It’s in the blood.
Thirty-four years after his father Eric and 32 years after his mother Michelle were state cross country champions, Cooper’s Paul Van Laningham followed suit. The Jaguars junior took home the boys Class 3A KHSAA state title on Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Georgetown.
Van Laningham won the meet in a time of 15:19.87, his sprint down the final 200 meters separating himself from the field by nearly 10 seconds.
Watch: Cooper’s Paul Van Laningham wins the Class 3A boys state cross country title
https://twitter.com/EvanDennison1/status/1852728632034099409
“I finally got it done,” Van Laningham said. “I’ve been thinking about doing this for so long. Elementary school I had always wanted to win the meet of champions and was always finishing top five like four times. I finally got it done. I really wanted to do it my junior year.”
After winning a region title the week prior and finishing fourth at the state meet last year, Van Laningham had a feeling it was his time to shine. He owned one of the top times in the state throughout the regular season at 15:02, showing the capability he could contend as a state champion.
He led throughout with a sub-five minute first mile, right at 10 minutes after the second mile and continued to set the pace before finishing things off as the top dog.
“That was just really pouring it all out there at that point,” Van Laningham said. ” I was scared, I was not sure. I felt really good the whole way.”
Eric was a state champion in 1990 at Boone County, mother Michelle (Marshall maiden name), also with Boone County in 1992.
“Paul has the greatest mentality,” Eric Van Laningham said, who is also the coach of the cross country team. “He’s strong and tenacious like his mother and has my competitiveness. It’s been awesome to work with him, feel like we’re a team and it’s just hard to describe right now. My dad was here today reminiscing of the time I won. He was shocked when I won, but was kind of expecting this for Paul today.”
Eric has been the cross country coach at Cooper since the inception of the program.
“Been here the whole time. Felt like a long time, had a couple kids with a chance and this feels good making history today,” Eric Van Laningham said.
Cooper, still somewhat in its infancy as the school opened in 2008, now has their first boys state champion. Despite being close in boys basketball (2017) and football (2012, 2023) in making state title games, Van Laningham can claim he’s the first.
“I was thinking about that last night and thought it would be pretty cool to be the first,” Van Laningham said. “I think football is gonna win this year too.”
Van Laningham wasn’t the only northern Kentucky runner to reach the podium. Conner’s Nathan Hopper (7th, 15:52.32) and Campbell County’s Jonathan Christopher (14th, 16:09.39) also finished in the top 15 to earn medals.
Cooper finished sixth as a team, just missing out on the podium by two spots. They do return everyone next year.
Conner placed 11th as a team, Campbell County 13th, Dixie Heights 24th and Ryle 30th.
For complete boys results, visit: https://milesplit.live/meets/627923/events/2/results/F/M
KOSPER, HOLBROOK FINISH TOP 10 IN GIRLS 3A MEET
Close friends and soon to be college teammates in Ryle’s Allison Kopser and Campbell County’s Olivia Holbrook finished top 10 in their final cross country meet for their high school career.
Kopser finished sixth in a time of 18:42.77, Holbrook in 10th at 18:59.33. Both have recently committed to continue their academic and running careers at Ohio State University.
“It’s just exciting. We’re both really excited and we’ve been friends for a while now,” Kopser said. “Going to the same school is going to be really awesome.”
Kopser finished 10th last year and improved her time by 27 seconds. She also finishes with two region titles, winning in eighth grade and again last week as a senior.
“Today played out better than I expected,” Kopser said. “Passed a lot on the hills.”
Holbrook finished 23rd last year in a time of 19:53, shaving 54 seconds off her time. She also has two region titles to her name.
“First meet I feel like I actually did good here,” Holbrook said. “Racing together in high school is memories we’ll always remember. At first we were really competitive and didn’t like each other being in the same region, but now as we got older we’ve become good friends.”
Cooper senior Alexandra Rooney also reached the podium, finishing 14th in a time of 19:12.64. Rooney finished fifth in the region meet last week, the 19:12 on Saturday was a season best, according to KYMilesplit.com’s times.
Notre Dame just missed out on the podium, finishing fifth with 205 points, four points shy of fourth place Greenwood. Ryle was eighth (268 points), Campbell County ninth (289), Scott 13th (347) and Conner 15th (424).
For complete girls results, visit: https://milesplit.live/meets/627923/events/1/results/F/F