Paducah Tilghman Cross Country won its first regional championship since 2004 at the KHSAA Region 1 Class 2A cross country meet held at Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, Kentucky on October 21.
Liam Black was third in the 5K race at 16:56. Jude Crawford, Corban Williams, and Charlie Wolfram finished 6-7-8 with times of 17:53, 18:17, and 18:27 respectively. Aiden Forthman was 11th at 18:55. Kolton Houser was 15th at 19:24 and Jude Williams was 26th at 20:30.
Perennial cross country powerhouse Webster County entered the regional championship having won ten straight regional championships. They seemed on track to win an eleventh regional title with their top runners finishing first, second and fifth while Liam Black was PT’s only runner in the top five, finishing at third. But the Paducah Tilghman trio of Jude Crawford, Corban Willams, and Charlie Wolfram finished 6-7-8 with fifth man Aiden Forthman finishing at 11 to give PTHS the edge in scoring and the region title over Webster, 31 to 42.
“About halfway through the season, we started to realize that we really had a chance at winning the region,” Black said. “Going into the race we expected to win but the finish was pretty stressful. With cross country, your fifth runner almost matters more. Webster took first and second, but we had our top five in the top 11. They may have the fastest runners, but we had the fastest team.”
"I am extremely proud of these young people," said PTHS Cross Country Head Coach Jared Wynne. "These are the same kids that didn't qualify as a team for state two years ago. This group has embraced every challenge, turned down every excuse and made this program into a state contender. More importantly, they have learned to show up every day and put their heart and soul into their work. They embody the excellence of which all our students are capable. I expect more great things from each of them, in running and life, and so do they!"
With the region win the team qualifies for the state championship at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington on October 28. Black is seeded 13th while the team is seeded seventh based on their times this season.
“Everybody’s going to go out hard, so it’s going to be a good race,” Black said. It’s supposed to rain, so that will make it interesting. It’s going to be a gut race.”