Ashby, Apollo win regional titles

Oct. 23—DRAFFENVILLE — Apollo's Thomas Ashby and Daviess County's Lucy Spaw finished first in their respective races at the KHSAA Class 3-A, Region 1 cross country meet Saturday afternoon at Marshall County High School, driving the Eagles and Lady Panthers to regional titles.

Ashby finished in 15:54.35, more than 46 seconds faster than second-place Drew Burden from Madisonville (16:40.97) and the second-fastest pace ever at historic Marshall County. Daviess County's Nolan Kurz placed third in 16:42.97.

"I had a job to do," said Ashby, the defending regional champion and state runner-up from last year. "The job was to go make that gap between first and second as big as possible, so that's what I tried to do.

"That's what I've done all season versus these teams, so that's what I had to do."

Apollo's other top finishers included Emmitt Brock in seventh (16:59.42); Noah Gray in eighth (17:01.74); Blake Mullins in 12th (17:09.7); and Josh Thomas in 30th (18:38.54).

The victory cemented the second consecutive regional title for the Eagles.

"It's been incredible," Ashby said of racing this season. "Last year, we were severe underdogs in this race and we ended up winning it. This year, we've built so much that we're ranked third in the state."

Apollo coach Charlie Shoulta noted the difference in the way the Eagles approached this year's regional competition.

"It's a lot different when the target's on your back," he said. "The target's been on our back all year. The boys have really embraced that, but in a small race like this when it's really easy to find the opponents, we knew Madisonville and Daviess County would be right there.

"Last year, I think winning the region was kind of the pinnacle — we weren't expected to win last year — but this year, our sights are definitely set on being one of the top three teams in the state of Kentucky."

Apollo finished with 58 points to top Madisonville (65 points), Daviess County (78), McCracken County (101), Muhlenberg County (120) and Graves County (127). All six teams will advance to state competition.

With Ashby leading the way, Shoulta added, his team's confidence is sky-high moving forward.

"He's a perfect role model for everybody on our team and he's a big reason we've reached this success, just because more than anything, he does the little things right," Shoulta said. "This sport is so much about doing the little things — sleep, nutrition — and the boys have seen that and they've bought in. He puts in the work and the most important thing with any cross country runner is he's strung together some consistent training. ... When you stay healthy and put in the work, good things happen."

In addition to Kurz, other top performers for DC included Brayden Kaelin in 14th (17:24.08); Bryson McGary in 17th (17:39.15); Asher Alvey in 21st (18:01.75); and Zach McCaslin in 23rd (18:08.36).

Scoring for Muhlenberg County came from Bryce Revo in 10th (17:03.16); Landon Groves in 16th (17:34.72); Jake Strader in 19th (17:48.40); Miles Bethel in 32nd (18:45.21); and Dawson Hymer in 43rd (19:29.8).

Owensboro finished ninth (246 points) behind contributions from Nash Miller in 41st (19:19.83); Etienne Zuberi in 42nd (19:21.75); Dylan Fulkerson in 53rd (20:21.04); Cam Johnson in 54th (20:21.64); and Jacob Coleman in 56th (20:28.09).

On the girls side, Spaw (20:05.86) paced four other DC scorers in the top 12: Blakely Greer in third (20:37.48); Bentlei Stallings in sixth (20:50); Sally Tidwell in seventh (20:52.31); and Micah Sagar in 12th (21:36.92).

"I had to keep focus the whole race because I didn't know who was behind me or how close they were, so I kept focused the whole time," Spaw said afterward. "I was out there by myself so I didn't really know.

"Everybody was really good today."

The Lady Panthers finished with 29 points, followed by runner-up Madisonville (71 points), Graves County (98), Apollo (116), Owensboro (131) and Henderson County (171). All six teams will advance to state competition.

"They ran great," DCHS coach Josh Bratcher said of his team. "We had a couple on the backside that had a few little breathing issues here or there, but they were able to push through. What we focus on all year is pack running — keep contact, stay with each other, keep each other within your sights — and that leads the team.

"Everybody pretty much ran the game plan, and it came out good."

Apollo's Ahmira Pickett finished fifth (20:44.24) to lead fellow E-Gals Ava Falloway in 21st (22:48.88); Adyson Mattingly in 25th (23:14.21); Kirii Mattingly in 30th (23:37.43); and Chloe Sandefur in 35th (24:02.16).

Scorers for Owensboro included Kiley Palmer in 11th (21:25.89); Bella Short in 22nd (22:57.46); Olive Harrison in 24th (23:01.59); Abby Ladwig in 32nd (23:52.38); and Addison Edge in 42nd (24:38.17).

Muhlenberg County finished eighth (192 points) but will send qualifier Mallory Wilson (19th, 22:40.14) to state. Other scorers for the Lady Mustangs were Destin Lacefield in 28th (23:22.11); Liv Phelps in 47th (25:02.58); Resse Willis in 48th (25:03.43); and Riely Latham in 50th (25:35.04).

The KHSAA Class 3-A state meet will be contested Saturday at the Bourbon Cross Country Course in Paris.