Greenwood cross country runner Ryan Eaton described his meeting today with St. Mary’s James Maglasang at the Gatorland Run as a “showdown.” That’s probably the perfect word for it.

No promoter of the 17th annual meet at Phil Moore Park could ask for anything more than a race pitting Eaton against Maglasang.

The runners are the only remaining undefeated competitors in the cross country season, and both are ranked No. 1 in their respective classes - Eaton in Class 3A and Maglasang in Class A.

There’s even a message board thread on the Web site KyTrackXC.com titled “Eaton vs. Maglasang” that included nearly 30 posts/opinions as of Friday.

“It’s exciting and I can’t wait,” Eaton said. “It’ll be a showdown.”

Adding intrigue is the fact that Maglasang is the defending Gatorland Run champion, even though Eaton has the home-course advantage today.

But Eaton is a different runner than last year. His improvement was most evident last weekend.

Eaton had been hoping to break the 16-minute mark at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville. Instead, he crushed it. Eaton set a course record in 15:32, giving him plenty of momentum heading into today’s event.

Eaton said a change in strategy worked perfectly last weekend.

Instead of jumping out in front early, Eaton stayed with the lead pack. The energy-saving move worked down the stretch.

“He sort of came into his own last week,” Greenwood coach Art Sciubba said. “That set him above and beyond and into a category of his own. He’s now looked upon by other athletes in the state as an elite runner. The measure of success is how close you stay to him or if you can beat him or not.”

Eaton said he’s also come into his own because of experience.

“I’m a little more mature than last year,” said Eaton, now a junior. “Last year it was like, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ But not this year.”

Eaton and Maglasang aren’t the only two contenders for the title. The race also includes No. 2 Justin House of Apollo and No. 5 Landon Taylor of Daviess County.

“Ryan looks forward to every race, but when you have quality competition, it brings out the best in the athletes,” Sciubba said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to, and that’s why Gatorland run is put together the way it is. You want to bring out the best in your athletes. It makes for a quality experience.”

Saturday’s boys’ varsity race is only part of a full morning of cross country.

The varsity’ boys race begins at 11 a.m., with the girls’ varsity to follow at 11:30 a.m.

The event also includes elementary, middle school and junior varsity races, with action beginning at 9:30 a.m. A total of 36 teams will participate.

With the help of Eaton, Greenwood’s boys currently are ranked No. 5, behind top-ranked Daviess County, which will race at Phil Moore Park.

The Gators are seeking their first Gatorland Run team title since 2002, but Sciubba mainly wants to see where his team stands against Daviess County. Greenwood’s girls haven’t won the Gatorland since 2001, but Daviess County, Bowling Green and Green County are the highest-ranked squads in the girls’ competition.

“Obviously I would like to see them win, but Daviess is a very good team,” Sciubba said. “Who knows if we can win? That’d be great, too.

“But my big thing is staying with Daviess County and challenging them. Our girls, I want to see how much better they can run as a pack and how close they will come to the front and challenge Bowling Green.”