Clara McGarvey, 8th-grader, Features Editor
“That would be super cool! (Winning State). Last year we were the first JCPS team to ever win state and to win back-to-back, that would just be really cool!”
Liliana Ucan Shadle
“And they’re off” usually applies to horse racing. However, the Middle School Cross Country State Championship will be a foot race among the horses.
Saturday, the Noe Middle School boys’ and girls’ Cross Country teams will compete at the Horse Park in Lexington in the State Championship. The undefeated girls’ have their mindset on winning state for a second year in a row.
The girls’ team has prepared tirelessly and are ready to fight for first place again. Lilliana Ucan Shadle, an eighth-grader, said, “That would be super cool. (Winning State). Last year we were the first JCPS team to ever win state and to win back-to-back, that would just be really cool.”
Ucan Shadel, as well as the rest of her team, have high expectations about what their final race of the season should look like. For the girls’ team, preparation is a crucial part of state.
When eighth-grader Adelaide McDonald, winner of the JCPS Middle School Championship meet, was asked what she is doing to prepare for state, McDonald replied with a chuckle, “Not eating junk food all the time like I usually do and making sure I get a good night’s sleep!”
McDonald also gave tips to those running thier first Middle School State meet.
“Don’t beat yourself up too much if you don’t have a great race, because everybody has bad races sometimes so you just need to power through that.”
With words of wisdom and strides of determination, McDonald is ready to show up and win state. Eloise Roth and Mackenzie Packwood, eighth-graders, are Noe’s usual No. 2 and No. 3 runners, respectively. Both are hoping to see another win happen.
Packwood is new to the sport, but you wouldn’t know considering her position on the team. She said, “I think I have become more dedicated to running. I have a goal now which is to do well in state and I think I have become more serious about running.”
Packwood, Roth, Ucan Shadel and McDonald agreed the chances of winning state are in their favor, with Roth adding, “I think we have a 10 out 10 or a nine out of 10 chance of winning state because our biggest competitor is North Oldham and we beat them in our last race without one of our top runners, Mackenzie.”
Boys’ Cross Country
The Noe boys’ Middle School Cross Country team won’t be left in the dust. They stand a good chance of getting top five in State. In 2024, the team placed second at the state championships.
Max Perkins, a top runner for the boys, likes his team’s chances.
“First,” he said when asked what place he’d expect to finish.
With high hopes of winning state, the boys’ team has been training equally as hard as the girls and are getting in the state spirit.
Wilson McGarvey, another top athlete and slightly more loquacious, commented, “I’m getting in the right mindset.”
The boys have been wanting this win for a while and can’t wait for race day.
Ewing, Noe’s top runner and one of the top runners in the state as a seventh-grader, is anxiously anticipating state and would be delighted if the boys get in the top five, although he would like to come in first.
Ewing said, “My expectation for state for the boys’ team is that we place top three. I think we are capable of winning but I think it’s unlikely and for myself (to win as an individual). My expectation is top three but I would like to win.”
