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White County runners, from left, Lilly Gearing, Reese Vandegriff, Emily Davidson, Nealeigh Broadwell, and Emma Marrow, and Lumpkin County's Haley Souther break away the starting line last Thursday at the North Hall Invitational. (Photo/Mark Turner)
The White County High School cross country teams took part in the third annual North Hall Invitational last week in Gainesville.
The Lady Warriors put together a solid effort, finishing third among 11 teams in the girl's division, while the Warriors were 10th in the boy's race.
The WCHS teams will be back on the course Saturday, heading to Canton for the Warpath Invitational.
In the girl's race, North Hall took the team title, led by freshman Clodagh O'Bryant, who won the individual title with a time of 19:22. The Lady Trojans also got a runner-up finish from Harleigh Smith, who turned in a time of 19:33.
North Hall finished with 40 points in the team standings, with Flowery Branch second at 106, and WCHS at 135. Rabun County (144) and East Forsyth (152) rounded out the Top 5.
The Lady Warriors had three runners finish in the Top 20, paced by Nealeigh Broadwell's eighth-place finish. Broadwell turned in a time of 21:36 to crack the Top 10. Reese Vandegriff was the next WCHS runner across the finish line, posting a time of 22:10 to finish 13th. Lily Gearing was right behind Vandegriff, finishing 18th with a time of 22:32.
Emma Marrow finished 37th with a time of 24:07, and Lydia Davidson was 59th with a time of 26:52.
In the boy's race, Chestatee, the 2020 Class AAAA state champions, ran away from the field with four runners in the Top 10 and finish with 29 points. Flowery Branch was second with 92 points, with Lumpkin County (94), North Hall (106), and Dawson County (117) rounding out the Top 5.
East Forsyth's Alex Arrambide was the individual winner with a time of 16:28, with Chestatee's Aaron Retana (16:45) and Gavin Grater (16:49) finishing second and third.
For the Warriors, Lance Kelley was the top runner, finishing 38th with a time of 20:01. Logan Long was 52nd with a time of 20:35, followed by Wyatt Pilgrim in 59th place with a time of 20:51. Aiden Pickett was 62nd at 21:05, and Cole Gearing rounded out the scoring portion of the lineup with a time of 21:09 to finish 63rd.
Trevor Butler (21:21), Bryce Whitlark (21:35), Isaac Sosebee (22:05), Jackson Judice (22:34), and Colin Fernandez (22:46) rounded out the lineup.
JV girl's race
The Lady Warriors had a pair of runners in the junior varsity field. Grace Bythewood had the top time of 31:18 to finish 35th overall and Lydia Durden was 42nd at 32:31.
Middle school
The White County Middle School teams also competed in the event, with both of the Warriors teams finishing in seventh place.
In the boy's race, North Hall took the top spot, followed by Buford, and Perimeter Christian School.
For the Warriors, Alex Brannon had the top time at 11:48 to finish 12th overall among 150 runners, and Caden Frost was 18th at 12:20. Avery Stewart was 37th with a time of 13:23, Clay Christopher was 46th at 13:42, and Hunter Smith closed out the scoring portion of the lineup in 55th place with a time of 14:14.
Also competing for were Aiden Palmer (16:02), John David Pruitt (16:29), Eppi Rodriguez (16:29), Chris Nunnally (17:10), Joshua Lane (17:16), Kayden Pace (17:42), Sawyer Martin (17:48), Ashton Glass (18:48), Connor Armstrong (18:57), Braeden Hardy (19:08), and Hayden Mundy (19:33).
In the girl's race, Buford won the title, with North Hall and Dawson County rounding out the Top 3.
For the Lady Warriors, Emma Windham was the first runner across the line, posting a time of 13:57 to finish 22nd out of 151 runners. Raleigh Ivy was next for WCMS in 25th place with a time of 14:21. Josslyn Burke was 35th at 15:21, with Julia Smith 55th at 16:33, and Madison Evans 57th at 17:15 to round out the scoring portion of the lineup.
Kelsey Lovell (17:15), Makaylen Pearson (17:21), Alexis Kelley (17:20), Lexi Schmidt (17:40), Chloe Baker (18:29), Clara Thomas (19:06), Ellie Lundeen (19:38), Sophie Shipp (20:39), Paisley Duckworth (21:16), McKenzie Addis (21:16), Jasmine Jarvis (22:01),