JV teams lead the way as Eagle runners race the best in the state
The Eagle Cross Country teams traveled to Gainesville College to compete in the 13th Coach Wood Invitational and came away with a team win, 3 runner-ups, and a 4th & 5th place team finishes out of the 6 races Milton was a part of.
Varsity Girls
Racing most of the top-ranked teams in the state, the Lady Eagles (5th-151 pts) performed well in the Championship division race to best 14 schools. Fulton County champions Northview (1st-86 pts) held-off region foe South Forsyth (2nd-95 pts) along with host-Mill Creek (3rd-113 pts) and 4A power Marist (5th-147 pts). Senior captain Riley Burr (6th-18:42) matched her lifetime best and was a factor in the top-10 the entire race. Freshman Taylor Cushman (20th-19:24) improved on her personal best and becomes the 9th-fastest in school history. A fast-closing Marie Repasy (23rd-19:35) rounded out the medal winners for Milton. Senior captain Victoria Wagner (53rd-20:29) notched a season’s best with fellow senior Charlotte Matt (61st-20:42) concluding the scoring for the Lady Eagles. There were 179 finishers.
Varsity Boys
Milton (4th-155 pts) faced its toughest field to date and missed a team trophy by 5-points. The top-ranked Marietta (1st-47 pts) Blue Devils easily handled the field of 20 schools but after that it was close with both Mill Creek (2nd-144 pts) & Marist (3rd-150 pts) just ahead of the Eagles. Senior Jack Bluth (9th-16:08) again led Milton and was in contention for the first 2-miles for the overall race win. 183 runners comprised the championship boys race and sophomore Sam Bowers (17th-16:31) & senior captain Matt McGorrey (32nd-16:46) followed Bluth for the Eagles. Sophomore Michael Malkowski (43rd-17-flat) and junior Michael McCarthy (63rd-17:12) were the final scorers for the Milton effort.
JV Girls
The freshman led Lady Eagles (2nd-55 pts) gave the Lady Hoyas of Harrison (1st-34 pts) who ran a few varsity runners on their team, a tough challenge in defeating 14 schools. Faith Wagner (5th-21:03) again led the Milton effort with a big personal best. Right with Wagner, Claire Buchanan (7th-21:08) gave the Lady Eagles a strong presence near the front and challenged Harrison for the team win. Samantha Lenox (12th-21:21) led early to set the tone and sophomore Jessie Barnes (14th-21:27) followed suit. Finally Maddie Erby (17th-21:32), the Lady Eagles final scorer, gave Milton the runner-up spot and gave each of them a medal-winning performance along with all-time personal best times. Brookwood (3rd-68 pts) & Marist (4th-91 pts) followed.
JV Boys
With the lone team victory of the day, Milton (1st-73 pts), dispatched 17 schools with Mill Creek (2nd-92 pts) & Lambert (94 pts) closest. Running in the lead group the entire race, sophomore Cam Harman (6th-17:56) led the Eagle effort! Junior Joey Brovont (8th-17:56) closed well to just catch Harman at the line where there were 3 finishers recored during the same second! 158 finishers were recorded as Milton put their 5 scorers in the top-25 which included sophomore Jack Rush (15th-18:07) and fellow juniors Andy Butzow (19th-18:11) & Nick Hopcroft (25th-18:18). With only a 36-second spread among its 10 runners in the race, the Eagles were clearly the top-team in the field.
Open Girls
The Lady Eagles (2nd-75 pts) placed 5 finishers in the top-21 to beat out 25 schools! Leading the way was freshman Ally Kittler (9th-23:07) with junior Capri Ligon (10th-23:08) right behind her. Medal-winning performances also came from sophomore Chloe Sluss (15th-23:16), freshman Haley Roberts (20th-23:32) & junior Alyssa Milton (21st-23:33). In the 2nd largest race of the day, there were 465 finishers.
Open Boys
Milton (2nd-111 pts) bested 33 schools to garner the runner-up honors. With 4 runners earning medals, the Eagles used a 32-second spread to finish 2nd to host Mill Creek (1st-39 pts). A strong race by junior Lincoln Tady (8th-18:53), which saw him in the lead-pack and in 2nd for some of the race, led the Milton effort. Fellow juniors Chase Callaway (18th-19:06) & Pierce Baker (24th-19:12) along with sophomore Mark Seaman (25th-19:13) rounded out the medal winners as junior Jacob Jordan (36th-19:25) closed out the scorers for the Eagles.
Milton next sees action at the GHSA Region 5-AAAAAA championship meet on October 31st at Boling Park in Canton, GA with the top-4 varsity teams & top-6 individuals qualifying for the GHSA State Meet to be held on November 7th in Carrollton, GA.
