Fort Mill Girls Win Warrior Invitational, Boys Place Second

York County runners turned in strong performances at the Warrior Invitational cross country meet on Saturday, Sept. 13, with Fort Mill capturing the girls’ team title and finishing second in the boys’ race. Nation Ford also had a strong showing, placing fourth in both team competitions.

Fort Mill’s girls were led by a dominant performance from senior Kaylee Rovenstine, who won the overall race with a time of 18:16. Teammate Alivia Cleveland followed close behind, taking second in 18:35. The Jackets also placed two more runners in the top 15, with Marlee Cook finishing seventh (19:06) and Mia Zook 13th (19:35). Lauren Allen rounded out the team’s scoring with a 14th-place finish at 19:37, securing the overall team championship.

Nation Ford’s girls placed two runners in the top 15 as well. Addison Eastley finished 10th at 19:24, followed by Haley Garcia in 11th at 19:28. The Falcons placed fourth as a team, led by consistent efforts from Elise Posko (22nd, 20:39) and Karson Woodring (31st, 21:04).

On the boys’ side, Fort Mill put together a strong pack effort to take second place overall. Finn Leckrone led the Jackets with a fifth-place finish at 16:14, while Owen Ware finished seventh at 16:26. They were backed by top-20 efforts from Connor Demmerle (13th, 16:49) and Ben Madej (17th, 16:57).

Nation Ford’s boys were paced by Robert Saddler, who ran 16:49 to place 12th overall. Teammates Alex Royall (20th, 17:13) and Nick LaSala (22nd, 17:15) added top-25 finishes, helping the Falcons to a fourth-place team finish.

The meet brought together dozens of teams from across the Carolinas and gave local runners an early-season test ahead of region competition later this fall. Fort Mill and Nation Ford are scheduled to return to action at upcoming invitational meets before region championships in October.

Local Top-30 Finishers

Fort Mill Girls