Midlands runners shine at SCISA cross country championships
Saturday at Heathwood Hall turned out to be a great day for Midlands SCISA cross-country teams.
The Ben Lippen boys took the 3A state championship, with Cardinal Newman taking the runner-up and Heathwood Hall in third place. Cardinals runner Palmer Dayhuff was the top finisher in the boys race, while Heathwood Hall sensation Maryah Nasir claimed her third state championship.
Ben Lippen’s win unseated the 2016 champion Highlanders. Coach Thomas Fisher said he was confident his team would run well, adding that after the late George Johnson, Fisher’s coach, won 11 state titles in a row for the Falcons, the program looks to keep on running.
“We’ve been working really hard all season since June 1st,” Fisher said. “I had full confidence that we’d have a good day. We’ve got great upperclassman leadership, and the young guys ran really well.”
Falcons top finisher Camden Abrams had a fourth-place time of 17:33.98, just ahead of teammates George Baumgardner (9th) and Mason Harmon (10th).
“This is a total team effort,” Abrams said. “I wanted to give everything I had for George and Allen (Foy), this is their last chance to win a cross-country state championship.”
Dayhuff was the top finisher in the state with a personal-best time of 16:38.74.
“I felt pretty confident coming in,” Dayhuff said. “I had a pretty good season so far, and I wanted to finish strong. I’m not disappointed with the way we came out. I’m proud of our guys.”
In the girls race, Nasir’s 18:29.66 finish was not her personal best. But it was more than a minute faster than her second-place finish of 19:40.21, which she said was because she was recovering from an illness.
“After last year, I wanted to finish it with a bang,” Nasir said about her prep distance running career. “After the first mile I knew I had it. I’m proud of us. We worked hard all year and I’m proud of the effort we put forth.”
Porter-Gaud won the girls race, with defending champion Ashley Hall finishing second. Ben Lippen took third, and Cardinal Newman and Heathwood Hall finished a respective fourth and fifth.
Results
3A Boys
Teams: 1. Ben Lippen (47), 2. Cardinal Newman (52), 3. Heathwood Hall (63), 4. Porter Gaud (119), 5. Pinewood Prep (145), 6. Hammond (147), 7. Wilson Hall (168), 8. Augusta Christian (239), 9. First Baptist (264), 10. Northwood (265).
Top 10 Finishers: 1. Palmer Dayhuff (Cardinal Newman) 16.38.74, 2. Hugh Wilcox (Heathwood Hall) 16:54.22, 3. Julian McCue (Hammond) 17:04.29, 4. Camden Abrams (Ben Lippen 17:33.98, 5. Jay Diffley (Pinewood Prep) 17:36.65, 6. Bennett Egan (Cardinal Newman) 17:40.48, 7. Nick Basile (Heathwood Hall) 17:42.73, 8. Ben Feldman (Heathwood Hall) 17:43.23, 9. George Baumgardner (Ben Lippen) 17:45.96. 10. Mason Harmon (Ben Lippen) 17:48.17.
3A Girls
Teams: 1. Porter-Gaud (37), 2. Ashley Hall (55), 3. Ben Lippen (111), 4. Cardinal Newman (113), 5. Heathwood Hall (122), 6. Wilson Hall (132), 7. Hammond (159), 8. Pinewood Prep (205), 9. Augusta Christian (247), Northwood Academy (281).
Top 10 Finishers: 1. Maryah Nasir (Heathwood Hall) 18.29.66, 2. Bryce Marion (Porter Gaud) 19:14.14, 3. Chloe Elabash (Porter Gaud) 19:20.84, 4. Ailish Ward (Ashley Hall) 19:33.70, 5. Savannah Campbell (Augusta Christian) 20.07.62, 6. Kirsten Fisher (Wilson Hall) 20.13.13, 7. Connor McMahon (Porter Gaud) 20:14.28, Ree Williams Zoller (Ben Lippen) 20:15.37, 9. Ava Evans-Godley (Ashley Hall) 20:18.01, 10. Jasmine Smith (Porter Gaud) 20:19.93.
2A Boys
Teams: 1. Spartanburg Day (36), 2. Greenwood Christian (61), 3. Trinity-Byrnes (98), 4. Spartanburg Christian (123), 5. Thomas Sumter (155), 6. John Paul II Catholic (159), 7. Oakbrook Preparatory (168), 8. Shannon Forest (180), 9. Hilton Head Prep (212), 10. Palmetto Christian (314).
Top 10 Finishers: 1. Michael Burgess (Spartanburg Christian) 16:20.97, 2. Rett Faust (Spartanburg Christian) 17:23.76, 3. Garrett Sponenberg (Greenwood Christian) 17:25.06, 4. Joseph Desser (Trinity-Byrnes) 17:35.19, 5. Anthony Ramirez (Spartanburg Christian) 17:41.03, 6. Mark Walsh (Shannon Forest) 17:43.52, 7. Andrew Osborne (Spartanburg Day) 17:46.71, 8. Asa Davis (Spartanburg Christian) 17:48.34, 9. Robert Lyon (Spartanburg Christian) 17:50.55, 10. Matthew Hanna (Greenwood) 17:54.49.
2A Girls
Teams: 1. Spartanburg Christian (55), 2. Calhoun Academy (70), 3. Thomas Sumter Academy (76), 4. Palmetto (111), 5.Spartanburg Day (111), 6. Hilton Head Christian (158), 7. Greenwood Christian (165), 8. Trinity-Byrnes (180), 9. Hilton Head Prep (225).
Top 10 Finishers: 1. Kristen Cherry (Calhoun Academy) 19:18.82, 2. Molly Suttle (Spartanburg Christian) 19:53.23, 3. Bella Crowe (Thomas Sumter) 20:01.05, 4. Kaitlyn Rowe (Oakbrook) 20:49.46, 5. Aubrey Stoddard (Thomas Sumter) 21:00.72, 6. Kelsey Pace (Spartanburg Christian) 21:12.23, 7. Rachel Summers (Spartanburg Christian) 21:19.85, 8. Caroline Tatum (Trinity-Byrnes) 21:25.54, 9. Allison Kammer (Palmetto Christian) 21:30.27, 10. Abbey Summey (Greenwood Christian) 21:34.53.
1A Boys
Teams: 1. Covenant Christian (65), 2. Holy Trinity Classical (67), 3. Wardlaw (97), 4. South Aiken Christian (131), 5. Conway Christian (142), 6. James Island Christian (187), 7. Beaufort Academy (194), 8. Newberry Academy (198), 9. Richard Winn Academy (207), 10. Cambridge Academy (249).
Top 10 Finishers: 1. McCallum Senn (Newberry Academy) 17:48.63, 2. Briggs Williams (Wardlaw Academy) 18:20.18, 3. Logan Lawson (Holy Trinity) 18:23.56, 4. Nolan Crawford (Conway Christian) 18:59.02, 5. Ethan Kaufelds (South Aiken Christian) 18:59.48, 6. Re’Quis Johnson (Covenant Christian) 19:13.18, 7. Kobe Franklin (Covenant Christian) 19:15.26, 8. Luke Greene (Holy Trinity) 19:16.07, 9. Trey Hunt (James Island Christian) 19:27.58, 10. Hudson Wade (Richard Winn Academy) 19:44.28.
1A Girls
Teams: 1. Holy Trinity Classical (37), 2. Laurens Academy (40), 4. James Island Christian (48)
Top 10 Finishers: 1. Mills Langehans (Holy Trinity) 20:20.55, 2. Blair Quarles (Laurens Academy) 22:57.05, 3. Lizzy Agudzi-Addo (Covenant Christian) 23:01.55, 4. Faith Lakemacher (James Island Christian) 23:23.56, 5. Maeve Kalady (Beaufort Academy) 23:35.33, 6. Ruthie Moore (Laurens Academy) 23:44.57, 7. Izzy Hipple (Holy Trinity) 24:09.19, 8. Elizabeth Boudreaux (Community Christian) 24:45.19, 9. Virginia Brunson (Holy Trinity) 25:12.71, 10. Chloe Jewell (Thomas Hart Academy) 25:14.59.