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Karas sisters provide 1-2 punch for Collins in Class 2-A state cross country meet
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just yards beyond the finish line, Caterina Karas lifted her younger sister, Gabriella, and gave her a big hug.

If there's any tinge of resentment in this sibling rivalry, it sure wasn't evident Saturday.

Gabriella Karas, a seventh-grader from Collins High School, pulled away from her sister in the final mile and coasted to victory in the Class 2-A State Cross Country Meet at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Gabriella Karas covered the 5,000 meters in 18 minutes, 30.31 seconds. Caterina Karas, last year's state champion, was second in 18:46.20.

"It's still the Karas name, which is great," Caterina Karas said. "She took off on me with a mile to go, and it was too late for me to catch up. She had a great kick today."

And it was a great 2-A meet for Louisville-area runners and teams as they swept the championships.

Led by Grace Whitworth's sixth-place finish, South Oldham took the girls' team title for the fourth straight year. The Lady Dragons finished with 75 points, with rival North Oldham second at 114.

In the boys' race, North Oldham senior Taylor Sanders surprised some by taking the individual title and helping the Mustangs capture their second straight team crown with 63 points. Collins was second with 150.

* Girls: Collins coach Stephen Drawbaugh said he wasn't surprised to see Gabriella Karas become such a major player on the state scene this year.

"A lot of people are saying she's a seventh-grader and shouldn't be running high school … but in middle school she doesn't have any competition," Drawbaugh said. "And even in 2-A, her only competition today was Cat. Why hold her back from being great?"

The sisters stayed together for the first 3,500 meters before Gabriella Karas began to pull away.

"The kick at the end saved me," she said. "I got lucky. To be honest, I think Cat's faster."

To which Caterina Karas responded: "Clearly you're faster."

Drawbaugh said earlier in the season Gabriella Karas was apprehensive about challenging her sister.

"Cat told her, 'If you let me win we're going to fight because I'm not letting you do that,'" Drawbaugh said. "She said, 'I want you to race me, and if you beat me you beat me.' She wanted the competition."

Along with Whitworth, a junior, South Oldham placed two other runners in the top 15 – sophomores Keightley Dudgeon (13th) and Alex Gilliland (15th).

Coach Stan Clark said Gilliland's finish was key.

"Alex had her best race of the season," he said. "She woke up this morning saying she was going to get on the (awards) stage by finishing in the top 15, and she did. That was her motivation."

* Boys: Sanders said he's read all week about Bell County senior James Brown being the race favorite.

"It was all Brown's race to win, and I kept telling myself, 'He has everything to lose. He's the favorite. Nobody's counting on me to win,'" Sanders said. "But I knew I could win."

Sanders was third before catching Lexington Catholic's Nicholas Laureano at the two-mile mark. Then he set his sights on Brown, who was in the lead.

"After 2 ½ miles he was on James Brown's shoulder, and I screamed at him, 'Commit. Now. Go,'" coach Drew LaMaster said. "He did. He hammered it home and finished the deal."

Sanders finished in 16:20.40, with Laureano second at 16:33.56 and Brown third in 16:46.19.

North Oldham had three runners in the top seven, with sophomore Tyler Thompson finishing fourth and sophomore Luke Tarvestad seventh.

LaMaster noted that Sanders was the only member of this year's team that remained from last year's title squad.

"Every year it's a challenge to put the pieces together," LaMaster said. "Every single guy on our team works to push the next guy in front of him. It was a total team effort today."

Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046.

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...et?Avis=B2

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