Northside’s Cross-Country Team competed in the SCISA 2A-Region 1 meet on Wednesday,
October 20th at Patriot Park in Sumter, South Carolina. The Girls team kicked off their race at
5:30 P.M. The race featured 26 girls from five different schools in the region. Kendall Murray
made her season debut for the Crusaders. Murray had a phenomenal 5K debut, as she led the Crusaders finishing the race with a time of 21:16.17 and finishing 2nd overall. Murray finished a mere three seconds behind Calhoun Academy’s Gabby Jourdain, who won the race respectively. Ella Jeffrey followed Murray, as Jeffrey was the second Crusader runner to cross the finish line. Jeffrey was running in her first race in over a month. Jeffrey had a strong race posting a time of 22:29.95 and finishing 9th overall. Placing third on the team was Bayleigh Womack, who finished with a time of 23:28.53 which was good for a 13th place finish in the race. Natalie Walke had her second-best race of the season, as she finished 4th on the team with a time of 24:01.55 and a 15th place finish. Madison Gause finished 5th on the team with a time of 26:08.77 while placing 20th in the race. Chloe Jones rounded out the meet for the Crusader’s, finishing with a time of 28:34.18, and a 23rd place finish overall. The race was Jones best of the season. The top five runners gave the Crusader Girls an overall team score of 59 points, giving them a 3rd place finish in the Region meet, behind Thomas Sumter (39 points), and Palmetto Christian Academy (44 points), respectively.
The Boys began their race around 5:50 P.M. The Boys were able to compete as a team for the first time all season at the Region Meet. The meet featured 29 boys from five different schools in the region. For the third time this season, Noah Greene paced the Crusader Boys Team in a 5K race. The race represented Greene’s best race to date, as he finished with a time of 20:57.60, giving Greene a 16th place finish in the race overall. The race marked the third time Greene has set a new personal record this season. William Cochrane had a strong race, placing second on the team with a time of 22:08.10, and a 19th place finish overall. The race represented Cochrane’s best time this season by approximately 45 seconds. Coming in third place on the team respectively was Ethan Lafave who finished with a time of 23:22.60 leading to a 20th place finish in the race. This was Lafave’s first 5K of the season, and he had a strong race, as he narrowly missed matching his best time from the 2020 season by one second. The final two spots for scoring purposes were filled by Mark Diaz and Jonah Lafave. Diaz finished with a 5K time of 23:33.40, setting a personal best. The time gave Diaz a 21st place finish overall. Jonah Lafave finished with a time of 24:02.10 in his first 5K race for the Crusaders, giving him a 22nd place finish overall. Trenton Manzi and Aiden Cripps rounded out the race for the Crusader Boys Team. Manzi finished with a time of 25:27.80, while finishing 26th overall. Manzi bested his previous 5K personal record by more than a minute. Cripps finished with a time of 29:31.20, while taking 28th place in the race overall. The top five runners gave the Crusader Boys an overall team score of 88 points, giving them a 3rd place finish in the Region meet, behind Thomas Sumter (25 points), and Palmetto Christian Academy (33 points), respectively.
Congratulations to all of the Northside runners, who have worked extremely hard this season, and continue to improve as the season begins to wind down.
The Crusaders Cross Country team will conclude their season on Saturday, October 30th, when they race in the State Meet at Heathwood Hall. The Girls race is scheduled to begin at 10:45 A.M., with the Boys race scheduled to begin at 11:25 A.M.
