Bainbridge High School moved in 2009. The new building is well outside of Bainbridge, Georgia, and is actually closer to the village of Climax. Being that far from the city, though, makes the school's location well-suited for cross-country running--enough so that Bainbridge High's Bearcat Cross-Country Invitational was moved to the school. And that's where the 16th annual Bearcat Invitational took place on Saturday morning, 26 September 2015.
The high school girls' 5K race started at 8:00 AM, the first event of the meet. Lincoln senior Juliana Krueger, up from Tallahassee, won the race in 21:10, finishing close to 150 meters ahead of the next runner. Fitzgerald frosh Karen Garcia was second in 21:48, and Bainbridge sophomore Uriyah Davis (21:59) outkicked Thomas County Central sophomore Cara Eaton (22:00) and Pataula Charter junior Alli Hay (22:01) for third.
Krueger was joined by Lincoln's other four scorers--frosh Jirah Arnold (10th, 23:01) and sophomores Shayla Nguyen (14th, 23:16), Arianna Neely (15th, 23:19), and Asta Hemenway (29th, 24:19)--giving the Tallahassee team 60 points and first place. Lee County was second with points, led by junior Ashley Bennett (16th, 23:20). Thomas County Central placed third in the thirteen-team field with 86 points.
2015 Bearcat Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls
- Lincoln, 60
- Lee County, 74
- Thomas County Central, 86
- Westover, 94
- Tift County, 94
- Bainbridge, 125
- Fitzgerald, 203
- Lowndes, 230
- Pelham, 252
- Worth County, 262
- Berrien County, 285
- Baconton Charter, 293
- Thomasville, 306
Top 15 High School Girls, 2015 Bearcat Invitational
- 21:09.39 ~ Juliana Krueger (Lincoln) 12
- 21:47.18 ~ Karen Garcia (Fitzgerald) 9
- 21:58.09 ~ Uriyah Davis (Bainbridge) 10
- 21:59.06 ~ Cara Eaton (Thomas County Central) 10
- 22:00.94 ~ Alli Hay (Pataula Charter) 11
- 22:18.68 ~ Angela Cipriani (Thomas County Central) 11
- 22:19.88 ~ Perra Harrell (Grace Christian) 12
- 22:25.08 ~ Janie Plowden (Westover) 11
- 22:38.59 ~ Ashlee Golden (Tift County) 10
- 23:00.11 ~ Jirah Arnold (Lincoln) 9
- 23:07.46 ~ Jinglei Horchler (Thomas County Central) 10
- 23:10.08 ~ Harley Stephens (Tift County) 11
- 23:11.69 ~ Ramsay Miller (Lee County) 10
- 23:15.76 ~ Shayla Nguyen (Lincoln) 10
- 23:18.79 ~ Arianna Neely (Lincoln) 10
At the Cougar Cross Country Challenge in Tallahassee on 29 August 2015, Bainbridge sophomore
Poncherella Leonard had finished seventh in 17:30--one place and seven seconds ahead of Lowndes High junior
Kaleb Wolfenden. But two weeks later, Wolfenden won the
Lee County Invitational and Poncherella was sixth. Wolfenden won again on 19 September 2015 at the
Quail Trail Invitational, running 16:48 while Poncherella finished second in 17:09. The two met again on Poncherella's home course in the Bearcat Invitational high school boys' 5K. It was close, but Wolfenden edged Poncherella for the win, 16:52 to 16:56. Lowndes senior Chance Roe was third in 17:05.
Bainbridge frosh
Caleb Harris was sixth in 17:32, giving the host Bearcats two runners in the top ten. But Lowndes had a total of four in the top ten, with junior Daniel Swilley taking ninth in 17:37 and frosh Hayden Bills tenth in 17:53. Senior runner Dylan Rogers was the fifth Lowndes scorer, 20th in 18:48, and the boys from Valdosta had 43 points and the team championship. Bainbridge was second with 61 points. Tallahassee Lincoln was third with 81 points after putting two runners in the top ten--sophomore Clayton Carlson (7th, 17:34) and junior Josh Liles (8th, 17:34).
2015 Bearcat Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys
- Lowndes, 43
- Bainbridge, 61
- Lincoln, 81
- Thomas County Central, 111
- Lee County, 128
- Seminole County, 183
- Tift County, 236
- Westover, 237
- Berrien County, 239
- Fitzgerald, 270
- Cairo, 309
- Worth County, 343
- Albany, 350
- Thomasville, 397
- Baconton Charter, 399
- Early County, 428
- Grace Christian, 496
Top 15 High School Boys, 2015 Bearcat Invitational
- 16:51.48 ~ Kaleb Wolfenden (Lowndes) 11
- 16:55.46 ~ Poncherella Leonard (Bainbridge) 10
- 17:04.40 ~ Chance Roe (Lowndes) 12
- 17:09.80 ~ Robert Grooms (Lee County) 12
- 17:25.21 ~ Sam Gelabert (Thomas County Central) 12
- 17:31.57 ~ Caleb Harris (Bainbridge) 9
- 17:33.40 ~ Clayton Carlson (Lincoln) 10
- 17:33.60 ~ Josh Liles (Lincoln) 11
- 17:36.35 ~ Daniel Swilley (Lowndes) 11
- 17:52.84 ~ Hayden Bills (Lowndes) 9
- 17:54.02 ~ Salvado Alonzo (Cairo) 12
- 18:07.16 ~ Bennett Enfinger (Bainbridge) 12
- 18:17.64 ~ Demetrius Gilliard (Westover) 12
- 18:25.96 ~ Noah Owens (Thomas County Central) 10
- 18:26.80 ~ Matthew Fisher (Tift County) 12
The distance for high school cross-country races has become more or less set at five kilometers, but the middle schools in the region sometimes race at two miles and other times at three kilometers. Tift eighth-grader
Emily Golden has proven capable of winning at either distance, with victories at the
Pelham Hornet Invitational on 22 August 2015, the
Lee County Invitational on 12 September 2015, and the
Quail Trail Invitational on 19 September 2015. Golden won again in the middle school girls' two-mile race at the Bearcat Invitational, running 13:04. Seminole County eighth-grader Macy Williams outkicked Worth County eighth-grader Brianna Zupko for second, both runners clocked in 13:19.
In addition to Golden, Tift had three more runners in the top ten, seventh-grader Noelia Sandoval (6th, 13:53), eighth-grader Caroline Vickers (8th, 14:12), and eighth-grader Rebekah Larger (9th, 14:13). Sixth-grader Ainsley Toews (11th, 14:30) finished the scoring for Tift, giving the team a winning total of 31 points. Led by eighth-grader Victoria Natoli (7th, 14:06) Lee County scored 85 points and placed second among the eleven teams in the race. Berrien County was third with 106 behind top-scorer Maddie Harper (15th, 14:59).
2015 Bearcat Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Girls
- Tift, 31
- Lee County, 85
- Berrien County, 106
- Seminole County, 129
- Thomas County, 130
- Whigham, 184
- MacIntyre Park, 193
- Baconton Charter, 199
- Bainbridge, 200
- Pataula Charter, 211
- Grace Christian, 243
Top 15 Middle School Girls, 2015 Bearcat Invitational
- 13:03.55 ~ Emily Golden (Tift) 8
- 13:18.10 ~ Macy Williams (Seminole County) 8
- 13:18.68 ~ Brianna Zupko (Worth County) 8
- 13:38.31 ~ Anna James (Thomas County) 7
- 13:49.35 ~ Meg Houston (Pataula Charter) 7
- 13:52.86 ~ Noelia Sandoval (Tift) 7
- 14:05.72 ~ Victoria Natoli (Lee County) 8
- 14:11.13 ~ Caroline Vickers (Tift) 8
- 14:12.43 ~ Rebekah Larger (Tift) 8
- 14:23.69 ~ Emily Phillips (Lee County) 6
- 14:29.99 ~ Ainsley Toews (Tift) 6
- 14:53.58 ~ Megan Curry (Thomas County) 8
- 14:57.81 ~ Willa Dyer (Lee County) 8
- 14:57.98 ~ Katie McMillan (Tift) 7
- 14:58.65 ~ Maddie Harper (Berrien County) 7
In the middle school boys' two-mile race,
Henry Plowden also logged his fourth win of the 2015 season. The Westover eighth-grader already had wins at the Mid State Cross Country Classic on 22 August 2015, the Cougar Cross Country Challenge on 29 August 2015, and the
Lee County Invitational on 12 September 2015. At the Bearcat Invitational Plowden ran away from the field, posting a time of 11:39 and finishing nearly 150 meters ahead of the next runner.
But Plowden was Westover's only entry in the race, so he didn't figure into the team scoring. The next two runners did, and they were both from Lee County--eighth-grader Benjamin Phillips was second in 12:11 and sixth-grader Josh Macklin third in 12:18.
Lee County also had a third runner in the top ten, eighth-grader Walker Pinson (10th, 12:55). Add seventh-grader Will Tomlinson (17th, 13:27) and eighth-grader Noah Bain (18th, 13:27), and Lee County had 40 points and the team title. Led by eighth-grader Morgan Bolmer (8th, 12:44), Berrien County scored 61 points and placed second among the twelve teams in the race. Tift put two runners in the top ten--seventh-graders Bryce Stephens (5th, 12:26) and Beau Bengston (7th, 12:29)--on their way to third-place showing with 71 points.
2015 Bearcat Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Boys
- Lee County, 40
- Berrien County, 61
- Tift, 71
- Bainbridge, 113
- Thomas County, 134
- MacIntyre Park, 152
- Worth County, 154
- Baconton Charter, 248
- Seminole County, 249
- Pataula Charter, 269
- Whigham, 343
- Pelham, 352
Top 15 Middle School Boys, 2015 Bearcat Invitational
- 11:38.38 ~ Henry Plowden (Westover) 8
- 12:10.29 ~ Benjamin Phillips (Lee County) 8
- 12:17.23 ~ Josh Macklin (Lee County) 6
- 12:21.21 ~ Stokes Moore (Bainbridge) 8
- 12:25.81 ~ Bryce Stephens (Tift) 7
- 12:28.01 ~ Gabe Parker (Grace Christian) 8
- 12:28.43 ~ Beau Bengston (Tift) 7
- 12:43.87 ~ Morgan Bolmer (Berrien County) 8
- 12:45.92 ~ Lawson Brinkley (MacIntyre Park) 7
- 12:54.78 ~ Walker Pinson (Lee County) 8
- 12:57.59 ~ Wyatt Carpenter (Grace Christian) 8
- 13:00.77 ~ Kenyatta Bennett (Berrien County) 8
- 13:09.94 ~ Michael Brickle (Worth County) 6
- 13:15.88 ~ Jeremiah Thomas (Tift) 7
- 13:17.38 ~ Joe Emmons (Bainbridge) 8
Timing of the 2015 Bearcat Invitational was provided by
Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Bainbridge High School Bearcat Cross-Country Invitational Champions
2000 - 2015 |
|---|
| High School Girls 5K |
|---|
| Date | Team Champ | Individual Champ |
|---|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
| 27 September 2003 | Tift County, 39 | 22:28, Demonessa Pyle (Berrien County) |
|
|
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| 24 September 2005 | Tift County, 32 |
|
| 23 September 2006 |
|
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| 22 September 2007 |
|
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| 20 September 2008 | Bainbridge, 39 | 21:06, April Thomas (Bainbridge) 10 |
| 19 September 2009 | Westover, 45 | 19:31, April Thomas (Bainbridge) 11 |
| 18 September 2010 | Lee County |
|
| 17 September 2011 | Tift County, 36 | 21:50, Ericka Taylor (Westover) 11 |
| 22 September 2012 | Thomasville, 64 | 21:05, Ericka Taylor (Westover) 12 |
| 14 September 2013 | Thomas County Central, 55 | 19:56, Paige Braswell (Bainbridge) 12 |
| 20 September 2014 | Maclay, 35 | 19:11, Elizabeth Funderburk (Colquitt County) 9 |
| 26 September 2015 | Lincoln, 60 | 21:10, Juliana Krueger (Lincoln) 12 |
| High School Boys 5K |
|---|
| Date | Team Champ | Individual Champ |
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 27 September 2003 | Westover, 41 | 17:47, David Marley (Westover) |
|
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| 24 September 2005 | Bainbridge, 54 |
|
| 23 September 2006 |
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| 22 September 2007 |
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| 20 September 2008 | Tift County, 37 | 17:13, David Daniel (Thomasville) 11 |
| 19 September 2009 | Tift County, 49 | 16:04, Hunter Honeycutt (Tift County) 10 |
| 18 September 2010 | Westover |
|
| 17 September 2011 | Tift County, 55 | 16:48, Hunter Honeycutt (Tift County) 12 |
| 22 September 2012 | Bainbridge, 77 | 16:40, Josh Mason (Westover) 12 |
| 14 September 2013 | Bainbridge, 65 | 16:15, Chase Harris (Bainbridge) 11 |
| 20 September 2014 | Maclay, 51 | 16:59, Bryce Swindell (Lassiter) 12 |
| 26 September 2015 | Lowndes, 43 | 16:52, Kaleb Wolfenden (Lowndes) 11 |
| Additions and corrections to this table will be accepted gratefully. ~HW |
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#1505
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