NEWBERRY – The top eight teams in one of two race qualify for the SCHSL Class 5A State Meet, and both of Blythewood High School’s cross country teams made the cut.
The Bengals showed up to the 5A State Qualifiers at Newberry College’s Cross Country course last Saturday with one goal in mind: get to State.
The qualifying meet divides teams into two separate races based on their rankings. Blythewood’s boys finished first in their race out of 16 teams. The girls finished in fifth place out of five teams.
All five qualifiers of the Bengal boys’ team finished in the top-20 individual runners in their race for a combined score of 46. They had an average time of 16:39. In the same race, Nation Ford came in second place with 102 points and an average 16:58 time.
In the other 5A boys qualifying race, Fort Mill finished first with 32 points. They had an average time of 16:27. Wando High School, Chapin High School, Spring Valley High School, and River Bluff High School all had average times under 17 minutes.
Jacob Powell led the Bengals with a second place finish out of 115 runners. He finished at the 16:13.40 mark, just three seconds behind first place Townsend Smith from Nation Ford High School (16:10.40). The only faster times on the day for 5A were in the other qualifying race: Jake Leibert from Wando (15:34.10) and Jude Lazarus from TL Hanna (16:03.80).
Powell was joined in the top-20 by teammates Spencer Shealy, Graysen Manning, Eureka Washington and Dillan Boyer, all who finished under 17 minutes.
Shealy had sixth place finish at 16:31.00. Manning came in eighth at 16:42.70. Washington and Boyer both ran their season fastest times. Washington finished at the 16:50 mark for 12th place, and Boyer placed 18th with a 16:57.90 time.
In the girls’ race, Blythewood was led by sophomore Anna Kelly, who finished in third place out of 104 runners. She finished at the 19:15.10 mark. Mallorie Hogue joined Kelly in the top-10 with a 19:46.00 time for eighth place.
Eva Pendleton placed 32nd at 20:51.00. Jurnee Warren finished at 21:15.40 for 39th place, and Paige Kelly had her season-best time of 21:51.60 for 47th place.
The Bengal girls scored 129 with a 20:37 average. Mauldin took first place in their race with 64 points and a 20:15 average. Nation Ford (20:01), Chapin (19:59) and Wando (20:30) finished ahead of Blythewood. In the other 5A girls’ qualifier, Lexington High School finished first with 19:34 average time. Fort Mill averaged 19:35, and Dorman averaged 20:33.
Both Bengal teams will run in the SCHSL 5A Cross Country Championship meet at Newberry College on Saturday. The girls will compete with 5A’s 16 best teams at 9:00 a.m. and the boys will follow at 9:30 a.m. Awards will be presented at 10 a.m.