Dawson Springs showed the value of a strong pack of runners and brought home the Class A, Region 1 boys’ cross country championship Saturday at Marshall County.
The Panthers put their five scoring runners between eighth and 13th place, separated by just 18 seconds. As a result, the Panthers scored 54 points to edge UHA, who had the first three runners in the race, by nine points for the title.
Freshman Yosiyah McCune led the Panthers with an eighth place finish in 19:56. Tyler Hale was tenth, followed by Ethan Osborne (11th), Caleb Garrett (12th), Lucas Osborne (13th), Michael Faughn (23rd), and Logan McKnight (24th).
After finishing as region runner-up three times in the past decade, the Panthers finally brought home the first place trophy.
Two Lady Panthers also qualified for the state meet based on their finishes Saturday. Kimberly Hoover finished seventh, and Vanessa Tackett took 19th to both qualify for Saturday’s state meet in Lexington.