Valdosta girls, Bainbridge boys take season opener in Pelham

High school cross-country season is starting about a week earlier than usual in Florida in 2013, with opening day scheduled for August 31. But even that head start puts Florida a week behind Georgia, where the season is already under way. While the high school runners of Florida's Big Bend were looking forward to one last week of summer training, just over the state line the harriers of southwest Georgia were opening their fall campaign at the Pelham Hornet Invitational on Saturday morning, 24 August 2013.


The morning of competition at the Pelham High School Sports Complex opened with the high school girls' 5K. The Valdosta Wildcats eked out a 40 to 41 victory over the host Pelham Hornets. The margin was so close that if Valdosta's non-scoring sixth and seventh runners, Liz Kelly (14th, 29:16) and Demeonna McDuffie (16th, 31:03), hadn't finished ahead of Pelham's fifth runner, the race would have gone the other way. Top individual honors went to Paige Braswell of Bainbridge High. Braswell ran 21:51 for the 3.1 mile course, finishing nearly 800 meters ahead of runner-up Zakirra McKinnon (2nd, 25:37) of Valdosta.


Team Standings, High School Girls 5K

1. Valdosta High School, 40
2. Pelham High School, 41
3. Bainbridge High School, 75
4. Early County High School, 83
5. Americus-Sumter High School, 116

Top Ten, High School Girls 5K

1. 21:50.77 ~ Paige Braswell (Bainbridge) 12
2. 25:36.95 ~ Zakirra Mckinnon (Valdosta) 11
3. 25:53.80 ~ Leah Michael (Valdosta) 11
4. 26:11.38 ~ McKenzie Smith (Pelham) 10
5. 26:38.69 ~ Rebekah Smith (Pelham) 12
6. 27:04.19 ~ Cheyenne Brooks (Pelham) 11
7. 27:05.75 ~ Monica Webb (Pelham) 9
8. 28:02.06 ~ Jasmine Brown (Early County) 10
9. 28:08.00 ~ Jamia Powell (Bainbridge) 10
10. 28:11.30 ~ Maya Lee (Valdosta) 10

The high school boys took the stage next in this cross-country debut. It's a mathematical impossibility for a team to lose a cross-country meet with a score of 27 points, and 27 points was what Bainbridge High's Bearcats tallied in the boys' 5K, led by the one-two finish of junior Chase Harris (17:48) and senior Dre Banks (18:57). Pelham's Guthrie Edwards finished third, running 19:08 for the home team. Led by the fourth-place 19:36 of frosh runner Matthew Baun, Valdosta took second in the team standings with 68 points.


Team Standings, High School Boys 5K

1. Bainbridge High School, 27
2. Valdosta High School, 68
3. Americus-Sumter High School, 78
4. Pelham High School, 78
5. Early County High School, 102

Top Ten, High School Boys 5K

1. 17:47.24 ~ Chase Harris (Bainbridge) 11
2. 18:56.32 ~ Drevyon Banks (Bainbridge) 12
3. 19:07.53 ~ Guthrie Edwards (Pelham) 12
4. 19:35.85 ~ Matthew Baun (Valdosta) 9
5. 19:57.62 ~ Brett Bailey (Pelham) 11
6. 20:07.45 ~ Bennett Enfinger (Bainbridge) 10
7. 20:23.35 ~ Brendan Green (Bainbridge) 10
8. 20:42.08 ~ Carl Johnson (Americus-Sumter) 12
9. 21:07.22 ~ Eric Fletcher (Americus-Sumter) 12
10. 21:20.60 ~ La'quavious Williams (Early County) 12

The middle school race followed the high school races. The team competition for middle school girls mirrored that for high school girls in that Valdosta Middle School prevailed by a single point. This time it was Valdosta MS over Bainbridge MS, 32 to 33. Valdosta put a winning total together by putting three runners in the top four--Madeline Posse (1st, 13:50), Rachel Massingill (2nd, 15:16), and Sophia Noll (4th, 16:05)-- with Bainbridge's Uriyah Davis (3rd, 15:18) keeping the little Wildcats from sweeping the first three spots.


Team Standings, Middle School Girls Two-Mile

1. Valdosta Middle School, 32
2. Bainbridge Middle School, 33
3. Early County Middle School, 84
4. Pelham Middle School, 86

Top Ten, Middle School Girls Two-Mile

1. 13:49.33 ~ Madeline Posse (Valdosta) 7
2. 15:15.88 ~ Rachel Massingill (Valdosta) 7
3. 15:17.91 ~ Uriyah Davis (Bainbridge) 8
4. 16:04.83 ~ Sophia Noll (Valdosta) 6
5. 16:08.94 ~ Madison Wiggins (Bainbridge) 8
6. 16:17.86 ~ Chloe Enfinger (Bainbridge) 7
7. 16:51.48 ~ Brianna Cox (Pelham) 8
8. 17:03.73 ~ Camry Fillingame (Bainbridge) 8
9. 17:05.78 ~ Davia Allen (Early County) 6
10. 17:24.55 ~ Kiera Williams (Valdosta) 7

Led by the 11:40 first-place showing of seventh-grader Caleb Harris, Bainbridge Middle School edged out Valdosta Middle School by a single point, 35 to 36, for the title in the boys' two-mile race. It was extremely close, and the Early County Middle School runners actually tipped the balance--in a duel meet, with Early County missing, Valdosta would have beaten Bainbridge, 27 to 28. Such are the fortunes of cross-country. Noah Richards of Valdosta placed second in the individual standings with a 12:29, and Brandon Wombley of Early County was third in 12:58.


Team Standings, Middle School Boys Two-Mile

1. Bainbridge Middle School, 35
2. Valdosta Middle School, 36
3. Early County Middle School, 53

Top Ten, Middle School Boys Two-Mile

1. 11:39.17 ~ Caleb Harris (Bainbridge) 7
2. 12:28.35 ~ Noah Richards (Valdosta) 8
3. 12:57.52 ~ Brandon Womble (Early County) 8
4. 13:20.53 ~ Davis Baldwin (Valdosta) 8
5. 13:25.07 ~ Gavyn Albritton (Bainbridge) 8
6. 13:30.47 ~ Darien Rowe (Valdosta) 7
7. 13:32.98 ~ Caleb Swain (Bainbridge) 8
8. 13:48.38 ~ Preston Coolahan (Early County) 8
9. 14:10.70 ~ Will Krispen (Valdosta) 8
10. 14:54.77 ~ Kajuan Newton (Bainbridge) 7

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Pelham Hornets Invitational Cross-Country Meet at milesplit.com
  http://ga.milesplit.com/meets/149663-pelham-hornet-invitational
  
  
• Timing and finish line services were provided by Miles and Minutes, LLC
  http://www.milesandminutes.net
  
  
• Scott Phillips, "Americus-Sumter cross country takes third at Pelham Hornet Invitational"
  http://americustimesrecorder.com/sports/x250201283/Americus-Sumter-cross-country-takes-third-at-Pelham-Hornet-Invitational
  
  
• Find a race to run--road, track, or cross-country--on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1