Meet the Leaf-Chronicle's All-Area high school boys and girls cross country teams for 2023
Emmie Underwood only started running a little over two years ago, when she and her family moved to Fort Campbell. But it didn't take long for Underwood's family to see her potential.
The first time Underwood raced as a fifth grader, she finished mere seconds behind the fastest boys. Last season, Underwood won all eight of her races before finishing third at her final meet. She grew to love running and making friends with her teammates — and, of course, winning.
Kentucky allows middle schoolers to compete in high school cross country, meaning that this fall, Underwood ran for Fort Campbell as just a seventh grader. It turned out the question was less if Underwood was ready for varsity competition and more the other way around.
"When I got out there," Underwood said, "I realized that they're just girls."
Underwood ran eight sub-20 minute 5Ks and racked up eight victories in 11 races, including the KHSAA Class 1A state championship at New Horse Park in Louisville on Oct. 28. She's been named The Leaf-Chronicle's 2023 All-Area girls cross country runner of the year.
"I’m just glad that she’s found something she’s passionate about," her mother, Anna, said.
Clarksville's Hayden Waleski, meanwhile, capped off his high school career as the All-Area boys runner of the year for 2023, the second straight season the honor has gone to him.
Waleski was convinced by his father to start running after he was cut from his middle school soccer team. In the beginning, he didn't think of running as much more than an enjoyable hobby. It wasn't until Waleski's junior season that his times really began to drop, to the point where he started viewing himself as a future college runner.
"I thought, this is something I wanna do, this is something I'm going to have to put a lot of my time towards," Waleski said. "It's hard, because you gotta sacrifice. No parties, none of that crazy stuff. It's just you, your teammates and running."
While Waleski didn't hit his goal of a top-15 finish at the TSSAA state championships, his time of 17:25.51 was best among area runners. In addition, he won his second straight region championship and helped lead the Wildcats to the same feat as a team.
"I view cross country as a team sport," Waleski said. "I wouldn't be here without my teammates. They're the ones that motivate me to keep going."
The Leaf-Chronicle's 2023 All-Area boys and girls cross country teams are as follows:
Boys
First Team
Aaiden Badders
West Creek, So.
Why chosen: Badders ran a season-best 17:31.28 at state, finishing 104th. He placed sixth at the Region 7-AAA meet (18:16.72).
Braylon Bender
Kirkwood, Jr.
Why chosen: Bender's best time this season was a 16:50.51 at the Wildcat Invitational. He placed fifth in Region 7-AAA (18:11.03) and 151st at state (18:10.18).
Corbin Drawdy
Clarksville, So.
Why chosen: Drawdy, who ran a 16:45.03 at the Wildcat Invitational, broke 18 minutes at every meet this season. He second in the region (17:30.77) and 132nd at state (17:52.91).
Colten Hility
Northeast, Jr.
Why chosen: Hility's season-best was 17:23.67 and he nearly equaled it at state, finishing 101st (17:29.10). This is his second time on the all-area cross country team, in addition to his appearance on the all-area track team last season.
Tyler Toth
Rossview, Jr.
Why chosen: Toth ran a season-best 17:02.99 at the Wildcat Invitational. He placed 136th at state with a time of 17:55.95 and 13th in Region 7-AAA (18:38.11).
Hayden Waleski
Clarksville, Sr.
Why chosen: Waleski, whose best time this season was a 16:11.62 at the Wildcat Invitational in September, won the Region 7-AAA championship in 17:27.05 and placed 93rd at the Class AAA state meet, running a 17:25.51. He was The Leaf Chronicles All-Area runner of the year in 2022 and was also selected all-area in track and field last spring.
Second Team
Cade Deterding, Rossview, Jr.
Kael Nord, Montgomery Central, Jr.
Jeffrey Perry, Fort Campbell, Sr.
Cyrus Sanders, Clarksville, Jr.
Michael Thompson, Northwest, Sr.
Jayden Waller, Clarksville, So.
Girls
First Team
Lillian Goodwin
Rossview, Fr.
Why chosen: Goodwin ran a season-best 20:47.99 to place 90th at the Class AAA state meet. She also placed fourth in Region 7-AAA (21:34.41).
Brianna Kessler
West Creek, So.
Why chosen: Kessler had the best time among area runners at the TSSAA state meet, where she finished 69th with a season-best 20:27.87, and at the region meet, where she was runner-up (21:02.69). She was all-area in track last spring.
Cassandra Rosencrants
Kirkwood, Jr.
Why chosen: Rosencrants ran a season-best 21:28.78 at the Wildcat Invitational. She placed sixth in Region 7-AAA (22:40.98) and ran a 23:09.02 at state, finishing 170th. Rosencrants was named all-area as a freshman and sophomore at Rossview and was runner of the year in 2021.
Emmie Underwood
Fort Campbell, seventh grade
Why chosen: Underwood won a Kentucky state championship with a time of 19:11.35. Her fastest 5K time this season was an 18:44.02 at the Eagle Classic in Mayfield on Oct. 14. She won the Region 1 meet with a time of 19:22.85, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of second place.
Brooke Waleski
Clarksville, So.
Why chosen: The 2022 all-area runner of the year finished 107th at state (21:10.78) and third at the region meet (21:16.06). Her fastest time this season was a 20:12.73 at the Wildcat Invitational. Waleski was also on the all-area track team last spring.
Lexi Young
Clarksville, So.
Why chosen: Young's season-best time was a 20:43.70 at the Wildcat Invitational. She ran a 21:58.48 to come in fifth in Region 7-AAA and a 23:09.38 to place 172nd in Class AAA.
Second Team
Makayla Finn, Fort Campbell, seventh grade
Alexis German, Stewart County, Fr.
Brooklyn Herbek, Rossview, So.
Carmen Johnson, Northeast, So.
Miranda Robles, Clarksville, Sr.
Allison Smith, Northwest, Fr.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville all-area cross country teams for 2023 TSSAA season
