Eagles most competitive meet of the season yields some good results
9/24/21 – Cartersville, GA – by Andy Carr
The cross-country teams of Milton traveled to the 7th Wingfoot Cross Country Classic hosted by Atlanta Track Club and held their own against some of the strongest programs in the state and the southeast United States!
Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles (ranked 15th in Class 7A) used close first-three finishers and then a tight pack to secure a top-10 finish. Milton (7th-221 pts) to best 12 teams including Blessed Trinity (again) (16th-309 pts, ranked 6th All-Class), North Atlanta (15th-346 pts, ranked 9th All-Class), Westminster (8th-237 pts, ranked #1 in Class 3A), and Mill Creek (14th-309 pts, ranked 13th in Class 7A). The Lady Eagles also turned back out of state schools Huntsville (AL), Webb School of Knoxville (TN), and Winter Park (FL). Junior Farrah Frith (26th-19:52) led Milton with her 2nd-best performance for the distance! Sophomore Ella Grace Malcom (33rd-20:04) closely followed and then the big race from fellow sophomore Calista Cacciatore (42nd-20:23), who tied her all-time best, put the Lady Eagles in a position for a top-10 team finish after leading Milton for more than 2-miles of the race! Another breakthrough performance was turned in by senior Genevieve Trainor (61st-21:10) followed closely by sophomore Leelah Dennis (66th-21:19) and senior captain Jessica Albregts (76th-21:25). Running in the top-7 for the first time, senior Shelby Howerton (112th-22:17) just missed her all-time best and was the Lady Eagles final finisher.
JV Girls
Milton’s JV continued with more top-10 team finishes as the Lady Eagles also finished a strong 7th place. Milton (7th-240 pts) dispatched 11 schools including stout programs from Blessed Trinity, Hillgrove, and Pope. Senior Ella Katekovich (15th-22:01) moved steadily through the field and was close to a top-10 finish. Fellow senior Ellie Dickenson (40th-22:34) fronted a group that included senior captain Sydnie Behrmann (58th-23:06), juniors Gabby Beckman (70th-23:15) and Emmaline Kelley (80th-23:31) and senior Ella Rindt (84th-23:36) who moved up close to 60 spots during the race!
Freshman Girls
Milton’s best team result of the meet came from its youngest team members. Milton (3rd-75 pts) bested 7 schools including top-programs Westminster (4th-138 pts) and Pope (5th-143 pts).
Ivy Rindt (12th-22:36) was battling most of the race for a top-10 finish and was followed by a string of Lady Eagles: Macy Schadt (22nd-23:26), Rowan Katekovich (23rd-23:29), and Gabby Koagel (24th-23:36). Milton’s final scorer was Ashley Murray (34th-24:10).
Varsity Boys
With many top teams in Georgia and surrounding states, Milton (15th-373 pts) beat back only 4 schools but held its own and showed it deserved to be in the championship race. Leading for the Eagles again was junior Cory Chambers (50th-17:06) and was followed by an impressive effort from sophomore Zach Patell (75th-17:26) which is close to a 90-second course best performance. Junior Oliver Stone (87th-17:38) in a 20-second personal best performance was with Patell most of the race! Senior Dylan Bowden (96th-17:48) followed along with senior captain Charlie Reynolds (104th-17:55). Juniors Jack Rae (117th-18:16) and Pearson Gillam (118th-18:17) concluded Milton’s runners.
JV Boys
Milton (12th-361 pts) beat back 5 schools in a very deep and competitive race. The Eagles were led by junior Keller Wilson (47th-18:43), sophomores Joseph Petkash (95th-19:26) and Daniel Murray (96th-19:26) who moved up 32 spots during the race. Senior captain Jorge Fabregas (107th-19:31) and Junior Benji Watry (128th-19:55) concluded Milton’s scorers in a race that had 325 finishers.
Freshman Boys
The Eagles individual highlight came from this race. Milton (9th-197 pts) bested only 3 schools and missed 8th place by losing on a 6th-man tiebreaker with Marist (8th-197 pts) by just 2 spots (66-68).
Finishing in the top-10, Justin Sevel (9th-18:42) won the only award for the Eagles and turned in a 43-second personal best performance to lead all Milton runners in the freshman race.
The Eagle Cross Country teams are next in action on Saturday, October 2nd in Charlotte, NC for the 46th Annual Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Park.
