Austin Cavanaugh will be chasing another region cross country title and history this weekend at the Class 2A region meet.
The Trigg County senior is the two-time defending region champ after finishing in second place as a freshman. Only Sam “Fox” Love and Lynus “Fly” Wright have won three straight region titles for Trigg County.
However, Cavanaugh, who doesn’t have a flashy nickname like “Fox” or “Fly”, is seeking to do something neither of his predecessors did — finish in the top 10 at the state meet. His best finish at state was sixth place as a sophomore.
Cavanaugh is chasing another mark in Trigg County history. His time of 16:10 in winning last week’s invitational at Graves County was a new personal best. One of his goals is to break the 16:00 minute mark — something only Love, Wright, and Eric Ezell have done at Trigg County.
Regardless of where Cavanaugh finishes at Saturday’s region meet or at the state meet the following weekend in a field in Bourbon County, he has established himself as one of the elite runners in the history of Trigg County running sports.
Cavanaugh will also take a turn at qualifying for the state track and field meet in the middle distance events where he has top-15 finishes in both.
But for now, the finish line for Saturday’s region meet has Cavanaugh’s laser focus as he seeks to join an elite group of Trigg County runners.
Cavanaugh discussed his goals for the region, state, and beyond in this YSE interview following last month’s race at Marshall County — the site of Saturday’s Class 2A Region I race.
