CHARLOTTE – The Blythewood boys cross country team turned in an outstanding showing at Saturday’s Wendy’s Invitational in Charlotte. The meet brought together some of the best teams from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
The varsity Bengals placed ninth out of 35 schools in the Open Division, which was the second best showing among S.C. schools. James Palmer led the way by finishing 25th overall in a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds. Other top finishers included TJ Kirby (16:55, 37th), Amir McCall (17:17, 62nd), Brandon Hardwick (17:32, 76th) and Devin Lowry (17:47, 92nd). The 11th and 12th grade JV team finished 11th out of 29 teams and were led by Jalen Brown (18:15, 59th). The seventh- through 10th-grade JV team finished 28th out of 63 teams and was led by Deante Moore (19:18, 158th).
The Lady Bengals also enjoyed the perfect fall day as the team posted many of their best times of the seasons. The multiple races provided an opportunity for all runners to be showcased. In the girls open race, BHS was led by Anna Corder (21:26), followed by Emerson Turner (21:45), with Margaret Gaither (22:14), Morgan Simmonds (22:20), Catherine Austin (23:16), Janelle Fite (24:26) and Co-Captain Brook Boone (24:35). BHS finished 22 out of 33 teams in the open race. In the girls’ junior and senior standings, Jordan Brannon led the BHS squad (23:09), followed by Sophia Maynard (23:59), Lauren Shepard (24:53), Co-Captain Cady Barthe (25:52), Morganne Alder (26:08), Jessica Parks (27:32), Margaret Cathcart (27:48) and Faith Wilson (31:31). They finished 15 out of 21 in their division. In the girls’ freshman and sophomore event, Charlee Cierzon turned in the best time for BHS in 23:27, followed by Lauren Huse (23:36), Natalie Powell (25:10), Nyara Hargrave(25:58) and Nichol Kovacs (35:14). The squad finished 22nd out of 35 in their race.