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From Staff Reports

 

CHULA, GA – Both the Furlow Charter boys’ and girls’ cross country teams turned in another strong showing in their run up to the region and state meets. The Lady Falcons finished in fourth place as a team and the Falcons turned in a seventh place finish at the TA Panther Prowl Invitational hosted by Tiftarea Academy on Saturday, September 24.

The Lady Falcons finished in fourth place with a total of 117 points. They beat out fifth place finishers Highland Christian Academy by just two points (119) and finished 23 points behind Tiftarea Academy (94). Tift County won the girls’ team championship with just 49 points and Ware County was the meet runner-up with 66 points. In the sport of cross country, the team goal is to score the fewest points possible.

As far as individual performances were concerned, FC junior Maria Kilheffer, turned in another solid performance and very nearly had a top 10 finish. Kilheffer finished in 12^th place in a time of 24:25.17. Kilheffer’s teammate, freshman Elizabeth Arizmendi, finished in 16^th place in a time of 25:51.52. Junior Samantha Savinon Rios won the girls’ individual championship, as she was the first to cross the finish line in a time of 21:01.83.

Southland Academy freshman Brianna Brown was the next local runner to cross the finish librown came FC ne. Brown finished 20^th out of 68 competitors in a time of 26:25.90. Six spots behind Brown came FC junior Jacklyn Chen, who finished in 26^th place in a time of 27:21.46.

Two more FC runners, sophomore Addison Drinnon and junior Syrius Zhang, finished 39^th and 40^th respectively. Drinnon crossed the finish line in a time of 29:16.00 and Zhang finished right behind her in a time of 29:19.99.

Other local runners who turned in strong performances in this race are as follows:

• FC Senior Olivia Harper: 31:29.67
• FC Freshman Karen Perez-Juarez: 32:47.35

In boys’ action, the FC Falcons finished in seventh place with a total of 139 points. The were one point behind sixth place finishers Brookwood (138) and eight points out of fifth place spot that went to Grace Christian Academy (131). Tift County won the boys’ team championship with a total of 37 points and Highland Christian Academy finished as the meet runners-up with 77 points. The individual race champion was Grace Christian Academy freshman Walker Elrod, who crossed the finish line in a time of 17:33.81.

As far as local runners were concerned, FC freshman Ian Biedermann had the best overall finish. Biedermann finished in 16^th place out of 96 competitors in a time of 20:34.35. Biedermann’s teammate, senior Edwin Gonzalez, finished 30^th in a time of 21:45.71. Matteson Debaise of Southland Academy was the next local runner to cross and finished in 36^th place in a time of 22:14.26. FC freshman Ibis Gonzalez finished two spots behind Debaise in a time of 22:28.64 and his teammate, senior Juan Alejo, finished 44^th in a time of 23:02.54.

FC senior Edmund Chen was the next local runner to cross. Chen finished in 54^th place out of 96 competitors in a time of 23:56.69 and his teammate, freshman Wiley Stewart, crossed in a time of 24:29.75. Other local runners who turned in strong performances in this meet are as follows:

• FC Senior Jordan Brown: 24:49.72
• FC Junior Cole Bartholome: 25:59.78

In the Middle School races, FC Seventh Grader Neicy Perez won her first race of the season in a time of 15:21.15 and Southland Academy eighth grader Alyssa Godwin finished in third place in a time of 15:50.51. FC Sixth Grader Kynslee Collins finished the race in sixth place with a time of 16:36.47..