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11-11-2012, 03:13 PM
LEXINGTON, Ky. â
Gabby Karas' main competition in Saturday's Class 2-A State Cross Country Championships turned out to be her sister, Caterina, now a freshman at Xavier University.
Gabby had no problem beating her, too.
An eighth-grader at Collins High School, Gabby Karas won her second straight Class 2-A title at the Kentucky Horse Park and did so with a course-record time of 17 minutes, 44.18 seconds.
That was well ahead of the previous record of 18:11.92 that Caterina Karas set while winning the 2-A meet in 2010.
"She told me just to do what I can and if I can beat her record to go out and do it," Gabby Karas said of the prerace advice she received from her sister. "She wasn't ashamed that I did. She's proud of me."
Karas dusted the actual field, finishing more than 90 seconds ahead of runner-up Aleja Grant of Paducah Tilghman (19:14.91). North Oldham freshman Erin Edmundson was third in 19:34.77.
Highlands won the team title with 65 points, ending South Oldham's run of four straight. The Lady Dragons finished second (97 points), with North Oldham third (117), Bullitt East fourth (135) and Mercy fifth (249).
Even without two of its top runners, the North Oldham boys won their third straight team title with 110 points, well ahead of runner-up Bullitt East (212).
Lexington Catholic senior Nicholas Laureno took the individual crown with a time of 16:41.98.
* Girls: Gabby Karas said her goal was to run the first mile in 5:30, the second mile in 5:50, and "the last mile I just wanted to give all I had left coming down the hill."
By that final mile Karas was all alone.
"It was different because last year I had Caterina to run with and kind of pace me," she said. "This year it was all in my head, going against time."
Highlands had three of the top eight finishers to capture the team title, with eighth-grader Sydney Ossege fourth, freshman Molly Mearns fifth and freshman Lauren Ossege eighth.
Grace Whitworth finished sixth to lead South Oldham, which had two runners encounter problems during the race. Junior Keightley Dudgeon was in 10th place before falling 100 yards from the finish line and dropping to 29th. Erin Wilson finished 32nd but might have been higher had she not briefly stopped to help a runner who had fallen.
"We had a couple of things not go our way," South Oldham assistant coach Richard Parrott said. "But give Highlands all the credit in the world."
* Boys: Logan County's Sye Head battled for the lead for much of the race before Laureano began pulling away in the final half-mile.
"From there it was just, 'Hold on to the form,' " said Laureano, adding that he didn't feel 100 percent during the race. "I'm sure the pictures are really ugly, but I thought I was holding it pretty well. I was just keeping my eyes on the finish."
Head finished second at 16:53.58, with South Oldham freshman Tanner Dowdy taking third place at 16:59.63.
North Oldham was led by junior Luke Tarvestad, who finished 11th in 17:17.71. The Mustangs were without two of their fastest runners in Tyler Thompson (hamstring) and Trenton Fryman (broken foot).
The championship was a bit of a relief for first-year coach David St. Louis, who admitted to feeling some pressure about keeping the title run alive.
"Everybody felt pressure," he said. "The boys on the team work hard to keep that going. It's a tradition they enjoy now, and that's where the focus is. It creates an understanding of excellence across our team."
Bullitt East was led by senior Brandon Wiseheart, who finished 36th in 18:03.37.
http://www.usatodayhss.com/louisville/ar...2311100105
Gabby Karas' main competition in Saturday's Class 2-A State Cross Country Championships turned out to be her sister, Caterina, now a freshman at Xavier University.
Gabby had no problem beating her, too.
An eighth-grader at Collins High School, Gabby Karas won her second straight Class 2-A title at the Kentucky Horse Park and did so with a course-record time of 17 minutes, 44.18 seconds.
That was well ahead of the previous record of 18:11.92 that Caterina Karas set while winning the 2-A meet in 2010.
"She told me just to do what I can and if I can beat her record to go out and do it," Gabby Karas said of the prerace advice she received from her sister. "She wasn't ashamed that I did. She's proud of me."
Karas dusted the actual field, finishing more than 90 seconds ahead of runner-up Aleja Grant of Paducah Tilghman (19:14.91). North Oldham freshman Erin Edmundson was third in 19:34.77.
Highlands won the team title with 65 points, ending South Oldham's run of four straight. The Lady Dragons finished second (97 points), with North Oldham third (117), Bullitt East fourth (135) and Mercy fifth (249).
Even without two of its top runners, the North Oldham boys won their third straight team title with 110 points, well ahead of runner-up Bullitt East (212).
Lexington Catholic senior Nicholas Laureno took the individual crown with a time of 16:41.98.
* Girls: Gabby Karas said her goal was to run the first mile in 5:30, the second mile in 5:50, and "the last mile I just wanted to give all I had left coming down the hill."
By that final mile Karas was all alone.
"It was different because last year I had Caterina to run with and kind of pace me," she said. "This year it was all in my head, going against time."
Highlands had three of the top eight finishers to capture the team title, with eighth-grader Sydney Ossege fourth, freshman Molly Mearns fifth and freshman Lauren Ossege eighth.
Grace Whitworth finished sixth to lead South Oldham, which had two runners encounter problems during the race. Junior Keightley Dudgeon was in 10th place before falling 100 yards from the finish line and dropping to 29th. Erin Wilson finished 32nd but might have been higher had she not briefly stopped to help a runner who had fallen.
"We had a couple of things not go our way," South Oldham assistant coach Richard Parrott said. "But give Highlands all the credit in the world."
* Boys: Logan County's Sye Head battled for the lead for much of the race before Laureano began pulling away in the final half-mile.
"From there it was just, 'Hold on to the form,' " said Laureano, adding that he didn't feel 100 percent during the race. "I'm sure the pictures are really ugly, but I thought I was holding it pretty well. I was just keeping my eyes on the finish."
Head finished second at 16:53.58, with South Oldham freshman Tanner Dowdy taking third place at 16:59.63.
North Oldham was led by junior Luke Tarvestad, who finished 11th in 17:17.71. The Mustangs were without two of their fastest runners in Tyler Thompson (hamstring) and Trenton Fryman (broken foot).
The championship was a bit of a relief for first-year coach David St. Louis, who admitted to feeling some pressure about keeping the title run alive.
"Everybody felt pressure," he said. "The boys on the team work hard to keep that going. It's a tradition they enjoy now, and that's where the focus is. It creates an understanding of excellence across our team."
Bullitt East was led by senior Brandon Wiseheart, who finished 36th in 18:03.37.
http://www.usatodayhss.com/louisville/ar...2311100105
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11-11-2012, 03:13 PM
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Collins' Gabby Karas, an eighth-grader, cruises to a course record in the girls' 2-A race. Her older sister held the old mark.
Collins' Gabby Karas, an eighth-grader, cruises to a course record in the girls' 2-A race. Her older sister held the old mark.
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