Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

From Staff Reports

 

 

ROCHELLE, GA – It was a great day for two area high school male cross country runners and one female runner on Saturday, October 16. Furlow Charter (FC) junior Edwin Gonzalez and Southland Academy (SAR) sophomore Noah Sheff both turned in top 10 performances. Gonzalez finished in eighth place with a time of 19:30.75 and Sheff finished right behind Gonzalez in ninth place with a time of 19:30.90 at the 2021 Red Flame Classic, which was held at Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, GA.

In addition to the successes of Gonzalez and Sheff, SAR girls’ senior cross country standout Jadie Burrell once again turned in a top 10 performance, as she finished the girls’ race in fourth place with a time of 22:44.93.

According to FC Head Coach Brittany Skiles, this was Gonzalez’s fourth top 10 finish this year. Three of them came at invitational meets, while one of them was at a duel meet. Gonzalez’s time in the Red Flame Classic was over a minute faster than the time of 20:53.60 that he posted at the Crisp County Invitational the week before.

As for Sheff, the SAR sophomore earned his first top 10 finish of the season at the Red Flame Classic. Sheff finished 35 seconds faster than his time of 22:05.51, which was good enough for 17^th place at the GISA Varsity Preview Meet in Macon the week before. Eyan Zupko of Worth County won the boys’ race at the Red Flame Classic and finished in a time of 16:39.15

Sheff’s teammate, freshman Matteson Debaise, was the next local runner to cross the finish line. Debaise finished the race in 20^th place with a time of 21:41.17. FC junior Apollo Huss finished right behind Debaise with a time of 21:41.72. Other local runners who turned in strong performances in the boys’ race at the Red Flame Classic are as follows:

 

• Jordan Brown   FC       22:36.45
• Matthew Peck   SAR     24:06.26
• Edmund Chen   FC       26:31.19
• Kolden Kinney SAR     29:45.44

 

As a team, the SAR boys finished in fifth place with 92 points, five points behind fourth place finishers Highland Christian Academy (87). Peach County finished in third place with 72 points, Worth County finished as the meet runners-up with 58 points and Wilcox County, the host school, won the boys’ team championship with just 40 points.

In girls’ action, SAR senior Jadie Burrell turned in her fifth top 10 finish of the year by finishing in fourth place at the Red Flame Classic with a time of 22:44.93. Burrell finished just 12 seconds behind third place finisher India Williamson of Worth County (22:32.34). Alexia Sokolowski of Worth County was the meet runner-up (21:40.29) and Clarissa Mallory of Highland Christian Academy won the girls’ race with a time of 21:01.76.

Burrell’s teammate, junior Maddie Godwin, was the next local female athlete to cross the finish line. Godwin very nearly earned herself a top 10 finish, crossing the line in 11^th place with a time of 27:26.59.

SAR junior Ella Arnold was the next local runner to cross. Arnold finished in 17^th place with a time of 27:59.33.

Both the FC girls and boys teams, as well as those from Schley County, will compete in the Region 5A-Public Meet on Tuesday, October 26, at the SCPR sports complex on US Highway 19 at 10 a.m.

As for the Raiders and Lady Raiders, they will host the GISA Region 3-AAA Championship this Saturday, October 23. The region girls’ race will start at 8:30 a.m., followed by the region boys’ race.