CROSS COUNTRY
Having multiple runners near the front of the field was once again accomplished for Jones County’s cross country programs at last Thursday’s Southern Georgia Cross Country Championships in Hazelhurst.
Going against teams from throughout south Georgia, the Greyhounds won first overall with the Lady Greyhounds, on the way back from dealing with injuries, finishing second as a team. It all happened in the midst of adverse weather conditions that delayed the start of the race repeatedly, even calling into question whether or not Jones County’s runners would be able to run or not at an event more than two hours from home. With the challenge of a wet course and darkness closing in, the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds got on the course, finishing among the top runners overall.
“They were not going to take a day off, we were going to do track work at 10 when we got home, but it all worked out,” Moore said. “There was so much water, it was so muddy and it’s flat there, but (the boys) won the meet.”
Led by Lilly Palmer’s time of 20:52.00 which earned a finish of sixth, the Lady Greyhounds finished second to a Bleckley County team that usually contends for a state title in its classification. Camryn Wommack and Isabella Sanchez ran times of 21:08.60 and 21:57.30 to finish ninth and 11th to give Jones County three finishes in the top 11. Addison Newby set a season-best with a time of 23:52.70 in 19th. Gabrielle Childs and Emily Patat finished 36th and 41st with times of 25:58.20 and 26.13.70 as they also continued to bounce back from having to miss time. Building that level back up will be crucial in the coming weeks as the top five runners will make the difference in the region meet on Oct. 21 at Union Grove.
The boys runners posted another dominant performance on the way to their first-place win with three of the race’s top six runners. Paving the way in second was Luke Thornton’s time of 17:07.90 with Gavin Robinson running a 17:23..00 to finish fourth and Tyler Marshall in sixth by way of running a 17:31.10.
“It does not take much to get those guys motivated, they are so self-motivated, they do all the little things that it takes,” Moore said. “These kids know when to warmup, know what the race is, nobody has to ask them to do the little things.”
Times of 17:54.20 and 18:07.70 gave Jones County six finishes among the top 12 as both finished ninth and 12th. Landon Steinmeyer and Clay Lacy charged to the line to finish 17th and 18th with times of 18:33.00 and 18:34.10. That’s a key level of competitiveness that the Greyhounds will aim to have going forward as injuries could force someone to be brought up to the fill the No 5 spot on the roster between now and the region meet.
Jones County’s runners in the JV race seized their chance to shine. The JV boys won first overall with four of the fastest six runners. Shaun Williams led the way in second place followed in order by Rylan Fuller, Ian Borsahole, Gunner Kent and Chase Hamm, with Kent posting a season-best time. The girls fifth-place finish was led by Sage Ward in 18th, Riley Barnwell in 22nd, Taylor Minter in 28th, Kendell Collins in 32nd and Grace Bryant in 37th.
Jones County will now host the Greyhound Invitational on Saturday morning, welcoming around 34 high school teams and 12 from the middle school ranks for a meet on its home course.
“The weather should be phenomenal, it’s supposed to be really nice,” Moore said. “We’ve kind of reconfigured the course and moved trees, so it’ll be a bigger starting line for more teams. It’ll be a great event and we’re looking forward to hosting.”
