Local runners excel at Heritage meet
Heritage High School hosted the Fast Break Athletics Challenge on Thursday afternoon and it was solid day for the cross country programs in Catoosa and Walker Counties.
The Heritage girls finished with 32 points to win the meet on their home course. SoddyDaisy was second with 63, while Gordon Lee - running without its top runner Gracie O’Neal - still came home with a third-place finish.
Caylee Carpenter was third overall for the Generals, clocking in at 21:49. Alex Gass (22:10) was sixth, Allison Craft (22:20) was seventh and Lucy Hicks (23:03) was eighth. Also turning in excellent finishes was Lilly Black (23:50, 20th), Finley Brisendine (24:51, 27th) and Skye Remko (25:01, 30th).
Riley Cash was 13th overall for Gordon Lee with a time of 23:33 and was one of four GLHS runners in the top 20. Taylor McAllister (17th) crossed the tape in 23:49, followed by Grayson Alexander (18th) with a 23:49 and Kate Gilliam (19th) with a 23:50. Emma Cate Dendy (24:59), Kayelee Bell (25:23) and Chanler Hysell (25:32) rounded out the varsity lineup.
LaFayette got a 25:10 from Hannah Dearing, who was the top finisher for the Lady Ramblers in 32nd place. Also running for the eighth place Lady Ramblers were Caitlyn Watson (28:09), Hope McClure (28:44), Brianna Minor (32:02), Sarai Parauhatsanon (33:37), Bianca Rogers (34:03) and Lauren Pike (34:19).
Macie Boren paced ninth-place Ridgeland with a 26:11, good enough for 43rd place in the overall standings. The remainder of the Lady Panthers’ varsity lineup included Katie Taylor (31:08), Taylor Payne (32:30), Abbie Morgan (36:03) and Cayla Coleman (40:26).
Bailey Mullet (Walker Valley) took first in the official meet standings with a time of 20:57.
In the boys’ varsity race, Gordon Lee junior Jasper Wilson clocked in with a 17:19 to earn first place for the Trojans. Wilson was one of three from Gordon Lee in the top 20. Ian Goodwin (18:09) was 14th, while Jake Lee (18:22) was 19th. Braxton Ledford (19:46) and Cole Collins (20:41) both set personal records, while the rest of the lineup included Jake Wright (20:42) and Beau Barrett (21:59).
Gordon Lee finished in fifth place with 175 points. McCallie (97) won the meet, followed by Cleveland (113) and Chattanooga Central (142).
Host Heritage was seventh overall, led by Caleb Boyd, who was ninth in the individual standings at 18:03. Also running strong for the Generals was Ryan Craft (19:11), Dakota Carter (19:12), Joel Lewis (19:26), Luke Shackelford (19:50), Andrew Song (19:52) and Nhan Le (20:09).
LaFayette (10th place) was anchored by an 18:31 from freshman Josh Perea, who placed 21st overall. The rest of the lineup included Matthew Newsom (19:17), Devin Henderson (19:26), Andrew Long (20:03), William Sainthill (20:20) and Steven Sanford (20:33).
Coby Voyles ran an 18:54 for 11th place Ridgeland, good enough for 29th overall. Eliot Jones (19:29), Josiah Williams (19:30), Bode Tucker (20:10), Will Voyles (20:22), Dakota Dehart (20:45) and Beau Baker (20:49) also competed for the Panthers.
In the girls’ JV race, Ringgold’s Jersey McCann finished in 25:00 even to finish second, while Gordon Lee’s Michaela Russell clocked in at 27:43. Drew Presnell ran a 29:07 for the Lady Trojans, beating her previous personal best by four minutes.
Running for the Lady Generals in the JV race was Caroline Guffey (26:48), Sydney Rogers (27:41), Hannah Colston (28:57), Kori Moore (32:23), Lauren Perry (33:26), and Maggie Grayson (33:50).
LaFayette’s JV girls’ roster included Kaci Rogers (26:25), Sierra Jackson (30:12), Rylee Stansberry (37:10), Kate Watts (43:16), Elisabeth Perkins (43:20), and Leah Phillips (44:59).
For the Gordon Lee boys in the JV race, Tanner Wilson set the pace with a 21:07, followed by Hunter Hartman (21:40), Cody McCutcheon (21:52), Michael Hubona (21:57), Jagger Martin (24:03) and Alex Stone (24:29). Hartman and Hubona both set new personal records.
Heritage’s JV contingent included Zack Locke (19:33), Jonathan Manion (20:03), Lance Marshall (21:09), Tyler Tomey (21:11), Garrett Aaron (21:27), Matthew Vowell (21:54), Tim Grayson (22:02), Christian Merrell (22:14), Tristan Rogers (22:47), Hunter McCrary (23:03), Jake Krajeskiy (23:14), Simon Rhodes (23:40), Jacob Stanley (23:57), Josh Lynch (24:08), Gabriel Leal (25:03), Antwaan Powell (25:36), Ethan Clark (25:51) and Will Kelly (26:38).
For LaFayette, R.J. Sievers crossed the line in 21:20, followed by Noah Armstrong (23:33), Sam Storey (24:36), Gunner Barenklaw (24:50), Mason King (25:23), Jarrod Sitton (25:38), Jordan Stansberry (29:06), Kris Witherow (29:56) and Dakota Mitchell (30:23).
And for Ridgeland, Gabe Ashley ran a 20:10, followed by A.J. Walker (22:09), Edward Westbrook (23:57), Angel Ojeda (24:07), David Kernea (25:00), Jacob Robinson (25:30), Kisor Logan (26:23), Evan Boeding (27:15), Jin Woo Park (27:16), Cesar Pichardo (29:28), Logan Couch (31:57) and Jayme Salisbury (35:15).
Ringgold’s boys also competed in the JV race. Dau Dau was the top finisher for the Tigers, crossing the line in 19:46. Jared Brunner ran a 20:31, followed by Cooper Shull (20:50), Joseph Santiago (21:19), Alex Bales (22:02), Skylar Lohmann (22:15), Dylan Simpson-Rister (22:16), Alex Gomez (22:43), Edward Cho (24:32), Aden Headrick (24:50), Seth Pittman (25:41), Ethan Rohrer (25:45), Mason Wiechec (26:10), Taylor Cribb (26:18) and Matthew Hodgkins (33:47).