The finish line is in sight for the Lexington boys and girls cross country teams. 

Each program has competed in a few events this season and seen promising results, placing high and above some of their potential competition. 

“I feel really good about our prospects this season,” said Lexington High School director of cross country Sam Oxley. “Both on the boys and the girls.”

Lexington’s boys retained more experience from last year than the girls team did. This has allowed them to get off to a bit of a better start, but Oxley said the girls have been developing fast.

“ We're starting to get more cohesive with them,” he said. “We've been focusing more on positive team culture and making sure everybody's feeling included. We’re really taking our time getting into the harder stuff before we kind of turn our attention to the championship season.” 

On the boys side, Lexington leans on returning runners such as Grayson Bradberry, Josh Voegele, Jackson Cannon and Alex Gibbs. Oxley said he trusts them to run consistent no matter the contest. 

The team also has a few up-and-comers making contributions. Lucas Miedema and Greg Kesterson are freshmen catching eyes early in their careers. 

“ You can really take your pick out of the varsity because it's kind of like a next man up mentality,” Oxley said. “ Those are kind of the key cogs on the boys team.”

The girls’ main contributors are Kendra Miles, Jada Metz, Sophie Potts, Kennedy Keyton and Elanorah Patangan. Callie Kesterson and Anna Dow are names to watch for the future. 

“They’re gaining confidence every single race,” Oxley said. 

Through a handful of events, Lexington has consistently placed high and had individual runners finish near the top of the order. The team competed in the Eye-Opener, the Pelican Invitational, the Lake Murray Invitational and the ASICS Invitational. 

Oxley said he was pleased with how his teams performed but acknowledged there is room to grow. 

Lexington has a few weeks left before the Lexington County and 5A Region-4 championship meet. Oxley and his staff will focus on working with the boys and girls teams to get them in their best shape. 

The Wildcats are not aiming to go out and breeze through the races. They want to win and show what a season's worth of work has been building to. 

“They’re really hungry,” Oxley said. “We’re hoping to come home with a trophy.”