Christian County sent three runners to the starting line for Saturday’s Kentucky Beef Council KHSAA Class 3A State Cross Country Meet at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Cayden Cline was the first Colonel to cross the line, finishing in 202nd place with a time of 19:07 over the 3.1-mile course.
Cline was making his second state meet appearance after a 152nd-place finish as an eighth grader two years ago. An injury derailed his freshman season and kept him from running at state.
Eighth grader Lucas Coats finished .27 seconds behind Cline in 203rd place. Coats knocked one minute 41 seconds off his time at the state meet last year when he finished in 273rd place.
Bryce Hamlin, another eighth grader, finished in 216th place in 19:28. Hamlin was 253rd last year in 20:06.
Cooper’s Paul Van Laningam set a new state meet record in winning the race in 15:01.
The finishes by the three Colonels, along with the combination with Hopkinsville High School next year, give the new Christian County High School cross country program potential to begin strong and qualify for state as a team in the school’s first year.
