girls running in his program.
The girls' team had a good showing on the day, finishing seventh overall with 190 points. Newcomer Corey Sanders had the best time of the day for the young Lady Cougars, earning a medal with her 16th-place finish in a time of 14:13. Kylee Gorby finished just out of medal contention, coming in 21st. Sarah Butcher was 58th, Tonya Turpin was 64th and Samantha Lee finished 65th. No times beyond the 20th-place finisher were available.
The boys' results were late being posted and were not available at press time.
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