On an almost picturesque morning, the Winder-Barrow High School cross country teams hosted their own invitational Saturday. With several quality programs competing on the course at Bramlett Elementary School, the WBHS teams held their own and turned in more solid performances as the upcoming Region 8-AAAA meet draws into view.
“I was pleased with the whole day,” said WBHS boys coach Michael Lofton. “The meet went well. We were on schedule the whole time. I was pleased with the number of teams we had and by the level of the runners. I was also happy with our performances. Those who ran, ran very well.”
The WBHS Lady Bulldoggs were second behind Landmark Christian. The two schools ran away from the field as Landmark had 38 points followed by the Lady Bulldoggs with 40. Druid Hills was a distant third with 94.
The WBHS boys were also second behind The Galloway School. Druid Hills also took third in the boys competition.
“Our previous race was on a flat, fast course,” Lofton said. “The times weren’t the same on our course but we compared our times to our meet last year and we saw some marked improvement.”
Some familiar names had standout races for WBHS Saturday morning.
Amanda Cope was second overall for the Lady Bulldoggs in 19:41. Teammate Caitlin Connell was third overall in 20:27. Anna Dean, Whitley Kennedy and Amber Duffey rounded out the top five. Darcy Potts was out with an injury and Isabel Martin stepped up for the WBHS girls.
Josiah Bennett paced the WBHS boys in 17:04 and was third overall. Skyler Lowe was ninth overall and the second Bulldogg to finish the race followed by Chris Cope, William Wright and Timmy Villameter.
The WBHS junior varsity boys also had a strong showing placing first overall. Nelson Lofton paced the team with a third place individual finish followed by DJ Smith, Tony Rowden, Bryan Fox and Mathew Fox. Teamwise, Duluth was second followed by The Galloway School.
Several local middle school runners also had strong races Saturday. Will Purcell of Winder-Barrow Middle School was eighth overall in the boys event. Top local finishers in the girls middle school race included Micah Weathers, Winder-Barrow Middle School; Casey Todd, Westside Middle School; Cathleen Nugue, Russell Middle School and Tanner Kate Sauls, Winder-Barrow Middle School.
