The Eagles traveled to Apalachee HS for their first large meet of the season
September 19, 2020 – Apalachee HS, Winder, GA – By Coach Andy Carr
The Eagle Cross Country teams raced in their first big meet of the season and came away with many top-finishes and individual race winners.
Varsity Boys
Senior Hayden Marshall (1st-16:09) has not lost a race all season and continued his successful senior campaign by going straight to the front to try and set the course record. Marshall fell just 5-seconds short but led wire-to-wire for the overall race victory and thus making him a serious contender for a podium finish at the state meet in November in Carrollton. Milton (1st-33 pts) was the run-away team winner besting 15 schools including 7th-ranked Archer (3rd-103 pts) and North Gwinnett (2nd-81 pts). The Eagles were able to put all 5 of their scorers in the top-11 to dominate the field. Senior Jack Petkash (3rd-16:34) had a furious fast finish followed by fellow senior Connor Brunson (8th-17:10), junior Dylan Bowden (10th-17:24) and sophomore Cory Chambers (11th-17:26). Senior co-captain Lorin Tady (18th-17:56) and freshman Hixon Rumph (40th-18:31) rounded out the Eagles squad. Petkash, Brunson, Chambers and Rumph all ran lifetime bests.
Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles fought hard but fell just short to finish as runners-up while besting 12 schools. Milton (2nd-65 pts) was out paced early-on by 9th ranked North Gwinnett (1st-41 pts) but easily turned back Johns Creek (3rd-87 pts) and Archer (4th-105 pts). Freshman Ella Grace Malcom (7th-20:45) ran a personal best time to lead the Lady Eagles. Senior co-captain Audrey Nichols (8th-20:48) came from almost 15 places back to record a top-10 finish. Junior Jessica Albregts (13th-21:27) also moved through the field the entire race as sophomore Farrah Frith (19th-21:37) kept Milton in the hunt for a trophy. The solid team running of juniors Ellie Dickenson (23rd-21:48) and Megan Stechschulte (24th-21:48) help easily push back Johns Creek who the Lady Eagles only beat by a single point a week ago. After a rough fall near the 3-mile mark, junior Ella Katekovich (35th-22:41) concluded the Milton runners in the race. Malcom, Frith and Stechschulte all ran personal best performances.
JV Boys
Following last weekend’s big team race win, Milton (1st-39 pts) followed suit and absolutely dominated the race field for their second team win of the season! Archer (2nd-71 pts) and North Gwinnett (3rd-72 pts) trailed. The Eagles bested 10 scoring programs. A strong late-race surge by junior Charlie Reynolds (1st-18:42) brought him to the overall race win. Even though Milton lost two of their top-runners during the race, the young team rallied and with the strong running of sophomores Pearson Gillam (5th-18:50), Oliver Stone (9th-19:02), senior co-captain Payton Massey (11th-19:06) and the hard closing by junior Jake Youngblood (13th-19:19) closed out the team victory! All-time best personal performances were turned in by Gillam, Stone and Youngblood in leading the Eagles to the team victory.
JV Girls
In a hard-fought battle with 7A foe North Gwinnett (1st-27 pts) once the JV girls race results were merged, Milton (2nd-29 pts) settled again for runner-up honors on the girl’s side. Due to race size restrictions, the JV girls’ races were split up, so the Lady Eagles did not know their final team/individual positions until after the 2nd girl’s JV race. Milton did outdistance 8 scoring schools while finishing second. Johns Creek (3rd-107 pts) was a distant 3rd place. Freshman Calista Caccitore (1st-21:46) moved to the lead just before half-way and never looked back, taking the overall race win. It was Cacciatore’s second consecutive race win in as many weeks and an all-time personal best. Senior Clare Petkash (5th-22:13) fought hard all the way to the end and was followed by sophomore Gabby Beckman (6th-22:20) and senior twins Natalie (9th-22:54) and Samantha Ventura (12th-23:07) to close out the Lady Eagle scoring.
