The Lady Eagles win two team races on the day to lead the Milton Cross Country teams
10/17/20 – Whitesburg, GA – By Coach Andy Carr
The cross country teams at Milton traveled to the 18th edition of the Coach Wood Invitational, one of the most competitive meets of the season, and came away with two race wins, two individual wins, and a slew of personal bests in the last meet before the region championships.
Varsity Boys
The Eagles were once again facing some of the best teams in Georgia and Alabama and were able to beat back 4 schools in the Championship race. Milton (12th-258 pts) bested All-Class #1 Pace Academy along with #1 ranked 4-A Marist in running their fastest team average time (16:21) of the season. The Eagles were again led by the senior duo of Jack Petkash (23rd-15:43) and Hayden Marshall (25th-15:45) both tying their personal bests. The race of the day on the boy’s side came from senior Connor Brunson (41st-15:58) who’s performance made him the 11th best performer in school history! Junior Dylan Bowden (118th-17:05) and sophomore Cory Chambers (125th-17:14) concluded Milton’s scoring athletes. Senior co-captain Lorin Tady (127th-17:17) and freshman Hixon Rumph (139th-17:35) also figured in the Eagles’ score.
JV Boys
Milton (10th-262 pts) defeated 5 schools in an incredibly competitive field. Freshman Zach Patell (10th-17:20) led the Eagles in only his second race in a Milton uniform racing to a 94-second personal best. Juniors Davis Hobbs (60th-18:11) and Jake Youngblood (63rd-18:16) rounded out the Eagles top-3 with Youngblood’s performance a personal best.
Open Boys
The Eagles defeated three schools as Milton (6th-126 pts) had their best team finish of the day for the boys. Senior Sean Runner (6th-18:38) led the Eagles in a big personal best with fellow senior Brendan Trainor (28th-19:15) and freshman Luke Erbey (29th-19:16) rounding out Milton’s top-3 finishers.
Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles fell short of a team trophy while beating 10 schools including region foes Roswell and Cherokee who they will race next weekend. Milton (3rd-116 pts) was in the team battle most of the race as Allatoona (1st-85 pts) and Brookwood (2nd-110 pts) finished just ahead of the Lady Eagles. Senior co-captain Audrey Nichols (16th-20:14) and freshman Ella Grace Malcom (18th-20:19) once again were Milton’s top-finishers. Incredibly consistent races came from sophomore Farrah Frith (22nd-20:37) and freshman Calista Cacciatore (24th-20:43) kept the Lady Eagles in the hunt for a trophy as junior Ellie Dickenson (36th-21:11) was the final scorer. An all-time personal best from sophomore Gabby Beckman (42nd-21:24) and a tough race effort by junior Jessica Albregts (43rd-21:24) helped Milton to its 3rd place finish.
JV Girls
Milton (1st-40 pts) eked out a 3-point win over 7A rival Brookwood (2nd-43 pts) with some late-race passes to bring home the winning trophy! Starr’s Mill (4th-103 pts) and rival Roswell (4th-105 pts) trailed as well as 6 other scoring teams. Sophomore Annalise Crow (1st-21:12) went straight to the front and was never threatened on her way to her 2nd race win of the season! A big personal best by junior Sydnie Behrmann (4th-21:48) put the Lady Eagles in a commanding position. Milton then put 5-finishers from 10th to 16th places to seal the victory over the Broncos. Senior Samantha Ventura (10th-22:24) was followed by a big personal best by sophomore Ella Butler (12th-22:25) and along with seniors Natalie Ventura (13th-22:25), Maddie Robertson (15th- 22:27) and co-captain Anne Marie Lessig (16th-22:29) beat back Brookwood to garner the win!
Open Girls
Another individual win led the Lady Eagles to an almost perfect score performance as Milton (1st 16 pts) bested 4 schools handily. Region foe Roswell (2nd-74 pts) was a distant second. Senior Kaitlyn Bowden (1st-23:22) took control of the race just past the mile-mark and went on to a 14-second victory! Hard-charging junior Ella Rindt (2nd-23:36) and senior Kate Keneck (3rd-23:38) caught and passed fellow senior Audrey Minton (4th-23:45) as surprising freshman Aubrie Cranford (6th-23:59) ran close to a 2-minute personal best to help lead the Lady Eagle contingent.
