Local harriers win state titles at Meet of Champions

By STEVE CORNELIUS, CJ Sports Editor
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset November 03, 2009 06:36 pm

— Two Pulaski underclassmen cross country teams came away with state championship titles on Saturday in the Meet of Champions at Masterson Station Park on Saturday.
The Pulaski boys middle school team won by nearly 40 points to claim their middle school state title.
The Pulaski girls elementary team won their state title with a 12-point margin of victory.
The Pulaski boys middle school team scored a meet low of 77 points, which was well ahead of North Oldham’s runner-up point total of 115.
“We knew our main competition was going to come from North Oldham,” Pulaski boys middle school coach David Evans said. “I knew we had did pretty well, becuase we put five runners in before their fourth man finished.”
Pulaski was led by Jimmy Goldson’s 9th place finish. Goldson toured the 4,000-meter course in 14:34. Pulaski’s Mason Blevins finished 14th, Mason Stevens finished 27th, Morgan Stevens finished 31st, Austin Hyden finished 42nd, Matthew Crawford finished 46th and Blake Burton finished 68th.
“Having Jimmy Goldson back at full capacity was a big bonus for us,” Evans said. “Jimmy was out with an injury the first part of the season and then he went down with the flu just a few weeks ago. Also, many of the boys on this team have been running on the varsity team for most of the year, and that experience showed in those guys’ performances today.”
The middle school Maroons held true to their state top ranking and completed their perfect season. Last year, the Pulaski middle schoolers finished sixth and many of this year’s middle school team members were part of the Pulaski Elementary team which finished runner-up in 2007.
“I think the top ranking and everyone’s expectations that they were going to win had them a little nervous prior to the race,” Evans said. “But once they stepped to the starting line, they knew what they had to do.”
“I sort of expected them to win becuase I had ‘State Champion’ T-shirts already printed up for them to wear after the race,” Evans admitted. “Boy, I am glad they won. I don’t know what I would’ve done with those T-shirts had they not won.”
Southwestern’s Nathan Hansford finished in 53rd place. The Warrior boys middle school team finished in 15th place.
The Pulaski girls elementary team, who had finished runner-up in last year’s event, came away with the state title after scoring 173 points to outdistance runner-up Goshen’s 185 points.
The little Lady Maroons were led by fifth-grader Alyssa Hyden’s fifth place finish. Hyden covered the 3,000-meter course in 12:41. Pulaski’s Devin Mayfield finished 25th, Peyton Ingram finished 30th, Sydney New finished 83rd, Molly Smith finished 104th, Sarah Eversoll finished 182nd and Presley Ingram finished 306th.
Southwestern's Leanne Crowder finished in 51st place and Briar Russell finished 76th. The elementary Lady Warriors finished in 12th place.
The top local individual performance was turned in by Southwestern fourth-grader Matthew Jones, who finished third in the boys elementary race with a clocking of 11:42 fro the 3,000-meter course. Somerset Christian’s Aaron Weir finished fifth in the boys elementary race with a 11:46 time. Pulaski fifth-grader Brad Burton finished 39th. Pulaski boys elementary finished 12th and Southwestern finished 13th.
Southwestern seventh-grader Jill Collier finished 17th in the girls middle school race with a 16:34 clocking on the 4,000-meter course. Lady Warriors Tiffany Russell and Katie Goff finished 26th and 44th respectively. The Lady Warrior middle school team finished 13th overall.
Somerset High School senior Sarah Brown finished 40th in the girls varsity Class A race.Southwestern’s Emily Belwood finished 12th and Casey Crowder finished 31st in the girls Class AAA race. The Lady Warriors placed seventh in the Class AAA team standings.
Southwestern second-graders Madison Gaskin and Savana Luttrel finished 50th and 69th, respectively, in the in the open elementary girls race.
Pulaski fifth-grader Brennan Perkins finished 33rd in the boys open middle school race. Southwestern’s rachel School craft finished 40th in the girls open middle school race.
Southwestern’s Jacob Miller, Cory Owens and Jon Alexander finished first, second and third, respectively, in the boys junior varsity race.
All three local high school varsity cross country teams will compete in their respective KHSAA regional championship meets on Saturday, Nov. 7.

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