The XC team traveled to Gainesville last week for the 16th annual War Eagle Invitational. The course is tough and tight, but we had a few runners shave significant time from last season.
The middle school boys put up a fight! Christopher Morton ran a smart race, passing quite a few in the second loop and finished 8th in a field of more than 250 boys. He was followed by Teagan Swanepoel (23), Bryce Browne (44), Corbin Smith (71), Christian Poston (155), Jayden Scott (192), Hank Snell (199), and Bryce Richardson (209). Teagan dropped 1:50 from his time at this meet last season! Wow! The MS boys team finished 10th out of 20 teams.
The varsity boys worked well together and pushed each other, which led to course PRs for both Caleb Gary and Tucker Echols. Avery King was our lead runner, finishing 103rd with a time of 21:45 for 5K. Caleb was on his heels in 21:46. They were followed by Tucker (133) and Sam Bach (135). Caleb dropped :32 from this course last season and Tucker dropped :54.
Azalea Snell won the middle school 2-mile race in 13:30, setting a meet/venue record according to Georgia MileSplit. Penelope Pourchier finished Top 20 (19th) in a field of more than 250 runners. They were followed by Anna Meyers (31), Ella Masterson (103), Emery Loyless (104), and Laine Bullington (191). Azalea dropped :50 from her time last season and Emery cut :11. The MS girls team finished 9th out of 19 teams.
Chloe Helsens and Paxton Yancey ran strong in the JV division, finishing 9th and 10th. Yarieli Aguilar had a great first lap, but ended up with a medical issue that kept her from finishing. She continues to work hard, while managing a painful IT band issue.
Up next: North Oconee Home Meet (at NOHS) on Thursday, September 5.
