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Cross country teams tune up for county championships

Fayette County senior John DeCotis lead his team to victory in the varsity race of the Spaulding Invitational. DeCotis finished fourth overall in 17:38. Teammates Ryan Kennedy (5th place,17:42) and David Zitelli (6th place, 17:43) were right with him throughout the race. Senior Michael Blankenbecker (11th place, 18:03) had pulled the FCHS team around the course for most of the race looking strong before sliding back near the end. Mark Torre (20th place, 18.25) sealed the win for the Tigers.

The Sandy Creek boys team finished fifth overall. Seniors Andrew Henry (12th place, 18:04) and Jason Veclotch (18th place, 18:16) both earned medals for their strong performances.

Whitewater’s boys team finished in seventh place. Freshman Josiah Myerscough (23rd place, 18:45) was a medal winner and top WHS finisher.

In the girls varsity race, Fayette county high school teams proved unbeatable. Whitewater finished in first, Fayette County in second and Sandy Creek in third.

Freshman Kasie Knapper from Whitewater won the girls race in 20:40. Teammates Ashten Vogelsberg (7th place, 22:34), Claire Huff (8th place, 22:37), Brianna Londrillo (9th place, 22:40) and Melinda Thayer (24th place, 23:59) all earned medals and assisted in winning the team trophy.

Fayette County was led by seniors Claire Bergstrom (3rd place, 21:07) and Caitline Alverson (5th place, 22:02) with Lilianna Urrego (14th place, 23:36), Katerina Skourtis (16th place, 23:41) and Rebecca Kollmeyer (18th place, 23:42) all bringing home medals.

In an exciting finish, senior Christine Dunphy from Sandy Creek led her team with a second place time of 21:06. Teammates Mia Jones (13th place, 23:32), Angela Holcomb (17th place, 23:40), Rachel Fagedes (25th place, 24:05) and Mary Spencer (31st place, 24:56) rounded out the top five finishers.

Austin Enriquez from Starr’s Mill continued his strong build up as he finished in 16:06 for fourth overall in the championship 5K race at the Asics Invitational. Enriquez’s effort propelled him into the top ten rankings for school boys in Georgia. Teammates Ryan Darr (17:52), Michael Kadow (18:20), Clayton Epling (18:23), and Kento Masuyama (18:48) rounded out the team’s 13th place finish in 1:29:31.

McIntosh’s boys team, led by Michael Mateos (20th place, 16:59), continued to show improvement. Teammates Brenden Leonard (18:20), Cormac Carolan-Tolbert (18:44), Brian Huefner (19:16) and Alex Larson (19:19) combined to earn a 20th place with time of 1:32:40.

As impressive as the boys ran it was the second place team finish by the McIntosh girls and fourth place finish by cross county rival Starr’s Mill girls that stands out.

Emily Borsare, McIntosh’s National Elite ranked runner, continues to shine, even at night, as she sped around the 5K course in 18:01 earning a second place overall finish and maintaining her number two ranking for girls in Georgia. Her teammates turned in strong performances too. Erica Hughey (20:19), Rebecca Stokes (20:42), Kaia Hampton 20:59 and Kaelyn Horton (21:02) combined to finish 1:41:05.

Besides McIntosh only two schools were able to get in before the fast closing Starr’s Mill girls finished in 1:44:26 with 15 schools trailing them across the finish line. Ginny Balkom led her teammates by finishing 10th overall in a strong field with a time of 20:02. Rounding out the top five were Mary Kate Hyer (20:41), Stephani Adams (20:44), Kristin Horton (21:18) and Aya Ishizu (21:18).

Landmark Christian School’s girls placed sixth. Kaity Bulger (20:08) led the team and was followed by Elizabeth Gresham (20:44), Caroline Jones (21:08), Jessie Thames (21:21) and Christian McGuire (21:43).

The boys placed 11th. They were led by Chad Thames (17:00), who was followed by Mehamed Gomez (17:36), Bradley Eisenberg (18:07), Zack Speir (18:19) and Alek Pike( (18:26).

Our Lady of Mercy traveled to the Spartan Invitational in Athens and came home with a third place finish for the boys team in 1:30:15 and ninth place finish for the girls team in 1:54:54.

Freshman standout Jake Lethbridge circled the course in 17:04 to finish in second place. Brother Matt was close behind in 17:26 good for seventh place. Thomas Raville (18:19), Tim Kennedy (18:43), and Daniel Low (18:43) rounded out the team.

OLM’s girls were lead by Sarah Hoheenberger who finished eighth in 21:04. Samantha Jumper (21:57), Savin Santha (22:43), Lauren Hohenberger (23:56) and Elizabeth Gagliano (25:14) completed the team.

The Fayette County Championships will be held next Tuesday, October 11, at Sandy Creek High School at 5 p.m. It should be one of the most competitive races in years.