Varsity Bobcats run big at Area 8/North Laurel Cross Country Invitational
Published 8:42 am Monday, September 27, 2021
- Pictured are Coach Miracle, Braydin Hickey, Nicholas Stewart, Johanan Woodring, Caden Miracle, Landon Eldridge, JJ Arno, Coach Simpson, and Coach Stewart. Not pictured is Hayden Green.
Sophomore Hayden Green races for the Bobcats. – Photo submitted
This past Saturday the Bell County Bobcats ran in a rare 2 for 1 cross country meet while competing for the Area 8 Championship and the North Laurel Invitational Championship at the same time. The Bell County varsity boys came out winners Saturday winning both the Area 8 title and the North Laurel title while the varsity girls placed 5th overall in the Area 8 and 6th in the NL Invitational.
Bobcat junior standout Caden Miracle led the way for the Bobcats, placing 1st overall with a time of 15:43.91 over the boys 5K course. Bell County 8th grader, Nicholas Stewart placed 8th overall in the boy’s varsity race with a time of 18:18.40. James Arno (19:16.12) placed 14th, Johanan Woodring (19:22.83) placed 15th, Hayden Green (19:42.69) placed 22nd, Braydin Hickey (21:26.13) finished 28th while Landon Eldridge (24:25.95) placed 59th for the Bobcats.
“This was a big win for our varsity boys’ program. We’ve had a few setbacks early in the season, we were even missing one of our key guys today but they raced hard and made it happen. We still have a lot of work to do before region so we can’t get caught up in this win but it was a good win,” said Bell coach Jason Stewart.
Bell’s boys’ won with a team score of 62 points, edging out North Laurel and Harlan County who tied with 67 points.
“I loved how our boys raced today. Caden went out fast and never let up, going sub 16 at North Laurel isn’t easy and I’d bet it’s a course record there. Nickel ran big for an 8th grader placing top 10, JJ, Johanan, and Hayden all ran big for us today. Love how they pack together and push each other. Braydin and Landon stepped up and ran great as well,” coach Stewart said.
On the girls’ side, Milka Woodring led the way for the Lady Cats with a time of 24:37.40 placing 22nd. Kaylin Hickey (26:06.85) placed 30th, Jasmine Clouse (26:34.90) placed 34th, Jazmine Brannon (28:09.14) placed 40th, Lily Nolan (29:12.52) placed 46th, and Sara Saylor (34:47.32) finished 59th.
“I love our girls’ team, they are a great group of kids. They work hard and push each other and they’ll keep improving as the season moves along. I think they’ll have a great shot at getting into the state meet in October,” said coach Stewart.
