Acworth, GA | By Andy Carr
The Eagles finished off their last meet before the post-season with the entire squad racing at the 11th Annual Big Peach Mustang Stampede in Acworth, GA this past Saturday. In perfect running weather, Milton faced up to 20 teams and came away with many personal bests and a meet win.
Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles faced the multiple-time state champions of Marietta (1st-19 pts) and were able to defeat 10 schools. Milton (2nd-60 pts) was again led by junior Sadie Katekovich (4th-19:27), who raced in the top five the entire distance. Coming back after not racing for close to a month, freshman Maiisie Wilderspin (7th-19:37) followed to put two Lady Eagles in the top-10 overall. A trio of juniors followed to give Milton runner-up team honors: Lucie Blake (14th-20:04), Kenley Sirras (20:25) and Audrey Grose (22nd-20:36), who recorded a personal best performance. Sophomore Sloane Robers (23rd-20:41) and senior captain Ava Kane (25th-20:43) also figured in the Lady Eagles’ trophy-winning effort.
Varsity Boys
Even without their usual first runner, Milton (2nd-68 pts) turned back 18 schools after a close battle with Campbell High School of Cobb County (1st-52 pts). In a big personal best, senior Jace Kasteler (7th-16:34) led the Eagles and was followed by sophomore Noah Jenkins (9th-16:48). Freshman William Brown (16th-17:13), who led for Milton early on in the race and also recorded a personal best, finished well along with sophomore William Gilbert (18th-17:19) and senior Logan Bradway (21st-17:29) to conclude the Eagle scorers. Senior Boston VanBelle (30th-17:46) and junior Leo Faught (38th-17:58) also helped push Milton to the runner-up position.
JV Girls
The Lady Eagles also faced the Marietta (2nd-39 pts) onslaught as well as 7A power Harrison (1st-28 pts) to handily beat back four scoring schools. Milton junior Liv Becker (3rd-21:42) moved up close to 10 places over the course of the race and ran a large personal best to lead the Lady Eagles. Senior Rachela Weitzel (10th-22:22) raced her best performance of the season and was supported by senior Brynn Kelly (21st-23:19), junior Sienna Perl (22nd-23:32) and fellow senior Emily Chambliss (23rd-23:34) to conclude the Milton scorers.
JV Boys
The final race of the meet proved the most successful, as Milton (1st-32 pts) defeated 11 schools to take the team win! Sophomore Chase VanBelle (1st-18:09) led from start to finish to snag the race victory and was supported by the runner-up finish of junior Ryder Fogel (2nd-18:18). The Eagles ended up with seven more finishes in the top-20 overall spots to gain the team victory. Scorers for Milton included senior Christopher Chen (8th-18:51), freshman Grayson Free (10th-18:52) and senior Knox Anderson (11th-19:00).
Next up for the Eagle cross country team is the 6A GHSA Sectional “B” Meet on Saturday at the Foxhall Equestrian Resort in Douglasville, GA, with the top-12 finishing teams qualifying for the GHSA State Championship to be held November 7th in Carrollton, GA.
