Jacob Powell, All State 
Anna Kelly, All State
NEWBERRY – It was a cold and rainy weekend in Newberry, but Blythewood High School’s girls and boys cross country teams and two Westwood runners turned out to compete at the South Carolina High School League’s state meet.
Blythewood Boys
With a first place finish at State Qualifiers in Newberry on Nov. 3, Blythewood’s boys cross country team looked to make a run, pun intended, for the 5A championship on Saturday against the top 15 teams in the state.
Though Bengal runners were familiar with Newberry College’s course after running it at Qualifiers and at a meet earlier this season, Saturday’s cold and rainy conditions added a challenge.
Blythewood finished in fifth place with a score of 180, behind Dorman (62), Fort Mill (76), Wando (138) and Lexington (141). The Bengals averaged a 16:44 time, about five seconds slower than their 16:39 average at Qualifiers.
Sophomore Jacob Powell finished first for Blythewood and in 8th place overall out of 111 runners. Powell’s 16:08.84 time was almost five seconds faster than his time on Nov. 3 at Qualifiers (16:13.40). His 5000 meter run personal best is 15:54.79, set in Sept. at the Highlander Invitational.
Blythewood’s second finisher was Spencer Shealy. Shealy’s time of 16:23.36 put him in 17th place on the day. He bested his Qualifier time (16:31.00) by almost seven seconds.
Shealy, a junior, was followed by senior Graysen Manning, who crossed the line at the 16:50.64 mark for 38th place. Junior Eureka Washington finished next for Blythewood at 17:04.20 for 53rd place. Sophomore Dillan Boyer ran the course in 17:14.34 for 67th place.
Karlin Hogue (18:24.00) and Johnathon Lenker (18:46.32) also ran for Blythewood.
Blythewood Girls
Blythewood’s girls team bested their Qualifiers average time in the 5A meet. On Nov. 3, they averaged a 20:37 pace. Despite Saturday’s conditions, they bested it by 9 seconds.
Sophomore Anna Kelly led Blythewood with a sixth place finish out of 112 runners, demolishing her 19:15.10 qualifier time with a 19:03.84 finish on Saturday, just a week later.
Mallorie Hogue, a junior, finished second for Blythewood, in 22nd place overall, at the 19:54.18 mark.
Junior Kaitlyn McFadden set a new personal record with a 20:18.13 finish. She placed 32nd on the day.
Eva Pendleton finished in 62nd place at 21:11.34. Jurnee Warren rounded out Blythewood’s team score with a 21:55.07 time for 88th place.
Judeah Warren (22:35.99) and Paige Kelly (23:10.54) also ran for Blythewood.
Westwood
With times in the top 20 all season, Emma and Rebecca Ashley’s qualification to run individually at the South Carolina High School League’s Class 4A state meet was no surprise.
The sisters returned to Newberry College’s cross country course on Nov. 10 in search of their fastest times of the season.
Out of 112 runners, Emma, a junior, finished in the 21 spot with a time of 20:23.37. Rebecca, an eighth grader at Muller Road Middle School, followed closely in 27th place at 20:53.48.
Hannah Vroon, a senior from James Island High School, finished in first at the 18:51.36 mark. James Island had four other runners finish in the top 20 and took the team state title.
Emma qualified on Nov. 4 with a time of 19:53.60; Rebecca qualified with a 20:22.70 time.
Emma set her personal record in Sept. at the Mike Moore Classic, when she finished in 14th with a 18:36.90 time. Rebecca also ran her personal best time at the Mike Moore Classic. She finished at 19:37.40.
This was the second year in a row that Emma and Rebecca qualified to run individually at the state meet. Last year in Columbia, Emma finished in 5th place at 18:31.67 and Rebecca finished at 21:29.33 in 33rd place out of 116 runners.
Emma Ashley 
Rebecca Ashley
