Local XC runners battle with heat, humidity in Dalton
Dade County High School freshman Anna Ballard ran a 22:03 and crossed the line in first place in the second North Georgia Cross Country League girls’ meet of the season, which was run on a very hot and muggy early Thursday evening at Edwards Park in Dalton.
Dalton was the team winner with 26 points. Giselle Dominguez (22:09) was second individually and all seven Lady Catamount runners placed in the top 25, including their five scoring runners in the top 10. Boyd-Buchanan (77 points) placed second in the team standings, followed by McMinn County (83).
Heritage (87) was one spot behind in fourth. Senior Allison Craft (23:00) took third individually for the Lady Generals on the tough, 3.2-mile course in Whitfield County. Mia Callahan (24:29) placed eighth, while the rest of the Heritage lineup included Alexis Faul (25:23), Mady Terry (27:13), Lila Langston (27:23), Allie Mifflin (28:42) and Lily Langston (30:19).
LaFayette finished sixth in the team standings as they were paced by Madison Todd (26:00). Dakota Tabor (27:19), Brittany Aguero (27:20), Bianca Rogers (34:07) and Alethea Hendrix (34:08) also ran for the
Lady Ramblers.
Ringgold took seventh overall behind a 27:42 from Elli Grace Roy. Riley Poe (28:00) and Reagan Pitts (28:01) were next for the Lady Tigers, followed by Ava Keener (29:26), Anna Roy (30:39) and Baylee Robenolt (36:08).
Ridgeland finished in 10th place overall as Moriah Dawson clocked in at 28:51. Also running for the Lady Panthers were Mary Scott (29:49), Paige Blanchard (29:55), Cate Voyles (30:16), Sydney Finch (32:01) and Aubree Bagwell (32:09).
Gordon Lee had three runners compete and did not have enough participants to qualify for the team awards. Haley Hartman led the Lady Trojans with a 26:01, followed by Cora Fehr (27:01) and Olivia Rodgers (32:12).
On the boys’ side, Dalton finished with 78 points to take the team victory. Walker Valley (100) was second and Notre Dame (135) placed third. The Irish had the individual winner in Colton Sanborn (17:59). Ooltewah’s Isaiah Weaver (18:27) placed second and Walker Valley’s Chase Carroll (18:30) was third.
Gavin Chandler placed 15th overall for sixth-place Heritage as he timed out at 19:24. Also running for the Generals was Davis Justice (20:24), Steven Burchard (20:44), Cecil Bussey (21:01),
Jake Krajeskiy (21:23), Collin Black (21:42) and Ryan Walker (21:52).
Ringgold was 13th overall in the team standings as Kale Davis set the Tigers’ pace with a 20:13. He was followed by Ty Williams (21:11), Ayden Rowland (22:29), Chandler Ridings (22:44), Hason Velic (23:13), Jackson Brownfield (24:30) and Gavin SimpsonRister (24:40).
Jake Lee led 15th-place Gordon Lee with a 20:23. Carter Pullen (21:37), Cody McCutcheon (22:27), Carson Carpenter (23:21) and Luke Taylor (23:52) also competed for the Trojans.
LaFayette was 16th as Tucker Henderson once again led the Ramblers with a 19:49. Josh Perea (21:21), Jacob Hamilton (22:25), Steven Sanford (24:41), Alex Hollaway (26:12) and Nathan Ball (26:14) rounded out the lineup for the Orange-and-Black.
And Ridgeland wound up in the 17th spot as A.J. Walker crossed the line in 21:16 to lead the way for the Panthers. Beau Baker (21:36) was next, followed by Sam Dickson (22:54), Kevin Schmelzer (22:57), Joash Williams (24:08), Matthew Cole (24:17) and Luke Wilhelm (24:35).
In the boys’ JV race, the Heritage Generals got a seventh-place finish from Gauge Sartin as he clocked in at 21:52. The rest of the Heritage lineup included Landon Albright (23:49), Juan Martinez (24:05), Grayson Stallings (25:01), Gabriel Leal (25:19), Brayden Krajesky (27:05) and Will Kelley (29:11). Heritage placed third as a team.
LaFayette had four runners in the boys’ JV race, led by Caden Hinton’s 25:23. Scott Sanford (26:49), Jacob Gilbreath (33:40) and Eli Prince (40:03) also ran for the Ramblers.
Ridgeland got a 23:41 from Josh Wingard, a 26:47 from Jayden Curtis and a 27:35 from Destin Hoover.
Andy Lay paced Ringgold with a 29:36, followed by Wilson Winget (33:24) and Blake Davidson (33:53).
Gordon Lee High School was represented in the boys’ JV race by a pair of eighth graders in Carter Ball (28:09) and Aiden Goodwin (29:49).
In the girls’ JV race, Addison Hurst ran a 36:17 for LaFayette, while Olivia Cornejo came in with a time of 40:14. Meanwhile, Gordon Lee eighth grader Isabella Rodgers finished the course in 34:05.
The next NGXCL meet will be this Thursday, Sept. 17 at Grove Level Park back in Dalton.