JORDAN BROOKS

jordan.brooks@middlesboronews.com

As many high school students decide the next step in their careers, one of Bell County’s own Bobcat athletes has made the big decision to continue his athletic career in Lexington.

Bell County cross country and track athlete Caden Miracle signed a letter of intent to compete with the University of Kentucky on Dec. 14.

“It helps me relieve a lot of stress I’ve had about doing the best I can to get my name out there so colleges can see me. I’m obviously not going to let up this track season but I feel like for me I can have more fun with it knowing I’m committed already,” said Miracle. “It’s also a huge honor to be able to commit to a D1 school and continue the sport I love while furthering my education. I’ll always be proud to wear Kentucky blue and represent my state and county.”

Miracle has been running cross country since fourth grade, and track since seventh.

Miracle has placed in state cross country since eighth grade, including a state title in 2021. He has the second fastest Class 2A 5K time in state history with a time of 15:07.

In track, Miracle has two middle school state titles, one in the 1,600-meter and one in the 3,200. In high school he has six individual state medals, placing three times in the 1,600 meter and three times in the 3,200 into this his final season

He owns school records at Bell County in the 800 , 1,600, mile, 3,200 and 5,000 meters.

Miracle says among his most fulfilling achievements are running a 9:07 3200m at Eastern Relays, winning the state 2A cross country championship in 2021 and winning the 2022 Trinity Valkyrie race with a 15:07 personal record.

Miracle chose UK over North Carolina State and EKU, among a few other schools.

“I looked at a couple other schools and narrowed it down pretty quickly,” he said. “I mainly looked at EKU and UK for the most part, but also got contacted by NC State, which I considered for a bit.

“I just felt like I connected the most with the team at UK and the coaching staff and I liked how they handled practices and lifting. It seems like it would be the best fit for me athletically and academically.”