Calhoun girls, boys claim ‘Cow Bell’ at County Meet
Both the Calhoun girls and boys teams can now call themselves the Gordon County Cow Bell champs.
The Jackets and Lady Jackets rose to the top to claim first place in the team standings at the Gordon County Cross Country Championship on Tuesday at New Echota. The prize for their efforts is the ceremonial Cow Bell, which they will hold (along with bragging rights), until next year’s meet against local rivals Gordon Central and Sonoraville.
“I think both the boys and girls did exactly what we expected and exactly what we asked them to do,” said Calhoun coach Justin Lindsey. “They know that county, region and state are the priorities at Calhoun. It makes you very proud to see your runners giving it their all when it really counts. It’s like they have a switch. If you can flip that switch, they are going lights out and they are hard to beat. Given that this was the Gordon County Cowbell Classic, it is great to have them in our possession for this year.
“I was very impressed by the overall effort from all three schools. We all represented Gordon County and all involved should be proud. That being said, our focus is entirely on region now. We will focus on state after region. We have a chance to do really well at both, but in the end the score sheet determines that. Regardless of the next two outcomes, this group is very special. Their work ethic speaks volumes about their character. It has been a pleasure to have this group my first year as head coach.”
The Calhoun girls had five runners finish in the top 10 to give them a team score of 21, which was first in front of Gordon Central (38) and Sonoraville (72).
Leading the Lady Jackets was Ashley Hartness, who took first overall individually with a time of 22:36.66. Mari Morales (23:57.16), Adamariz Perez (24:17.18) and Wendy Rodriguez (24:29.27) followed in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, and Emily Driscoll took eighth with 25:12.39.
Gordon Central’s top finisher was Yamilet Ramirez in second with a 22:48.73. Lizbeth Alvarez (sixth, 24:39.14), Taylor Evans (seventh, 25:04.65), Kayle Smith (10th, 25:37.18) and Evelyn Lozano (13th, 27:35.85) completed the Lady Warriors’ team score.
Sonoraville’s Maggie Hamilton placed ninth with a 25:30.19, and her teammate Destiny Johnson was 12th with a 27:13.70.
On the boys side, the Jackets had all five scoring finishers place in the top 10 to comlete a score of 23. They were led by the trio of Esvin Garcia, Jonathan Santana and Julio Lopez who took second (18:30.97), third (19:15.25) and fourth (19:20.45), respectively. Jesus Gonzalez (sixth, 20:01.60) and Andy Echeverria (eighth, 20:38.27) completed Calhoun’s team score.
The meet’s individual boys winner was Sonoraville’s Drake Johnson who ran an 18:26.25. The Phoenix finished with 43 points. John Graves also ran well with a fifth-place finish of 20:01.37. Also scoring for Sonoraville was Ben Stewart (10th, 20:39.15), Garrett Overboe (11th, 20:46.33) and Spencer Ford (16th, 21:36.35).
Gordon Central finished third with a team score of 63. They had two top-10 finishers, including Bryce Bussert in seventh (20:08.06) and Nelson Rodriguez (ninth, 20:38.94).
“I was proud of how my kids ran today,” said Gordon Central coach Shannon Rainwater. “Every single runner bettered their time compared to the last meet at New Echota. We are looking forward to Region next Tuesday at Georgia Highlands as we are peaking at the perfect time to do well in that race.”
Calhoun and Sonoraville will compete in the Region 6-AAA Meet hosted by Coahulla Creek in Varnell on Tuesday. Gordon Central will run in the Region 7-AA Meet on Tuesday at Georgia Highlands.