Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Rebekah Smith and Andrew Jackson lead another Thomasville sweep in Region 1-AA

Rebekah SmithIt's not true that Thomasville High teams always win the Region 1-AA cross-country meet. Why, just five years ago the Fitzgerald boys took home the 2009 Region 1 title. Of course, even that year the Thomasville boys were no worse than second, and the Thomasville girls won their race. And every year since then the Thomasville Bulldogs have claimed the Region titles, both boys and girls.


This year was no exception. The Bulldogs pulled off yet another sweep of the Region 1-AA team titles, this time on the course at Pebble Hill on Wednesday morning, 29 October 2014.


The Bulldogs' big day started with the girls' 5K race at 10:30 AM. Just four day earlier, Thomasville junior Rebekah Smith had won the Yellow Jacket Invitational, the first cross-country victory of her career. She must have liked the idea, because was first across the finish line again in the Region 1-AA race, coming in nearly a minute ahead of the next runner at 22:11. Is winning becoming a habit for Smith?


Emily Boyd"I hope so!" she laughed.


Emily Boyd of Berrien placed second in 23:08. Boyd was joined in the top ten by two other Berrien Rebels, Janna Jernigan (4th, 23:25) and Haley Jernigan (10th, 25:17). But Thomasville had three other runners in the top ten--juniors Jacara Hayes (5th, 24:16) and Rebecca Jane White (7th, 24:40) plus frosh Miyah Beard (9th, 25:09). And while the Rebels were still waiting for their fourth scorer, junior Demetria Miley crossed the finish line for the Bulldogs, 11th in 25:30. That gave the Thomasville girls 37 points and a seventh straight Region 1 title for the Bulldogs. Berrien was second with 43 points, Pelham third with 84, and Fitzgerald fourth with 104. Those were the four teams that qualified for the GHSA State Championship on 8 November 2014 in Carrollton, Georgia.


Girls' Team Standings, 2014 GHSA Region 1-AA Cross Country
  1. Thomasville, 33 points
  2. Berrien, 43
  3. Pelham, 84
  4. Fitzgerald, 104
  5. Early County, 125
  6. Seminole County, 128

Top Ten Girls, 2014 GHSA Region 1-AA Cross Country
  1. 22:10.45 ~ Rebekah Smith (Thomasville) 11Janna Jernigan
  2. 23:07.91 ~ Emily Boyd (Berrien)
  3. 23:28.52 ~ Tanja Brenne (Fitzgerald) 12
  4. 23:34.73 ~ Janna Jernigan (Berrien)
  5. 24:15.21 ~ Jacara Hayes (Thomasville) 11
  6. 24:37.83 ~ Monica Webb (Pelham) 10
  7. 24:39.89 ~ Rebecca Jane White (Thomasville) 11
  8. 25:04.15 ~ Yulisa Serrano (Fitzgerald) 10
  9. 25:08.51 ~ Miyah Beard (Thomasville) 9
  10. 25:16.11 ~ Haley Jernigan (Berrien)

Andrew JacksonThomasville senior Travet "TJ" Witherspoon charged out into the lead right from the start of the GHSA Region 1 boys' race. For the first mile, Berrien sophomore Haven Gilbert ran as if he were stuck to Witherspoon, but the Bulldog senior broke away during the second mile, arriving at the two-mile mark with a ten-second lead. Meanwhile, another Thomasville senior, Andrew Jackson, had moved into second place. In each of four earlier races this season, Jackson had finished behind Witherspoon. During the third mile of this race, though, Jackson made Witherspoon's lead disappear. With 400 meters to go Jackson was the one with the ten-second lead. He continued to widen that lead on his way to an 18:29 win and the GHSA Region 1-AA title. Witherspoon held off Bryce Tucker of Berrien 18:47 to 18:49, taking second. Thomasville senior Neil White was fourth in 18:59. The Bulldogs' next two runners were junior Alex Perralta (9th, 20:16) and senior Jacob Bruhn (15th, 21:06), giving Thomasville a winning total of 31 points and a trip to the State Meet in Carrollton. Also qualifying for State were Berrien, second with 42 points; Seminole County, third with 82; and Fitzgerald, fourth with 107.


Boys' Team Standings, 2014 GHSA Region 1-AA Cross Country
  1. Thomasville, 31 points
  2. Berrien, 42
  3. Seminole County, 82
  4. Fitzgerald, 107
  5. Pelham, 115
  6. Early County, 139

Top Ten Boys, 2014 GHSA Region 1-AA Cross Country
  1. 18:28.53 ~ Andrew Jackson (Thomasville) 12TJ Witherspoon and Haven Gilbert
  2. 18:46.58 ~ Travet Witherspoon (Thomasville) 12
  3. 18:48.14 ~ Bryce Tucker (Berrien)
  4. 18:58.21 ~ Neil White (Thomasville) 12
  5. 19:03.16 ~ Brett Bailey (Pelham) 12
  6. 19:30.93 ~ Haven Gilbert (Berrien)
  7. 19:39.87 ~ Dustin Reynolds (Seminole County) 10
  8. 20:02.30 ~ Caleb Finn (Berrien)
  9. 20:15.62 ~ Alex Peralta (Thomasville) 11
  10. 20:20.51 ~ Ronaldo Nunez (Fitzgerald) 11

GHSA Region 1-AA Cross-Country Champions
2010 - 2014
Girls
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
30 Oct 2008Thomasville, 2822:23, Jennifer Cumbus (Berrien)
29 Oct 2009Thomasville, 2223:26, Jennifer Cumbus (Berrien)
28 Oct 2010Thomasville, 2823:03, Rosalie White (Thomasville) 10
26 Oct 2011Thomasville, 1723:19, Mareike Haaren (Thomasville) 10
31 Oct 2012Thomasville, 1521:48, Rachel Smith (Thomasville) 11
29 Oct 2013Thomasville, 2321:05, Rachel Smith (Thomasville) 12
29 Oct 2014Thomasville, 3322:11, Rebekah Smith (Thomasville) 11
Boys
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
30 Oct 2008Thomasville, 3617:13, David Daniel (Thomasville)
29 Oct 2009Fitzgerald, 3117:37, David Daniel (Thomasville)
28 Oct 2010Thomasville, 5618:29, Grif Rutherford (Thomasville) 9
26 Oct 2011Thomasville, 4017:40, Grif Rutherford (Thomasville) 10
31 Oct 2012Thomasville, 4518:20, Guthrie Edwards (Pelham) 11
29 Oct 2013Thomasville, 2517:12, Guthrie Edwards (Pelham) 12
29 Oct 2014Thomasville, 3118:29, Andrew Jackson (Thomasville) 12
Note: The 2010-2012 and 2014 meets were at Pebble Hill Plantation.
The 2006-2009 and 2013 meets were at Kolomoki Mounds State Park.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 8:02 PM
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 5, 2021 at 3:43 PM

    Hey, I know this is 6 years late, but do you have the boys? My fondest XC memory was at the end of this race

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    Replies
    1. Herb WillsJuly 6, 2021 at 4:47 PM

      Let me check. I'm about 1200 miles away from the back-up drive with those photos on it.

      Delete

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