The Kentucky State Cross Country Meet was held at New Horse Park in Lexington on Saturday and featured eight runners from Bell County High School. Braydin Hickey, Nathan Miracle, Jacob Robbins, Peyton Mason, Bryson Baker, Hayden Green Jazmine Brannon and Cayden Miracle.

There were 251 runners in the tournament, representing 32 different schools across Kentucky. The event was a 5000-meter run.

Freshman Caden Miracle gave Bell County their best individual finish in the boys 5000-meter, crossing the line in second place with a time of 16:22.72, securing the KHSAA Class 2A State Runner-Up. Miracle was also only one of two freshmen to finish inside the top-10, with the other freshman finishing in 10th.

Although just a freshman, Miracle is no stranger to success in cross country. As a middle schooler, Miracle won KTCCCA Middle School State Championships in the 4000-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter run.

Miracle’s coach, Jason Stewart, says that he has been running from a young age and has always given maximum effort to achieve his goals. He believes that Miracle will be bringing home a state title in the coming years.

“Caden ran a big race on a big stage,” said Stewart. “He’s been running since fourth grade. He puts in the work, doesn’t make excuses and gets it done. He’s already a three-time middle school state champion. Even though he finished as the runner-up today and we are proud of him for it, that varsity state title is coming soon — stay tuned.”

Miracle says it feels good to be the runner-up. “It feels great. It is an amazing accomplishment that I worked toward the whole year and it feels good to have all the training and hard work pay off.

This season, Miracle won eight individual varsity races, including the region championship, prior to finishing as the state 2A runner-up. He says that he stayed focused, and with the help of his coaches was able to have a great season.

“The coaches made sure that I was getting good quality practices in and staying hydrated,” said Miracle. “They also made sure I was getting good recovery runs in after races on weekends and staying motivated.

“They tell me that they are very proud of how hard I work and to keep working harder and stay humble. There is always room to improve, and others will always try to outwork me. They tell me not to settle on what I have accomplished but always strive to achieve more.”

Miracle still has three years of high school cross country ahead of him and can still improve on his class 2A state runner-up finish from this season.

Eighth-grader Hayden Green finished in 160th position with a time of 19:40.28. Sophomore Bryson Baker finished in 168th place with a time of 19:45. 08. Freshman Peyton Mason finished 172nd with a time of 19:50.35. Junior Jacob Robbins finished 175th with a time of 20:01.35. Freshman Nathan Miracle finished 217th with a time of 21:15.28. Seventh-grader Braydin Hickey finished 221st with a time of 21:32.46 to round out the male runners for the Bobcats.

As the lone female runner from Bell County, sophomore Jazmine Brannon finished in 181st out of 234 runners in the girl’s division 5000-meter run, with a time of 25:04.55.