Greyhounds answer challenge, return from meet with first place

CROSS COUNTRY

  • The Greyhounds won last week’s meet at Bleckley County, putting three runners in the top six. CONTRIBUTED
    The Greyhounds won last week’s meet at Bleckley County, putting three runners in the top six. CONTRIBUTED
  • The Lady Greyhounds finished third at Bleckley County despite having two of their top five runners unable to run. CONTRIBUTED
    The Lady Greyhounds finished third at Bleckley County despite having two of their top five runners unable to run. CONTRIBUTED

    Two weeks ago, the Greyhounds came back from a meet in Bleckley County minus a first-place finish.

    Last week, Jones County went to Cochran again. This time, however, running against more competition, the Greyhounds paced the field, winning first with three finishes inside the top six below the 18:00 mark.

    The showing was well-timed for the Greyhounds, as late-season momentum is key heading toward the region meet on Oct. 21. Jones County will stay sharp this Friday, holding a two-mile run on its home course in an intrasquad meet of sorts.

    “We talked before we went down there and told them that’s there’s a lot riding on this, this has a lot to do with championship season coming up,” Greyhounds head coach Geoff Moore said. “It was very important that we run well.

    They didn’t like losing the other day and we said, ‘let’s go down there and win the thing,’ They ran well and took care of business.”

    Luke Thornton led the way last week with a time of 17:28.90 in third, one spot ahead of Gavin Robinson in fourth, thanks to a time of 17:40.30 and the sixth-place of Tyler Marshall via a run of 17:58.40. The overall effort from the Greyhounds’ top five help lock up the first-place finish with Grady Newby in 15th and Clay Lacy in 21st with times of 18:25.70 and 19:02.00.

    “It’s a slower course, but there were some good runners.

    Bleckley will win their classification going away, and they have always had good runners,” Moore said. “When you beat them, you have done something. It’s a good springboard for us.”

    Despite missing two of their top-five runners, the Lady Greyhounds still finished third. Lilly Palmer was the top finisher for Jones County, running a 21:40.39 to finish fifth with Isabella Sanchez coming in ninth via a time of 22:09.38. Addison Robinson posted a top-20 finish in the event, running a time of 24:13.74 to finish 17th with other top finishes being Emily Patat and Jordan Norman-Brown in 47th and 48th with times of 27:31.01 and 27:42.41.

    “We’ve just got to get healthy.

    I’m optimistic we will have everyone at region,” Moore said. “I can’t guarantee it, but I am thinking positive about it.”