LC’s cross country season reaches its end at region; Mayci Godbey posts Lincoln’s top finish
Published 11:18 am Thursday, November 3, 2016
LINCOLN’S Mayci Godbey has her eye on the finish line, above, as she and teammate Jasmine Steele near the end of their first cross country regional. Godbey, a seventh-grader, posted Lincoln’s top finish in the Class 3A, Region 7 Championships at Cave Lake Event Park in Monticello Saturday, placing 32nd overall in a time of 25:05.79. Steele, a sophomore, followed her across in 33rd place in 25:06.70
MONTICELLO — At last year’s regional cross country championships, onlookers stood along the Cave Lake Event Park course bundled up in winter coats and gloves beneath blankets as they watched runners pass by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants underneath their uniforms.
When runners lined up at the starting line on the same course Saturday, the attire of the fans and competitors was much different as the temperature reached above 80 degrees.
And the warmer conditions at the 2016 Class 3A, Region 7 Cross Country Championships took a toll on the runners, with slower times posted in the state-qualifying races. The winning time in the girls’ race was a minute slower than last year’s top time and the boys’ winning time was 1 minute, 15 seconds slower.
Unfortunately, the Lincoln County cross country runners who competed in last year’s regional posted slower times as well.
Katherine Rowe, a sophomore who just missed qualifying for state by one spot last year, wasn’t even close to last year’s time or her typical performance Saturday. Rowe placed 24th overall last year with a time of 22:43.48, but she was way off her pace Saturday, placing 41st in 27:08.55.
Junior Brecken Wren, who was 34th last year in 23:39.78, finished ahead of Rowe in 38th place Saturday in a time of 26:26.71. Celia Sanjuan, the only other Lady Patriot runner competing in last year’s regional, ran 44th last year in 26:33.45, but crossed the finish line in 52nd this year in 31:36.31.
Senior Patriot Blake Eldridge, the only Lincoln boy making a return appearance at region, was three minutes off his 2015 time. He ran 42nd last year in 20:11.65 and he was 56th Saturday in 23:13.05.
Lady Patriots Mayci Godbey, one of five seventh-graders hitting the course for the girls’ regional race, and sophomore Jasmine Steel made a serious run for a state berth in their first regional competition.
The top five individual runners not on the top four state-qualifying teams advance to state, and Godbey had the eighth best individual time and Steele had the ninth best.
Godbey’s time over the 3.1-mile course was 25:05.79, placing her 32nd out of 56 runners. Steele finished right behind Godbey in 33rd place in a time of 25:06.70.
Logan Godbey, the lone Lady Patriot senior, saw her high school cross country career reach its end Saturday with a 40th-place regional finish. Her time in the race was 26:51.68.
The Lady Patriot runners placed seventh out of eight teams in the meet. Chrissy Mullins, a sophomore, rounded out the Lincoln girls’ roster of runners, placing 54th overall in 32:40.85.
The Patriots also put a full team out on the course Saturday, with freshman runner Gabe Singleton leading the way. He placed 51st out of 65 runners with a time of 21:43.84.
Eldridge was the next Patriot across the finish, followed by Justin Cummins, Josh Denson, John Sparkman and Dalton Patterson. Cummins finished 58th in a time of 23:49.55, Denson crossed in 60th place in 24:15.17, Sparkman was 62nd in 25:54.08 and Patterson came in 65th in 34:54.88.
South Laurel eighth-grader Phoebe McCowan, who finished in third place last year, claimed the top girls’ spot Saturday to help the Lady Cardinals clinch a state berth as the fourth best team overall. She had the only sub-21 time for the girls, completing the race in 20:28.00.
All seven runners on the South Laurel girls team advance to state, as do the members of the other Top 4 teams – Madison Central, West Jessamine and North Laurel.
Madison Central claimed five Top 15 finishes in the girls’ division to earn the team win. Abby Hill led Central with a fourth-place finish in 21:45.41, Hailey Stewart was fifth in 22:00.85, Erin Keeney ran 12th in 22:41.86, Abigail York came in 13th in 22:46.47 and Allison Vincent was 14th in 22:52.89.
The individual state qualifiers were: Devin Mayfield of Pulaski County, 21:40.89, Mary Beth Melhuish of Madison Southern, 22:20.27, Morgan Bruin of Pulaski County, 23:48.90, Sarah Burton of Pulaski County, 24:00.26, and Graeson Mobley of Pulaski County, 24:12.62.
Sam Smith, a two-time regional runner-up, was at the front of the field Saturday, covering the 3.1-mile course in 17:04.99 for the win. Smith and his Maroon teammates all advance to state as the second-place team.
North Laurel advances as the team winner, as does third-place East Jessamine and fourth-place Madison Central.
Trey Valentine and Zach Collins led North Laurel to the team win by placing fourth and sixth overall. Valentine’s time was 17:38.63 and Collins’ time was 17:46.31.
The five individual qualifiers were: Paul Frantz of Madison Southern, 17:09.36, Nathan Fielder of West Jessamine, 18:00.35, Quinn Endicott of West Jessamine, 18:08.26, Spencer Lawson of Whitley County, 18:46.21, and David Suarez of Southwestern, 18:55.64.
Girls varsity
(3.1 miles-56 runners)
TEAMS (Top 4 qualify for state): 1) Madison Central (MadC) 48; 2) West Jessamine (WJ) 49; 3) North Laurel (NL) 8; 4) South Laurel (SL) 84; 5) Pulaski Co. (PC) 109; 6) Madison Southern (MadSo) 179; 7) Lincoln Co. (LC) 184; 8) Southwestern (SW) 198.
INDIVIDUALS: 1) Phoebe McCowan (SL) 20:28.00; 2) Bethany Hamilton (WJ) 21:25.05; 3) Devin Mayfield (PC) 21:40.89; 4) Abby Hill (MadC) 21:45.41; 5) Hailey Stewart (MadC) 22:00.85; 6) Gabby Long (WJ) 22:10.85; 7) Sydney McWhorter (SL) 22:11.78; 8) Mary Beth Melhuish (MadSo) 22:20.27; 9) Anna Hylen (WJ) 22:26.31; 10) Sidney King (NL) 22:31.04; 11) Olivia Rudder (NL) 22:39.67; 12) Erin Keeney (MadC) 22:41.86; 13) Abigail York (MadC) 22:46.47; 14) Allison Vincent (MadC) 22:52.89; 15) Isabel Peterson (WJ) 22:56.99; 16) Madeline Lee (MadC) 23:01.90; 17) Ashton Fitzpatrick (WJ) 23:18.98; 18) Mia Sparkman (NL) 23:32.28; 19) Ella Hamm (NL) 23:32.64; 20) Holly Crouch (NL) 23:43.63; 21) Morgan Bruin (PC) 23:48.90; 22) Melody Branan (WJ) 23:51.02; 23) Sarah Burton (PC) 24:00.26; 24) Leslie Dixon (SL) 24:00.94; 25) Alexandra MorriS (SL) 24:06.11; 26) Lauren Hemenover (WJ) 24:07.27; 27) Emma Woods (SL) 24:08.60; 28) Graeson Mobley (PC) 24:12.62; 29) Kaeona Phelps (SW) 24:23.08; 30) Autumn Gregory (SW) 24:23.72; 31) Sarah Ford (SL) 25:04.63; 32) Mayci Godbey (LC) 25:05.79; 33) Jasmine Steele (LC) 25:06.70; 34) Sydney Sexton (PC) 25:25.34; 35) Miriam Massaro (MadSo) 25:48.73; 36) Ellie Stanko (SL) 26:03.14; 37) Ashlee Mounce (PC) 26:23.45; 38) Brecken Wren (LC) 26:26.71; 39) Emilee Albright (NL) 26:28.50; 40) Logan Godbey (LC) 26:51.68; 41) Katherine Rowe (LC) 27:08.55; 42) Keri Thorn (MadSo) 27:46.51; 43) Lydia Patterson (SW) 28:01.10; 44) Haley Marino (MadC) 28:12.89; 45) Katie Brown (NL) 8:22.65; 46) Maxine Pruesch (MadSo) 29:00.28; 47) Brooklyn Lawson (Whitley Co.-WC) 29:08.49; 48) Allison Taylor (SW) 29:50.64; 49) Rebekah Gilliam (MadSo) 30:11.43; 50) Rachel Shelton (WC) 30:27.82; 51) Andrea Martinez (SW) 31:31.38; 52) Celia Sanjuan (LC) 31:36.31; 53) Ciara Pike (MadSo) 32:25.78; 54) Chrissy Mullins (LC) 32:40.85; 55) Aimee Johnson (SW) 32:48.74; 56) Catrina Eden (SW) 34:48.62.
State-qualifying individuals: Devin Mayfield (Pulaski Co.), Mary Beth Melhuish (Madison Southern), Morgan Bruin (Pulaski Co.), Sarah Burton (Pulaski Co.), Graeson Mobley (Pulaski Co.).
BOYS Varsity
(3.1 miles-65 runners)
TEAMS): 1) North Laurel (NL) 60; 2) Pulaski Co. (PC) 63; 3) East Jessamine (EJ) 66; 4) Madison Central (MadC) 68; 5) West Jessamine (WJ) 90; 6) South Laurel (SL)176; 7) Whitley Co. (WC) 195; 8) Southwestern (SW) 225; 9) Lincoln Co. (LC) 270.
INDIVIDUALS: 1) Sam Smith (PC) 17:04.99; 2) Garrett Puckett (MadC) 17:08.31; 3) Paul Frantz (Madison Southern-MadSo) 17:09.36; 4) Trey Valentine (NL) 17:38.63; 5) Connor O’Shea (MadC) 17:44.58; 6) Zack Collins (NL) 17:46.31; 7) Preston Sagastegui (EJ) 18:00.35; 8) Nathan Fielder (WJ) 18:00.60; 9) Quinn Endicott (WJ) 18:08.26; 10) John Gula (MadC) 18:15.51; 11) Brennan Perkins (PC) 18:20.51; 12) Ryan Wall (EJ) 18:27.73; 13) Elias Smith (PC) 18:29.46; 14) John Michael Bowling (NL) 18:29.92; 15) Mason Stogsdill (PC) 18:38.85; 16) Jacob Markham (EJ) 18:41.32; 17) Jalen Bietz (EJ) 18:42.86; 18) Spencer Lawson (WC) 18:46.21; 19) Austin Yates (EJ) 18:46.46; 20) Hunter Higgins (NL) 18:47.43; 21) Jacob Nichols (NL) 18:55.27; 22) David Suarez (SW) 18:55.64; 23) Evan Cook (WJ) 18:58.64; 24) Cyrus Neyman (WJ) 18:59.05; 25) Winston Benge (NL) 19:01.03; 26) John Cromer (MadC) 19:06.86; 27) Lucas Smith (PC) 19:15.65; 28) Andrew Neely (SL) 19:21.31; 29) Noah Halloran (MadC) 19:21.68; 30) Alex Acey (PC) 19:27.46; 31) Caleb Fitzpatrick (WJ) 19:28.83; 32) Ford Breeding (SL) 19:32.51; 33) Logan Ashley (MadC) 19:32.83; 34) Trey Feltner (NL) 19:35.17; 35) Will Hemenover (WJ) 19:38.82; 36) Rusty Surgner (WC) 19:44.29; 37) Landon Deaton (SL) 19:45.37; 38) Drew Meader (SL) 19:50.73; 39) Kylar Stewart (MadC) 19:51.25; 40) Ethan Sevastakis (EJ) 19:52.47; 41) Ethan Cliburn (EJ) 20:02.67; 42) Koby Proffitt (SW) 20:06.64; 43) Logan Smith (PC) 20:12.75; 44) Jordan Stanton (MadSo) 20:19.43; 45) Ezra Boileau (WJ) 20:34.16; 46) Aaron Gibbs (WC) 21:00.69; 47) Noah Smith (SL) 21:09.64; 48) Jake Vanhook (SL) 21:14.10; 49) Daniel Scherer (MadSo) 21:23.81; 50) Kenton Stivers (SL) 21:39.94; 51) Gabe Singleton (LC) 21:43.84; 52) Lucas Hall (WC) 22:16.94; 53) Jared Wilson (WC) 22:26.26; 54) River Braden (WC) 22:42.62; 55) Korey Johnson (SW) 22:56.92; 56) Blake Eldridge (LC) 23:13.05; 57) Camden Harris (SW) 23:19.73; 58) Justin Cummins (LC) 23:49.55; 59) Tristan Creekmore (MadSo) 24:05.10; 60) Josh Denson (LC) 24:15.17; 61) Braxton Davis (SW) 24:41.09; 62) John Sparkman (LC) 25:54.08; 63) Ryan Carrington (SW) 26:57.84; 64) David Powers (WC) 27:47.26; 65) Dalton Patterson (LC) 34:54.88.
State-qualifying individuals: Paul Frantz (Madison Southern), Nathan Fielder (West Jessamine), Quinn Endicott (West Jesssamine), Spencer Lawson (Whitley Co.), David Suarez (Southwestern).
