Friday, October 27, 2000
Friday, October 27, 2000 |
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Lady Chiefs continue to dominate the region By
MICHAEL BOYLAN They did it again. The McIntosh Lady Chiefs cross-country team won the region championship for the ninth straight year and this year it was no easy feat. McIntosh is part of the largest region in the state, 4-AAAAA, and battled 13 other teams for region supremacy. McIntosh finished with 31 overall points, while Lovejoy placed second with 87 points and Starr's Mill finished third with 104 points. Dana Van Winkle was the overall winner of the girls race, finishing with a time of 19:54, while Elizabeth Gardner finished second at 19:56. Morgan Cunningham finished eighth overall with a time of 20:41, while Tina Paone placed ninth (20:48). Keri Pendergrass, Mary Katherine Crofton and Judy Thomasson rounded out the top seven runners for the Lady Chiefs, placing 14th, 15th and 17th respectively with times of 21:12, 21:16 and 21:24. The Lady Chiefs are still ranked third in the state. They must find a way to break up the Brookwood pack if they are to find a way to claim the state championship. They also must stay healthy. Several of the girls play soccer year-round and have had injuries occur on the soccer field. The McIntosh boys ran a fine race at the region meet but finished in fourth place. The Fayette County Tigers, the region champs, lost to the Chiefs on the same course the week before at the county championship. They came fired up and won with their senior-laden squad. Shaun Emery finished in 12th place with a time of 17:19, followed by Randy Hutchinson in 13th place at 17:23. Ben Brantley finished in 20th place (17:42), while Ian Hardy placed 22nd overall (17:45) and Tony Luciano placed 24th (17:46). Rounding out the top seven runners for the Chiefs were Clint Adams in 34th place (18:29) and Charlie Gonzalez in 36th place (18:40). This is where the season ends for the McIntosh boys team. The entire squad returns next year with the exception of Tony Luciano, and McIntosh will be one of the top programs in the region again. Starr's Mill's boys finished in fifth place overall at the region meet. Les Page finished in 17th place with a time of 17:31, while Jason Buttram placed 27th at 18:03. Jason Fitzgerald finished 33rd (18:26), followed by Patrick O'Donnell in 37th (18:42) and Ricardo Ramos in 39th (18:46). Jay Touchstone finished in 42nd place with a time of 18:49. The Starr's Mill girls team placed third overall in the region meet. The Lady Panthers were led by Ashley Meredith, who finished in third place with a time of 20:03. Katie Hughes finished 18th at 21:24, while Heather Krehbiel finished 22nd (21:36). Finsihing 32nd and 33rd were Jessie Klos (23:01) and Jennifer Kroupa-Alt (23:10). Katy Underwood placed 43rd with a time of 23:42 and Jeannine Guertin finished in 45th place at 23:47. The Fayette County boys and the McIntosh girls are the only two county teams to head to the state meet next Saturday at Carrollton High School. |
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