Monticello — Wayne County Schools cross country program has become more and more

popular to students both in elementary, middle and high school. Their

efforts and dedication are beginning to be noticed outside of Wayne County,

by advocates for the sport.

Just this past weekend, three of the middle/high school cross country

team members had the privilege of advancing to the state competition,

following many miles logged both at after school practices and competitions

where the team and individuals competed, during the season.

"They all worked really hard this fall and have a lot to be proud of,"

said Cross Country Coach Kevin Jones. "We have a lot of young talent and are

excited about the future of our program."

Wayne County Middle School 8th grader Trevor Shearer placed eighth for

the second week in a row at the Knox County Regional High School Cross

Country Meet. He will be running next week at state competition which will

be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. He will be joined by

teammates Katie McFarland who placed 10th and Rachel Jones who placed 16th

at region.

In addition, Trevor and Katie were named to the ŒAll-Region' team, an

additional honor.

At the previous meet on October 31, a large group of Wayne County

School's Cross Country runners brought home medals from Masterson Station at

the KTCCCA State Elementary and Middle School race.

The undefeated elementary boy's team traveled to Lexington to face 432

runners representing 59 teams on Saturday, October 31. They finished an

amazing seventh place as a team, making it their strongest finish.

"These kids worked hard all year. They worked through illness and

injuries late in the season, but didn't quit. They ran two to three miles

each day in practice and ran 1.8 miles in the race, explained Elementary

Cross Country Coach Nikki Criswell, who shares coaching duties with Sheridan

Wright.

In the official boys elementary results the fastest local runners were

Dillan Penney who placed 34th and finished in the medals, Drew Bell ­ 52nd,

Kyle Hicks-66th, Jordan Butcher-75th, Matthew Coomer-76th, Zachary

West-121st, and Davis McCracken-130th. In the open competition, the

following elementary boys finished in the top 50 slots: Nate West-2nd,

Michael Dixon-4th, Jonathan Criswell-7th, Justin Dunagan-17th, John R.

Dalton-18th, Branson Turpin-25th, Zach Vaugyhn-35th, Corey Lewis-42nd, and

Jordan Dobbs-50th.

The girl's elementary team included 418 runners with 49 teams

participating. The local team finished 19th in Saturday's competition. The

individual results were as follows: Sadie Martin received a medal after

finishing 44th, Casey Davis-146th, Jessica Stephenson-152nd, Alexis

Dixson-161st, Courtney Dishman-318, and Whitney Bell-347th.

The middle school boys were amongst 431 runners. Stand out Trevor

Shearer placed an impressive 8th running 2.4 miles in 14:34. Andrew Dobbs

placed 174th, Clayton Cooper was 217th, and Brandon Bunch was 334th. There

were not enough middle school boys to compete as a team.

The middle school girls were amongst 364 runners with Rachel Jones

placing 89th and Rebecca Conn 302nd. The middle school girls did not compete

as a team either.

"This has really been a bright year for Wayne County Cross Country,"

said Criswell. "People around the state are starting to take notice of this

program."

"This is the fifth year we have been offering a cross country team

program," said Wayne County Middle/High School Head Coach Kevin Jones, a

very capable leader of the cross country team, having been a college runner

at Lindsey Wilson College and a former Wayne County High School cross

country individual runner who made it to state both his junior and senior

years.

In 2007, the newly formed team made it to state in the boy's high school

category. "That was the first time in the school's history that we made it

as a team to state competition," noted Jones. "We've also had several

individuals that have made it to state, qualifying for the championship run

during the past five years."

Whether the runners have logged the fastest times or not, they have been

dedicated to this fall sport and learned a lot from the experience. It is

not uncommon to see Jones drilling his team on the correct definitions of

words like: potential, guts, and race.

"Cross country running is a life-long activity that is promoting healthy

kids. It is also a good complimentary sport for other sports they choose to

participate in at Wayne County Schools," noted Jones.

In fact, many of the athletes on the middle/high school team participate

in other sports too. For instance, Trevor Shearer really enjoys running with

the team, while also playing basketball.

"I want to be faster than everyone else, so at practice I'm constantly

pushing myself," said Shearer.

Fellow eighth grade runner Rachel Jones joined the team for her first

time. "I've always liked running. I try to improve my time each race."

Apparently, improving their individual times paid off for these athletes

because of their recent success at regional competition.

Cross Country Results-October

October 3

Knox Central Invitational

Girls HS: Katie McFarland 9th/Rachel Jones 18th

Boys HS: Trevor Shearer 8th/Alvik Ibisate 34th



October 8

Wayne County All-Comers

Ele. Boys: Davis McCracken 2nd

Boys MS: Dillan Penney 4th/Drew Bell 5th/Zachary West 8th/1st Place Team

Girls MS: Sadie Martin 1st/Jessica Stephens 6th/1st Place Team

Boys HS: Trevor Shearer 1st/Alvik Ibisate 5th/2nd Place Team

Girls HS: Diamond Dick 2nd/Rachel Jones 3rd/Katie McFarland 4th/1st

Place Team



October 13

Southwestern All-Comers

Girls MS: Sadie Martin 3rd/3rd Place Team

Boys MS: Kyle Hicks 16th/Jordan Butcher 19th/3rd Place Team

Girls HS: Katie McFarland 1st/ Rachel Jones 2nd

Boys HS: Trevor Shearer 5th



October 24

Pulaski County Invitational

Girls Ele.: Sadie Martin 4th/Casey Davis 14th/3rd Place Team

Boys Ele.: Drew Bell 5th/Dillan Penney 6th/Jordan Butcher 8th/Matthew

Coomer9th/1st Place Team

Girls MS: Katie McFarland 4th/Rachel Jones 5th

Boys MS: Trevor Shearer 2nd/3rd Place Team

Girls HS: Svea Bode 35th

Boys HS: Alvik Ibisate 54th/Travis Upchurch 64th

October 31

Meet of Champions

Girls HS: Svea Bode 47th/Emily Eicher 52nd/Both Ran Personal Best Times

Boys HS: Alvik Ibisate 80th/Personal Best Time