Heritage, LaFayette runners battle deep XC fields
The Heritage Lady Generals placed ninth overall at the Sharptop Invitational 5K event, held Saturday at Roper Park in Jasper.
Three Heritage runners recorded top 50 finishes in the deep field. Alex Gass ran a 21:50 to place 34th, followed by Caylee Carpenter (22:08) in 41st and Allison Craft (22:36) in 48th.
Lucy Hicks (23:11), Lilly Black (24:06), Finley Brisendine (24:09), Skye Remko (24:39), Caroline Coffey (26:29), Sydney Rogers (27:54) and Hannah Colston (29:00) rounded out the Heritage varsity roster, while Maggie Grayson (31:01) and Kori Moore (32:52) competed in the JV event.
Johns Creek won the meet with 52 points, followed in the top three by North Gwinnett (69) and Grady (121). Reagan Mahoney of Atlanta International School won the individual title with a time of 19:22.
In the boys’ varsity race, Heritage placed 15th overall as Caleb Boyd clocked the fastest time for the Generals with an 18:04, good enough to slip into the top 50 in 45th place.
Also competing in the varsity race for the Navy-and-Red was Ryan Craft (18:43), Joel Lewis (19:01), Dakota Carter (19:47), Luke Shackelford (20:12), Nhan Le (20:13), Jonathan Manion (20:19), Zack Locke (20:53) and Garrett Aaron (22:00).
JV runners included Tim Grayson (21:30), Matthew Vowell (21:48), Christian Merrell (21:52), Simon Rhodes (21:57), Tristan Rogers (22:23), Hunter McCrary (22:46), Gabriel Leal (23:53), Jake Krajeskiy (23:55), Will Kelly (24:35), Ethan Clark (26:04).
The boys’ individual winner was Shane Shelafoe of East Jackson with a 16:09. Pope cruised to the team title with 34 points, followed by Dacula (84) and North Gwinnett (121).
Some 45 miles away in Gainesville, LaFayette tested itself against an impressive field at the Nike/ Fleet Feet Coach Wood Invitational at Gainesville College.
Hannah Dearing finished in the top 50 of the girls’ Cardinal 5K race, clocking in at 25:12.
The rest of the Lady Ramblers’ varsity lineup included Hope McClure (30:44), Brianna Minor (32:34), Sarai Parauhatsanon (33:33) and Lauren Pike (35:17). JV runners included Kate Watts (37:21), Bianca Rogers (37:52), Elisabeth Perkins (41:23), Leah Phillips (41:36) and Rylee Henderson (41:47).
Abby Jeske of North Cobb won the individual title with a time of 20:58. Banks County (61 points) edged out North Hall (62) for the team title, while JohnsonGainesville (82) was a close third. LaFayette placed 10th.
Matthew Newsom paced the LaFayette varsity boys with a 19:34, good enough for a top 50 showing in the Cardinal 5K.
An abbreviated lineup was rounded out by Andrew Long (20:21), Steven Sanford (21:56) and R.J. Sievers (23:14). LaFayette did not have runners to qualify for the team title.
JV runners for the Ramblers on Saturday were Sam Storey (29:17) and Kris Witherow (29:53).
Henry Plowden of Westover won the individual title with a time of 17:23. North Cobb (103), Mountain View (106) and JohnsonGainesville (107) finished 1-2-3 in a very tight team race.