The cross country season began on Saturday on a familiar narrative when it comes to Jones County’s distance runners. That is with the Greyhounds and the Lady Greyhounds near the top of the leaderboard.
Running in the Peach State Preview in Hazelhurst, the Greyhounds, who are replacing their entire top five from last season, placed second overall behind defending GHSA Class A state champion Bleckley County. The Lady Hounds also ran like a team determined to prove an early point, placing third behind Bleckley, also a girls champion last year, and Glynn Academy.
Rylan Fuller and Dalton Russell set a strong tone for the Greyhounds, finishing fifth and sixth on times of 17:34.40 and 17:37.70. But the overall showing hardly ended there for JCHS. Blake Marsh’s 18:58.20 was good for 22nd with freshmen Brooks Scott and Rhett Renner taking 30th and 32nd at 19:20.70 and 19:28.70.
The Lady Greyhounds — who have aspirations to exceed last year’s performance that earned them a fourth-straight region title and beyond — placed three runners in the race’s top 13. Mary Barnwell ran to a finish of fourth on a time of 21:35.90 with Phoebe Palmer timing in 11th at 22:34.90. Makenzie Snook picked up a finish of 13th on a time of 22:41.20. Macie White came in 23rd thanks to a time of 23:26.40 with Saylor Bell 39th on a run of 24:26.20.
Both teams get another chance to hit the course this weekend at the Clash of the Classes hosted by Bleckley County.
