Valdosta girls and Bainbridge boys repeat in the heat at Hornet Invitational

The Pelham High Hornets cross country team was back in 2014, and so was the Pelham Hornet Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning, 23 August 2014. Also returning were the Valdosta High girls, who repeated as Hornet Invitational champs. Likewise, the Bainbridge High boys were repeat winners in their race, led by the successful title defense of BHS senior Chase Harris.


It may not have been the hottest day of the year in Pelham, Georgia, but if there were a warmer morning no one wanted to remember it. Temperatures were already approaching 90 °F at 9:30 AM when the girls were scheduled to start their 5K race, and the heat index was a number guaranteed to inspire depression. Albany Westover sophomore Janie Plowden shrugged off the torrid conditions, though, and won the 3.1-mile run in 22:39. Valdosta senior Leah Michael was runner-up in 23:36, but Bainbridge High answered with a third-place 24:19 finish by frosh Uriyah Davis. Thomas County Central had its own retort--sophomore Angela Cipriani fifth in 24:40. That set the tone for what would become one of those races where cross country coaches study the results for days, adding up the scores again and again. The Valdosta Wildcats did successfully defend their 2013 team title, but their total of 64 points was just one tick better than the Bainbridge Bearcats' sum of 65, and only two better than Thomas County Central's 66. Valdosta had also won the team title by a single point in 2013, though, and even coaches know that a one-point win...is a win.


Team Standings, High School Girls 5K

1. Valdosta High School, 64
2. Bainbridge High School, 65
3. Thomas County Central High School, 66
4. Lee County High School, 86
5. Pelham High School, 97
6. Americus-Sumter High School, 135
7. Baconton Charter School, 165

Top Ten, High School Girls 5K

1. 22:38.61 ~ Janie Plowden (Westover) 10
2. 23:35.07 ~ Leah Michael (Valdosta) 12
3. 24:18.88 ~ Uriyah Davis (Bainbridge) 9
4. 24:21.97 ~ Alli Hay (Pataula) 10
5. 24:39.67 ~ Angela Cipriani (Thomas County Central) 10
6. 25:07.39 ~ Monica Webb (Pelham) 10
7. 25:09.80 ~ Ansley Cain (Lee County) 10
8. 25:21.48 ~ Alden Walker (Valdosta) 12
9. 25:27.74 ~ Jinglei Horchler (Thomas County Central) 9
10. 25:38.95 ~ Ramsay Miller (Lee County) 9

The weather was even warmer by the time the high school boys ran. In spite of the heat, Valdosta sophomore Matthew Baun ran 17:33, 15 seconds faster than the 17:48 that Bainbridge's Chase Harris had run at the 2013 Hornet Invitational. Unfortunately for Baun, Harris was also at the 2014 race and he was nearly a minute faster than the previous year, winning the race in 16:51. Baun's time was good enough for second place, though, while third went to Bainbridge senior Brad Cox in 18:07. Bainbridge put two more runners in the top ten--junior Perry Waddell (5th, 18:58) and junior Brenden Greene (10th, 19:24)--giving the Bearcats 30 points and the team title. Led by junior Jerrious Dee (6th, 19:05), Thomas County Central put up 47 points to place second in the team standings. The Valdosta Wildcats were third with 85 points.


Team Standings, High School Boys 5K

1. Bainbridge High School, 30
2. Thomas County Central, 47
3. Valdosta High School, 85
4. Lee County High School, 98
5. Americus-Sumter High School, 137
6. Pelham High School, 163
7. Early County High School, 196
8. Baconton Charter School, 199

Top Ten, High School Boys 5K

1. 16:50.11 ~ Chase Harris (Bainbridge) 12
2. 17:32.45 ~ Matthew Baun (Valdosta) 10
3. 18:06.96 ~ Brad Cox (Bainbridge) 12
4. 18:43.21 ~ Robert Grooms (Lee County) 11
5. 18:57.27 ~ Perry Waddell (Bainbridge) 11
6. 19:04.04 ~ Jerrious Dee (Thomas County Central) 11
7. 19:07.46 ~ Conley Wilhelm (Thomas County Central) 11
8. 19:11.76 ~ Deshon Taylor (Valdosta) 9
9. 19:18.13 ~ Sam Gelabert (Thomas County Central) 11
10. 19:23.10 ~ Brenden Greene (Bainbridge) 11

Madeline Posse of Valdosta Middle School won the middle school girls' two-mile event in 14:35. Lee County's Caroline Taylor was runner-up in 14:45, though, and Taylor's finish was the first two points in Lee County's winning total of 63. It was Lee County's second win in two Saturdays; they had also taken the team trophy home from the Valdosta Wildcat Invitational on 16 August 2014. Valdosta was second in the team standings with 67 points. Led by seventh-grader Sandy Baker (5th, 15:20), Bainbridge Middle School took third with 87 points.


Team Standings, Middle School Girls Two Mile

1. Lee County, 63
2. Valdosta Middle School, 67
3. Bainbridge Middle School, 87
4. Thomas County Central, 109
5. Pataula Charter Academy, 11
6. Early County Middle School, 113
7. Pelham Middle School, 134
8. Baconton Charter School, 229

Top Ten, Middle School Girls Two Mile

1. 14:34.61 ~ Madeline Posse (Valdosta) 8
2. 14:44.24 ~ Caroline Taylor (Lee County) 8
3. 14:57.64 ~ Sophia Noll (Valdosta) 7
4. 15:10.98 ~ Anna James (Thomas County Central) 6
5. 15:19.28 ~ Sandy Baker (Bainbridge) 7
6. 15:39.59 ~ Kayla Earley (Lee County) 7
7. 15:55.77 ~ Kasey Melton (Thomas County Central) 7
8. 16:19.07 ~ Haley Kintzinger (Pataula) 8
9. 16:34.55 ~ Davia Allen (Early County) 7
10. 16:34.84 ~ Mary Alyssa Willis (Thomas County Central) 7

Bainbridge Middle School's Caleb Harris won the middle school boys' two mile by almost a quarter of a mile, running 11:01. I haven't done the math yet, but when your fifth runner finishes while every other team still has their number three runner still on the course, I'd have to say that your team has a good chance of winning. That is exactly what Bainbridge Middle did, and they won the boys' title for the second year straight, scoring 41 points. Led by Reese Fye's third-place finish in 13:42, Lee County took second with 54 points.


Team Standings, Middle School Boys Two Mile

1. Bainbridge Middle School, 41
2. Lee County, 54
3. Valdosta Middle School, 70
4. Baconton Charter School, 118
5. Early County Middle School, 135
6. Thomas County Central, 156
7. Pataula Charter Academy, 178
8. Pelham Middle School, 188

Top Ten, Middle School Boys Two Mile

1. 11:00.45 ~ Caleb Harris (Bainbridge) 8
2. 12:26.07 ~ Henry Plowden (Westover) 10
3. 12:41.84 ~ Reese Fye (Lee County) 7
4. 13:27.26 ~ Brandon Hopper (Thomas County Central) 8
5. 13:41.21 ~ Ben Phillips (Lee County) 7
6. 13:44.86 ~ Crane McAllister (Valdosta) 8
7. 13:45.83 ~ Ayden Knight (Early County) 8
8. 13:48.73 ~ Gage Kempton (Bainbridge) 8
9. 13:54.16 ~ Jaquez Cowart (Valdosta) 8
10. 13:56.49 ~ Smith Pinson (Baconton) 6

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Pelham Hornet Cross-Country Invitational
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11mpqL0SVkADseQa_0y6l6bmLgetONCsAArOzx3OymRo/pubhtml
  
  
• 2013 story, "Valdosta girls, Bainbridge boys take season opener in Pelham"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/08/hornet-invite-2013.html
  
  
• The previous week in S. Georgia, "South Georgia preps start cross country season in Freedom Park"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/08/wildcat-xc-2014.html
  
  
• Get out there and run one of the races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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