When the cross country season is said and done, chances are good that Bleckley County will be one of the top teams from the lower classifications.
The Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds, however, sent a strong message last week as they continue to gear up for sectionals, showing that they can hang with the state’s top squads, running alongside the Royals at the front of the field in a two-mile run during the evening hours.
The top-10 finishers of both the girls and boys varsity races consisted of a combined 18 runners from Jones and Bleckley counties.
Luke Thornton beat all comers in the boys’ race, taking first on a time of 10:21.71 in front of Gavin Robinson’s finish of fifth on a time of 10:27.50.
JCHS also got top-11 finishes from Grady Newby in seventh, Shaun Williams in eighth, Clay Lacy in 10th, and Tyler Marshall in 11th with times of 10:28.45, 10:29.91, 10:42.25 and 10:43.86.
The Lady Hounds placed a trio of runners in the top 10, led by Addison Robinson’s 12:23.08 being good for third place. Tanner Watts was seventh at 13:15.38, and Mary Barnwell was ninth via a time of 13:24.26.
Other top finishes for the Lady Hounds were Macie White in 15th (13:50.56) and Catelen Myers in 16th (14:12.45).
Jones County also excelled in the event’s JV races. Tripp Arnold and Christopher Reid were eighth and 20th on times of 12:25.11 and 13:50.19 in the JV boys race. The Lady Hounds swept second through fifth in the girls JV races with those spots being claimed in order by Rylee Bell (15:16.65), Allie Waters (15:24.64), Jordan Norman-Brown (15:30.44), and Sophie Dixon (15:57.74).
Middle school runners set high team, personal marks under the lights
The nighttime hours were good to Jones County’s middle school runners on Wednesday as runners from the boys and girls teams set multiple personal records to go with strong team showings in a meet hosted by Bleckley County.
Sixth-grader Madison Marshall was at the forefront, taking first place in the girls’ two-mile race with a time of 12:38.43. Marshall’s victory helped lead a strong girls team effort that saw multiple athletes reach personal bests.
Sixth-grader Easton Belshan led the boys’ effort with an eighth-place finish at 12:45.24, setting a new personal record.
Brooks Scott followed with a 10th-place finish at 12:49.82, also achieving a PR.
As a team, the Greyhounds showed remarkable depth with 20 runners competing and multiple personal bests recorded.
Other notable performances in the girls’ race included Phoebe Palmer’s third-place finish (13:42.00), Kaitlyn Flickinger’s 10th-place PR run (14:45.77), and strong personal record performances from Lili Cook (20th, 15:07.08 PR), Sydney Vaughan (25th, 15:16.55 PR), and Mia Feizet (28th, 15:56.30 PR).
On the boys side, strong showings came from Rhett Renner (14th, 13:02.35 PR), Cruz Hudgins (16th, 13:12.65), Peyton Simmons (17th, 13:14.35 PR), Colton Gordon (19th, 13:23.09), and continued development from the likes of Bentley Cook (22nd, 13:36.74 PR), Elijah Clopton (30th, 13:56.40 PR), and Knox Watson, who also achieved a personal record.
