COLUMBIA – The Blythewood boys cross country team overcame some challenging conditions at last Saturday’s Coaches Classic meet while turning in some strong individual showings. The combination of heat and humidity took a toll on a collection of the best runners in the state, including some of the Bengals’ top performers. However, in spite of the weather, the boys’ varsity team still managed to place 15th out of 36 teams in the elite International division. The boys were led by senior James Palmer, who finished with an outstanding time of 16 minutes and 37 seconds, which was good for 13th overall. Other top varsity finishers included Hunter Jarvis, Brandon Hardwick, Devin Lowry and Tanner Cierzan.
The JV Bengals also had a good day. In the seventh-ninth grade race, BHS placed 20th in a field of 41 complete teams. The younger JV runners were led by Amir McCall’s 77th place finish. In the 10th-12th grade race, the Bengals placed sixth out of 42 complete teams. The team was led by sophomore Caleb Wilson, who finished 11th overall in a field of over 400 runners.
The Lady Bengals cross country team placed 25th in the International Division. The Blythewood girls were led by freshman Emerson Turner, who finished in 22 minutes and 49 seconds. Other top finishers for the Bengals included Anne Corder (23:24), Sophie Maynard (24:21), Brook Boone (24:57) and Margaret Gaither (25:04). The JV Squad finished 29th out of 44 teams in the Open Division, with freshman Charlee Chierzan as the first Lady Bengal to complete the course in the Open event with a time of 24:08.58.
Blythewood next returns to action on Sept. 17 versus Ridge View High School at home.
