Bell County took three of the top five spots to win the Cave Lake Fall Classic on Saturday in Monticello. The Bobcats finished with 38 points, well ahead of ahead of Wayne County and its 91 points. Southwestern, South Laurel and Franklin County rounded out the top five.
“These boys continue to impress me,’ Bell County coach Jason Stewart said. “This was a great win. We lost four really good seniors last year and a lot of people were ready to write us off. But these boys put in the work and here they are one of the top AA teams in the state. I’m so proud of them.”
Nicholas Stewart, a sophomore, led the Bobcats as he finished second with a time of 17:54.82. Braydin Hickey was fourth at 18:14.27, and Reese Arno was fifth at 18:15.92. Hayden Green placed 19th, followed by Jacob Brannon placing 20th, Andrew Roy placing 56th, Landon Eldridge placing 84th and Ashton Manis placing 93rd.
Katelyn Lyrock led the Bell girls as she placed 29th. Meredith Allen placed 47th. Lily Nolan and Keira Good placed 50th and 54th, respectively.
“We were short on the girls side again, but the girls we had raced hard. They still have a shot at making it into state so they have to keep working. Anything can happen at region,” Stewart said.
Bell County returns to action Saturday in the 2A regional meet in Monticello.