The 2024 boys’ cross-country high school season is near, and local teams are eager to get started.
Apollo: Apollo’s team will go as far as Emmitt Brock and Noah Gray take them. The duo finished first and second at the City-County meet last year. Another returner to keep an eye on is Keaton Boiling.
“Our goals include staying consistent and confident,” Head Coach Daniel Southard said. “Also, never doubting ourselves and what we can accomplish.”
Daviess County: Daviess Count returns the majority of last year’s team, with plenty of new faces joining them. Leading this year’s squad are veterans Asher Alvey, Ben Nunley, Austin Spurrier, Johah Murphy, and Nik Hodskins.
They will be joined by up-and-comers Lucca Neves, Asher Doughty, Landon Claycomb, Tristyn Dant, and Caleb Murphy. Head Coach Josh Bratcher mentioned many of them will end up in the team’s top 10 runners.
Bratcher’s main goal for his team is for them to stay healthy, win regionals, and place at state.
“Our team has the ability to place high and I believe we are going to do it, with the path we are on,” Bratcher said. “We have had a great cross country camp to start the year off right, and I think the team’s mindset is where it needs to be to accomplish our goal.”
Owensboro: Owensboro returns four runners who were consistently in the team’s top seven last year, including juniors Camden Johnson, Dylan Fulkerson, Sam Busse, and senior Ace Skimehorn. All four will be leaned on for their veteran leadership.
Joining them is senior Owen Moore, who despite not having run cross country since middle school, has experience from his time on the track team. Another name to keep an eye on is Isrell Robert, who was a utility athlete on the OMS state championship track team.
“The team has their eyes set on having the entire roster reach the state meet in November. It has been over a decade since Owensboro High School has been able to accomplish this,” Head Coach Griffin Kelly said. “This is a special and personal goal because I competed on a couple of those last few teams in 2010 and 2011. The guys work tirelessly and invest so much without a ton of recognition. I’d love for them to cap off their season with this huge accomplishment. The guys have bought into what we are trying to build here. We aren’t chasing any of the other local schools, we are working to build our program as a consistent and competitive group in the region.”
Owensboro Catholic: Owensboro Catholic’s team finds itself amid a rebuild. There are plenty of new runners on the team and it will be up to returners Ben Booker, Patrick Hauke, Simon Thompson, and John Wathen to lead the way. All four will be leaned on for their veteran experience and leadership.
This will be Head Coach Scott Lowe’s last year leading the team and he wants to see his young squad qualify for state, something they were unable to do a year ago.
Trinity: Trinity has three athletes participating on this year’s team after sending a squad to state last year. The program is under new leadership in Travis Roby, who recently competed in the Boston Marathon.
“We have an inexperienced team, but they’re all eager to work hard and learn,” Roby said. “I’m excited to continue to build on last year’s momentum.”
Competing for the Raiders this year are Jacob Aud, Wade Burch, and Ian White, all of which are freshmen.
