There's not much to distinguish the Big Bend of Florida from Southwest Georgia. The two regions are, after all, only separated by an imaginary line. Both sides of that line share similar climate, similar soil, and similar topography. You'll find cotton, peanuts, and pecans cultivated north and south of the line. The forests in each region are longleaf pine and wiregrass, and live oaks and southern magnolia are cherished.But if you were in Georgia, north of the line, on Saturday morning, 17 August 2019, high school cross-country season had already started. South of the line, Florida athletes were running time trials or pre-season races. Just north of the line in Valdosta, Georgia's Freedom Park the harriers were competing in the Winnersville Cross-Country Classic. Nor was it just Southwest Georgia schools. Archer High ventured down from Lawrenceville, on the north side of the state, and went home with both the girls' and the boys' team titles in the Winnersville Classic. Archer also swept the individual titles, with Tiger senior Sarah McCartney winning the high school girls' 5K in 19:47 and another Tiger senior, Myles Collins, taking first in the boys' 5K with a 16:16.
Competition at the fourth annual Winnersville Classic opened at 7:50 AM with the high school girls' 5K, two laps around the Freedom Park course. At the end of the second lap, Sarah McCartney crossed the first in 19:47, more than 70 meters ahead of the next runner. Emily Golden, Tift County's senior ace, took second in 20:05. Thomas County Central's Anna James edged Ashley Annis of Archer for third, 21:55 to 22:00. The 2018 Winnersville Classic champion, Rebecca Chandler of Berrien County, was fifth in 22:21.
Emily Cragin picked up another top ten finish for Archer, placing sixth in 22:39. Braeley Hipp (15th, 24:36) and Sarah Spivey (19th, 25:07) completed Archer's scoring, giving the Tigers 45 points and first place in the team standings.
Lowndes senior Tanija Turner placed ninth in 23:43, leading her team to an 80-point total and second place in the nine-team field. Camden County, visiting from Kingsland, Georgia, placed third with 100 points, led by the eighth-place, 23:18 showing of their senior, Kasey Crossley.
Team Standings, High School Girls
- Archer, 45
- Lowndes, 80
- Camden County, 100
- Valwood, 108
- Tift, 131
- Valdosta, 134
- Berrien County, 154
- Thomas County Central, 173
- Cook, 197
Top Ten Athletes, High School Girls' 5K
- 19:46.2, Sarah McCartney (Archer) 12
- 20:04.4, Emily Golden (Tift County) 12
- 21:54.5, Anna James (Thomas County Central)
- 21:59.7, Ashley Annis (Archer)
- 22:20.6, Rebecca Chandler (Berrien County)
- 22:38.1, Emily Cragin (Archer)
- 22:54.3, Brenna Clark (Valwood)
- 23:17.5, Kasey Crossley (Camden County)
- 23:42.8, Tanija Turner (Lowdnes)
- 23:53.5, Katelyn Lancaster (Valdosta)
The boys' ran next, starting their two laps around Freedom Park at 8:40 AM. This race was all Archer. Myles Collins set the tone for the Tigers, winning the race by nearly 200 meters in 16:16. Lowndes junior Alec Munger took the runner-up spot in 16:56, but then the Tigers took the next three places, with Steven McCartney third in 17:04, Sebastian Rodriguez fourth in 17:38, and Skylar Taylor fifth in 17:57. When Tiger Justin King finished ninth in 18:49, the Archer boys had a mathematically unbeatable 22 points and first place among eight teams.
Behind Munger's second place showing, the Lowndes boys tallied 54 points, taking second. Thomas County Central and Cook High each scored 134 points, but Central beat Cook for third on the tiebreaker.
Team Standings, High School Boys
- Archer, 22
- Lowndes, 54
- Thomas County Central, 134
- Cook, 134
- Camden County, 142
- Valdosta, 142
- Tift, 149
- Berrien County, 165
Top Ten Athletes, High School Boys' 5K
- 16:15.6, Myles Collins (Archer) 12
- 16:55.9, Alec Munger (Lowdnes) 11
- 17:03.6, Steven McCartney (Archer)
- 17:37.6, Sebastian Rodriguez (Archer)
- 17:56.3, Skylar Taylor (Archer)
- 18:18.7, Morgan Bolmer (Berrien County)
- 18:42.2, Parker Jackson (Valdosta)
- 18:44.9, Aaron Munger (Lowdnes)
- 18:48.8, Justin King (Archer)
- 19:09.2, Liam Kilner (Camden County)
After the high school athletes had cleared the course, it was time for the middle schools to race. Middle school cross-country races are usually either 3,000 meters or the slightly longer two miles. At the Winnersville Classic, the distance was one lap, or somewhere in the neighborhood of two-and-a-half kilometers. The girls did the first one-lap race, with a scheduled start-time of 9:15. Cook seventh-grader Addie Gregory was the first to finish that lap, winning the race in 11:40. Valwood's Ella Burnett was a close second in 11:45, finishing just ahead of the 11:48 logged by her teammate, Emma Burnett.
Thomas County took the next two places, though, with Cadence Curnalia fourth in 12:21 and Gracie Adams fifth in 12:28. Paige Parkerson (7th, 12:41) and Kathryn Payne (8th, 12:50) added two more spots in the top ten for Thomas County. When Thomas County eighth-grader Jordyn Tillman crossed the finish line 14th in 13:21, her Yellow Jackets team had a winning score of 38 points. Led by Burnett and Burnett, Valwood was second with 51 points. Tift was third with 66 points; their top runner was Anne Day Grayson (6th, 12:32).
Team Standings, Middle School Girls
- Thomas County, 38
- Valwood, 51
- Tift, 66
- Cook, 75
- Valdosta, 128
Top Ten Athletes, Middle School Girls
- 11:39.9, Addie Gregory (Cook) 7
- 11:44.8, Ella Burnett (Valwood)
- 11:47.2, Emma Burnett (Valwood)
- 12:21.0, Cadence Curnalia (Thomas County)
- 12:27.3, Gracie Adams (Thomas County)
- 12:32.0, Anne Day Grayson (Tift)
- 12:40.6, Paige Parkerson (Thomas County)
- 12:49.3, Kathryn Payne (Thomas County)
- 12:53.6, Gracie Smith (Valwood)
- 12:55.3, Anahi Juarez (Cook)
The middle school girls' race decided, it was time for the middle school boys to do their lap around the park. The girls' race had been close, but Blair Golden made sure that the boys' race was anything but. The Tift eighth-grader won the middle school boys' event by close to 200 meters, running 9:48. Thomas County's Robert Linquist was runner-up in 10:32, and Dawson McMillan of Tift took third in 10:46.
Caden McDaniel scored the first points for Cook, placing fourth in 10:52. But Thomas County answered with two more athletes in the top ten--Aiden Miranda (5th, 10:52) and Dylan Wilder (10th, 11:32). Konnor Carraway (11th, 11:34) and Brady Whatley (19th, 12:08) finished the scoring for Thomas County, giving their team 47 points and a narrow victory in the five-team field. Cook was second just two points back with 49 points. Third-place Tift was also close, scoring 52.
Team Standings, Middle School Boys
- Thomas County, 47
- Cook, 49
- Tift, 52
- Valdosta, 96
- Valwood, 123
Top Ten Athletes, Middle School Boys
- 9:48.0, Blair Golden (Tift) 8
- 10:32.0, Robert Lindquist (Thomas County)
- 10:45.8, Dawson McMillan (Tift)
- 10:48.8, Caden McDaniel (Cook)
- 10:51.2, Aiden Miranda (Thomas County)
- 10:55.2, Isaac Kennedy (Cook)
- 11:13.0, Ethan Burnett (Valwood)
- 11:16.5, Gabriel Sears (Valdosta)
- 11:25.8, Gatlin Marchant (Tift)
- 11:31.1, Dylan Wilder (Thomas County)
| Winnersville Cross-Country Classic champs, 2016-2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| High School Boys | ||
| Date | Winning Teams | Individual Winners |
| 20 August 2016 | Lee County, 42 points | 17:29, Kaleb Wolfenden (Lowndes) 12 |
| 19 August 2017 | Deerfield-Windsor, 38 | 17:06, Brishen House (Lowndes) 12 |
| 18 August 2018 | Jeff Davis, 33 | 17:35, Alec Munger (Lowndes) 10 |
| 17 August 2019 | Archer, 22 | 16:16, Myles Collins (Archer) 12 |
| High School Girls | ||
| Date | Winning Teams | Individual Winners |
| 20 August 2016 | Lee County, 39 points | 21:38, Emily Golden (Tift County) 9 |
| 19 August 2017 | Deerfield-Windsor, 76 | 20:34, Emily Golden (Tift County) 10 |
| 18 August 2018 | Jeff Davis, 38 | 21:55, Rebecca Chandler (Berrien County) 11 |
| 17 August 2019 | Archer, 45 | 19:47, Sarah McCartney (Archer) 12 |
| Middle School Boys | ||
| Date | Winning Teams | Individual Winners |
| 20 August 2016 | Tift, 26 points | 9:08, JD Bengston (Tift) 8 |
| 19 August 2017 | Valdosta, 31 | 9:24, Parker Jackson (Valdosta) 8 |
| 18 August 2018 | Jeff Davis, 19 | 10:20, Pierce Parlor (Jeff Davis) 7 |
| 17 August 2019 | Thomas County, 47 | 9:48, Blair Golden (Tift) 8 |
| Middle School Girls | ||
| Date | Winning Teams | Individual Winners |
| 20 August 2016 | Tift, 24 points | 10:58, Gracie Woods (Coffee) 8 |
| 19 August 2017 | Tift, 41 | 10:59, Jadie Burrell (Southland) 8 |
| 18 August 2018 | Jeff Davis, 15 | 11:58, Alexandra Uribe (Jeff Davis) 8 |
| 17 August 2019 | Thomas County, 38 | 11:40, Addie Gregory (Cook) 7 |
Links
- Results of the 2019 Winnersville Cross-Country Classic
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSyRvsF_dHWBPH6m1gEM3sEDfcENtqEnaz8cJ5gIE9Jr9NmGGlMioP4x6kJO7VcZmpazBlEAJD8sfxj/pubhtml
- Upcoming races in Valdosta and elsewhere in the region on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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