Johnson, Calhoun boys lead locals at All-Area Meet
—A slight bump or an extra push can mean the difference between first and second place in highly competitive situations.
The Darlington cross country team was tested on that lesson Saturday morning and passed.
With three runners in the top four, Darlington’s girls picked up enough points at Georgia Highlands College to edge Bremen by three points for the team title at the 2016 Rome AllArea Championships on Saturday.
The Tigers meanwhile had their five scoring runners finish in the top 20 of the boys’ race to win a three-way dead heat with Calhoun and Rome High.
Darlington coach Katie Ellis was still letting the sweep sink in a few moments after the boys’ team collected its first place trophy.
“I’m thrilled,“Ellis said. “We knew it would be close and that the boys had an outside shot. We knew they could do it. They were tightly packed and ran well as a team.“
The Lady Tigers, who won with a score of 57, competed with usual varsity runner Lilley Washburn sitting out nursing an injury.
“So everyone was going to have to step up,“Ellis said. “We were going to find out what kind of team we really are.“
Kate Flory was once again the top runner for Darlington’s girls, staying on the leader and finishing second overall with a time of 20:07. Bremen’s Grace Clements was the overall winner with a time of 19:32 for the 5K course.
Flory said she felt fine running the course for the first time despite being ill earlier in the week.
“When it flattened out, that’s when I was able to stretch my lead a little bit,“the senior said. “We’re stepping up really well and have a solid top five.“
Darlington freshman Maggie Hawkins followed Flory to finish in 21 minutes flat, while Emily Edwards came in fourth in 21:03.
Giulia Verzino was 19th overall (22:54) and Frances Fields was 32nd (24:05).
Lawson Blake paced Darlington’s boys with a time of 18:11 for ninth overall. While Calhoun had three runners finish in the top ten and Rome had two in the top six, Darlington’s other four runners came in 20th or better, giving the Tigers the edge in the team scores with a final tally of 73. Calhoun was second with 78, and Rome was third with 81.
Sonoraville’s Drake Johnson won the boys’ race, leading the majority of the race and coming in at 17:16, 20 seconds ahead of second-place John Berry Bowling of Rome High.
Johnson had an expression of amazement as he crossed the finish line and later called his victory “unbelievable.“
“I’ve never come to an invitational like this and expected to do that well,“Johnson said. “It just seemed that the further on I went, the more comfortable I got.“
The senior said he had ran in the 17:40s this season and placed pretty well, but never as well as he did Saturday.
“It’s been a long process,“Johnson said. “I thank my teammates for their support through everything.“
Calhoun’s Jonathan Santana was third (17:45) and followed by teammate Esvin Garcia (17:53). Julio Lopez was also in the top 10 with a ninth-place finish at 18:20.
Johnson was Sonoraville’s top finisher as they finished eighth as a team with 213 points. John Graves was their next highest finisher in 22nd with a 18:57. Gordon placed ninth as a team with 251 points as Bryce Bussert (26th, 19:01) was their top finisher.
In the girls’ race, Calhoun was fifth in the team standings with 156 points. Ashley Hartness was their top runner individually, in eighth place with a 21:56. Mari Morales placed 11th with a 22:17, and Emily Driscoll was 35th with a 24:30.
Gordon Central followed the Lady Jackets in sixth place with 173 points. Yamilet Ramirez ( 15th, 22: 35), Lizbeth Alvarez (26th, 23:27) and Kayle Smith (37th, 24:36) was their top three finishers.
All three teams from Gordon County competed in the Gordon County Championship on Tuesday at New Echota. ( For details on that meet, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.)
Calhoun and Sonoraville will next compete at the Region 6- AAA Meet hosted by Coahulla Creek in Varnell on Oct. 25; Gordon Central will also compete that day in the Region 7-AA Meet at Georgia Highlands.
— Calhoun Times Sports Editor Alex Farrer contributed to this report. players around so we’ve got to try and contain him,“said Kremer. “But they’ve got other skill kids too that can hurt you, and they’re good in the trenches. On both sides of the ball, the battle in the trenches is going to be big for us. I feel like we can hold up in the kicking game against anybody so we need to win that. And we’ve got to play consistently on defense and protect the football.“
Prediction:
Calhoun has controlled the series against the Phoenix winning all eight meetings with none of those margins of victory being smaller than 29 points. But this is a different Sonoraville team, and I think even the Calhoun coaches and fans would admit that.
On top of all that’s at stake as far as the rivalry, the game is huge for playoff implications as well with the winner staying alive for a region title, which for the Jackets would be their 16th straight. (Calhoun has won 120 consecutive region games.) The loser will still have a chance to get a home playoff game as the No. 2 seed from Region 6-AAA, but saying you are region champs sounds a lot better than saying you were the runner up.
I feel like this game will come down to which team has a better night in doing what they do best. For both sides, the running game is where their bread is buttered, and I think both will get solid production once again. It comes down to which team gets just a little more production. A key turnover could decide the game.
It’s going to be an incredible atmosphere and packed stadium so get there early. And I think the game is going to live up to the expectations as well.
Calhoun wins, 28-24, in overtime.
Score: