The number-one runners from each team wore either a blue Kentucky jersey, or a red Indiana jersey. Grayson County's Bret Crawford (left) wore Kentucky blue and finished 26th overall out of 309 total runners.

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Junior Chaley Trail, wearing her blue Kentucky jersey as Grayson County's number-one runner, finished 14th overall of 193 runners.

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Junior Clay Priddy was the second Cougar to cross the finish line. Priddy finished 35th overall.

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Senior Justin Gallagher was the third Cougar across the line, finishing 84th of 309 runners.

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Sophomore Maggie Lush (left) and seventh-grader Heather Priddy (at rear) ran together during the middle of the girls' race.

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Eighth-graders Teresa Graas (left) and Myriam Hanover (right) paced each other during the race before Graas pulled away to finish just ahead of her teammate at the finish.

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Sophomore Bret Crawford was the first Cougar across the line, finishing 26th with a time of 17:20 for the 5K race.

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The cross country season got under way in spectacular fashion last Tuesday evening at Owensboro’s Yellow Creek Park as 22 boys teams and 21 girls teams totaling more than 500 runners took part in the Kentucky-Indiana Border Clash.

In just its second year, the Border Clash has become popular as it separates the top runners of each team, boys and girls, from both states and outfits them in blue Kentucky jerseys and red Indiana jerseys.

The top Grayson County runners in Kentucky blue were junior Chaley Trail and sophomore Bret Crawford. Both had fine season-opening runs as Trail finished 14th overall out of a total of 193 runners with a time of 21:05. Crawford finished 26th overall of 309 runners. His time for the 5K race was a fine 17:20.

With 22 teams in the boys race, the Cougars finished 13th with a total of 342 points. Daviess County finished first with 62 points, while Apollo was second with 78 points and Meade County was third with 170.

Daviess County also won the girls race with an excellent 25 points. Evansville Reitz was second with 105 points and Evansville North was third at 128. Grayson County’s girls finished 18th of 21 teams with 482 points.

Muhlenberg County junior Chase Geary was the individual winner of the boys race, finishing with a time of 15:52. Claire Payne, of Daviess County, was the girls’ winner with a time of 19:06.

Sophomore first-year runner Maggie Lush was the second Lady Cougar across the line, finishing 145th overall with a time of 26:37. The next three runners, all of whom earned team points, were from the middle school, and they all finished in close order. Eighth-graders Teresa Graas and Myriam Hanover, along with seventh-grader Heather Priddy finished within 18 seconds of one another.

Graas finished 151st with a time of 27:06, just ahead of Hanover, who finished 152nd in 27:16. Priddy came in 155th with a time of 27:34.

Sophomores MacKenzie Arndell and first-year runner Megan Baxter finished 179th and 192nd respectively. Ardell’s time was 31:15, while Baxter’s was 35:24.

Junior Clay Priddy was the second Cougar across the line, finishing 35th overall with a time of 17:38.10. Senior Justin Gallagher was 84th with a time of 18:46.10, while sophomore Corbin Harris was 93rd in 18:55. Junior Jacob Hart was the final points-winner for the Cougars, finishing 170th with a time of 20:33.20.

Also running for the Cougars but finishing out of the points were junior Blake Meredith, 220th with a time of 21:42, and sophomore Taylor Reyes, 268th with a time of 23:16.