Friday, October 27, 2000
Highlands runners lead regional meet
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer contributor
A group of Highlands athletes spends weekends running past its opponents to the No.1 ranking in Kentucky. But it's not the Bluebird football team.
The boys cross country team is ranked first in the state Class AA rankings going into Saturday's regional meet at Grant County Park near Crittenden.
Highlands has spent most of the season atop the state rankings and won the Class AA boys team title at the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association meet last Saturday in Lexington.
Junior Nathan Clinkenbeard thinks the Bluebirds deserve the top ranking.
“Yes, so far, I think,” he said. “We have two of the top runners in the state — me and (freshman) Braylen Derrick.
Derrick is ranked fourth and Clinkenbeard sixth.
Coach Dan Baker said his team was fortunate to edge Warren East, 124-127, last week, especially since Clinkenbeard didn't run his best race.
“Since we didn't have our whole team together, they ran pretty good,” Baker said. “Warren East would've won it if they'd had their whole team.”
Defending boys Class A champion Bishop Brossart is likewise confident. After starting the season unranked, the Mustangs have grabbed the top spot in the state.
Coach Ray Kues would like to see the time it takes for his top five runners to finish shrink from 1:40 to around 1:10. But he's pleased with juniors Tim Kaiser, Paul Markus, Ian McDole and Zac Dietrich and freshman Joey Heil.
“(Kaiser and Markus) have really run well as a pair,” Kues said. “The same is true for Ian and Joey. I think when you have a teammate next to you that you practice with every day, it encourages you to set a faster pace.”
St. Henry's boys finished second to Brossart at the Meet of Champions. Coach Jennifer Klayer said she expects a close meet.
“The team (will) be more rested than they were last week,” Klayer said. “It's going to be close (at regional).”
Campbell County appears to be the favorite in Class AAA boys. Junior Denny Kramer finished 12th at the Meet of Champions, and coach Terri Mayhew said Kramer's time of 16:41 last week was his best this season.
“We're peaking at the right time, we're bunching together a lot better,” Mayhew said.
Look for a St. Henry-Brossart duel in girls Class A. The Crusaders and Mustangs finshed 2-3 behind Frankfort last week, and Klayer expected her team to be tired because of double practices.
“The distance has been cut back (this week), but we're making them run just as hard,” Klayer said.
Lloyd and Highlands will battle for the Class AA title, and Notre Dame and Scott are the favorites in AAA.
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Highlands runners lead regional meet
