Fort Mill High School entered 30 runners across four races Saturday at the WNC Cross Country Carnival at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and each of the four Yellow Jacket squads finished in the top four of its division.
The boys took third in the Championship 5K with 71 points, one point behind Greer Middle College Charter and 17 behind winner Charlotte Latin. The boys Invitational team was second with 84 points behind Mauldin, which won with 44. On the girls side, Fort Mill placed fourth in the Championship race with 109 points and third in the Invitational with 109, edging Dorman on the sixth runner tiebreaker.
Both Fort Mill programs came into the fall defending state championships. The girls won a third consecutive SC High School 5A Division 2 title in November with 38 points. The boys took their second straight with 48.
Haley Leads a Tight Boys Pack
Hudson Haley was the first Yellow Jacket across the line in the Championship race, taking fourth in 16:10.10. Brooks Roslonski of T.C. Roberson won in 15:52.16.
Owen Ware followed in eighth at 16:34.46. Ian Zook took 18th in 17:08.19, Jacob Audley 23rd in 17:20.06 and Greyson Pogalz 26th in 17:23.78 to complete the scoring five, which finished within 1 minute 14 seconds of one another.
Liam Doheny and Preston Cullen came in 29th and 31st at 17:29.01 and 17:30.86, close enough to push both ahead of scoring runners from teams behind Fort Mill. Ben Madej ran 17:49.80 for 46th, Zack Larner 18:04.24 for 51st and Reeves Parker 18:30.18 for 65th.
In the Invitational race, Will Raymond was fifth in 17:35.31 and Nolan Sova ninth in 18:09.48. Quinlan O’Toole took 17th at 18:36.97, River Mullet 29th at 19:13.02 and Ryan Halligan 31st at 19:22.34. Les Gee finished 59th in 20:21.75. Silas Hardin of Pisgah won the race in 16:20.89.
Allen and Zook Go One Two for the Girls
Lauren Allen and Mia Zook finished ninth and 11th in the girls Championship race, separated by less than nine seconds at 20:09.06 and 20:17.87. Bailey Brackett of Rabun Gap won in 17:53.48.
Bailey Nolin was 25th in 21:22.88. Rachel Vinson took 36th at 21:52.79 and Leah Ackerman 39th at 22:11.23 to round out the scoring. Eve Zook and Charlotte Spatola crossed 41st and 42nd, less than nine seconds behind Ackerman, and Chloe Henson finished 57th in 23:21.96.
Fort Mill’s 109 points left the Yellow Jackets three back of West Henderson and 12 behind Greer Middle College Charter. Dorman won with 67.
Beightol Anchors the Invitational Girls
Emerson Beightol posted the best individual finish of the day for any Fort Mill runner, taking third in the girls Invitational in 21:43.47 behind winner Corinne Russell of Carolina Day School and Sophie Mason of Wade Hampton.
Kaitlin Huggins was 15th in 22:58.30, Elizabeth Watson 29th in 23:32.53, Lila Kelly 36th in 23:57.30 and Emma Doheny 40th in 24:13.87. Penelope Knight ran 25:50.36 for 72nd, and her placement decided the race. Fort Mill and Dorman both scored 109, and the tie went to Fort Mill on the strength of the sixth runner.
Familiar Company
The carnival drew teams from four states, and much of the South Carolina field is company Fort Mill will see again. Dorman, Greer Middle College Charter, Christ Church, Spring Valley, Mauldin, Wade Hampton, Chapman, Spartanburg Christian and Greenville Tech Charter all made the trip to Hendersonville.
Both Fort Mill title teams graduated their front runners last spring. The girls lost Marlee Cook, second at state in 19:07.78, and Alivia Cleveland, sixth in 19:17.10. The boys graduated Finn Leckrone, second in 15:51.34, and Connor Demmerle, fourth in 16:05.11.
Full results and team scores from all four races are posted on the MileSplit North Carolina website at nc.milesplit.com.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
