Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 |
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Tigers and Chiefs run neck-and-neck as season wears on By MICHAEL BOYLAN Saturday saw the local cross-country teams participating at meets all over the state. Fayette County ran in the Westover Invitational in Albany, while McIntosh ran at the Alexander Invitational. Fayette County ran with 74 other teams in the 19th annual race. The boys placed sixth overall and qualified for the state cross-country championship. Trey Alverson, currently ranked fifth in all classifications and fourth in AAAAA, set a new FCHS record with a time of 15:42. Blake Riley, Jon Riley, Adam Pekarske and John Miklas rounded out the top five. The boys are currently ranked eighth in AAAAA. The girls team also ran well, running without their top runner, Jessica Tyre. Amy Eller finished first for the Lady Tigers, followed by Rachel Swafford, Margaret Sams, Taryn Kendall and Kim Eddy. Fayette County wanted to run well Saturday to prepare for the County Championship race, which was held last night. The boys were the favorite going in, but McIntosh's boys have been coming on strong of late. McIntosh is currently ranked ninth in AAAAA. The Fayette County girls had their work cut out for them facing McIntosh's girls, who are currently ranked fourth of all classifications and third in AAAAA. McIntosh ran in the Alexander-McIntosh Trail Run Invitational this weekend but did not perform that well. Several of the top runners from the girls squad were playing in a national soccer tournament last weekend. The girls that did run did so in a good pack, but couldn't compete with some of the stronger programs in the state. Tina Paone ran a 19:30, while Morgan Cunningham ran a 19:36. Nikki Spencer ran a 19:58, Megan Spencer ran a 19:59 and Sheena Sood ran a 20:44. The boys were led by Ben Brantley, who ran a 16:20. Randy Hutchinson followed Brantley with a time of 16:21. Rounding out the top five for the boys were Shaun Emery (16:37), Tony Luciano (16:50) and Brian Childs (17:02). The times were very fast for both the boys and girls because the course is very flat and ultimately short. The course is not a state meet qualifier, making the next several races for the boys very important. The previous week's race at LaGrange saw McIntosh's girls finish first, while the boys placed third. Hutchinson, Emery and Brantley finished 12th, 13th and 18th with times of 17:21, 17:25 and 17:41 respectively. Ian Hardy finished 19th in a time of 17:42, while Tony Luciano finished 23rd with a time of 17:51. For the girls, Elizabeth Gardner finished second with a time of 19:47 and Judy Thomasson finished fifth with a time of 20:22. Mary Katherine Crofton finished 10 with a time of 20:43. She was followed by Paone and Cunningham in 11th and 12th place. They finished with times of 20:45 and 20:47. Coach Charles Buckle is encouraged by both of his team's progress thus far this season and yesterday's race should serve as a good indicator for upcoming races, including the region championship on Saturday, Oct. 21. The Landmark Christian School Cross Country teams lined up to run in the highly competitive Alexander-McIntosh Trail Run Invitational as well. LCS was the ONLY Class "A" school in the meet. It turned out to be only a three-mile course, due to a flooded area, caused by heavy rains on Friday. As the times indicate, this was a flat and very fast course. The boys came in fifth overall against such teams as Alexander, fourth, Collins Hill, third, Lakeside, second, and North Mecklenburg, NC, first. North Mecklenburg is the number three team in the nation. Blake Fertitta and Clark Rivers blistered the course in 15:10 and 15:21 to finish 6th and 11th overall. Eric Sumner was third for LCS with a time of 16:04, Joseph Register finished next in 16:43, with Johnathan Best running a 17:08, Scott Emery was in with a 17:14, Dustin McDonald ran 17:27 and Jeff Noble came in at 17:30. This was a great effort by these fine competitors. In the Open Division, Tim Fritz ran 18:18, Matt Coffey ran 19:33, and Alan Gay came in at 20:35. Receiving medals were Blake Fertitta sixth, Clark Rivers, 11th, and Eric Sumner 23rd. The LCS Lady Harriers finished strong, coming in 13th overall in a field of highly touted teams. The girls also, were the only Class "A" school in the meet. Each LCS runner ran a personal best, contributing to the best team time ever. Mellissa Register finished 1st for LCS in 21:02, Courtney Piribek ran 22:03, Mary Michael Joiner came in at 22:04, Kate Bailey was 4th for LCS at 23:47, Sarah King ran 23:49, Layla Constable ran 24:15, followed by Jenny Cone in 24:17, Danielle Taussig at 25:47 and Meredith Gable in 26:57. What a great job by such an inexperienced group. Andrea Wooding ran in the Open Division in a time of 29:38. Next Saturday the teams will run in the Furman Invitational at Furman University in Greenville, SC. |
