BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School has two new region champions on the cross country course. Both the boys and girls team claimed region titles last week in the SCHSL 5A Region 5 championship at Westwood.
Blythewood’s boys’ team finished in first out of seven teams with a score of 38. Spring Valley finished in second with 45 points. Westwood’s boys came in sixth place with 172 points.
The Bengal girls also finished first out of seven teams with 38 points. Westwood’s girls finished in second place at 69 points.
Four boys and six girls from Westwood and Blythewood finished in the top 10 of their respective races.
Region Girls Meet
Junior Anna Kelly led the way for Blythewood with another top finish. She came in first out of 98 runners with at the 18:30.59 mark.
Senior Mallorie Hogue finished in second on Kelly’s heels at 18:35.08. Scarlett Baker finished next for the Bengals. She came in eighth place with a time of 20:45.73. Eighth grader Paige Kelly came in 11th place for Blythewood at 21:22.12. Lauren Benson rounded out the Bengals’ score with her fifth place team finish. She came in 16th overall at 22:54.30. Madeline Lowery and Judeah Warren also ran for the Bengals. Lowery finished at 23:00.47 in 18th place, and Warren, a senior, finished at 23:17.29 in 22nd place.
Westwood senior standout Emma Ashley was the Redhawks’ top finisher on the day. She came in third place at 18:52.00. Ashley, who also runs on Westwood’s track and field team, has plans to sign with the University of South Carolina in early Dec.
Freshman Rebecca Ashley finished in seventh place. She clocked a time of 20:39.77. Sophomore Christina Tyndall finished behind the Ashley sisters in ninth place at 20:56.27. Seniors Jamiya Carter and Sarah Danbury completed the Redhawks’ score. Carter came in at 23:16.25 for 21st place, and Danbury placed 28th at 23:42.07. Amira Coleman and Olivia Vesselee also ran for the Redhawks. Coleman finished at 25:37.79 in 44th place and Vesselee finished in 45th at 25:39.05.
Region Boys Meet
Blythewood High School junior Jacob Powell was under a second shy of a first place finish in the boys’ race. He finished second out of 122 runners with a time of 15:38.22. Kaleb Burroughs from West Florence finished in first at 15:37.78.
Dillian Boyer, Eureka Washington, and Anthony Knight joined Powell in the top 10. Boyer, a junior, came in fifth place at 16:37.98. Washington, a senior, finished on his heels in sixth place at 16:38.61. Knight, a sophomore, took the 10 spot with a time of 17:11.22. Austin Dwiggins rounded out the Bengals’ score with a 15th place finish and a 17L45.37 time. Sophomore Johnathon Lenker finished in 17th place at 17:54.58, and senior Sean Gibbons finished in 25th at 18:23.12.
Eighth grader Sean Bullock was Westwood’s first finisher on the day. He finished at the 18:15.67 mark for 23rd place overall. Junior Blaize Owen followed with his season-best time of 19:00.81 for 36th place. Ty Owen, a seventh grader, came in 42nd at 19:39.59. Freshman Aiden Adkins and senior Alexander Drakes closed out Westwood’s score with their fastest times of the season. Adkins finished at 19:48.00 for 47th place, and Drakes closed out the score at 20:35.90 for 68th place.
Post Season
Along with region titles, the Bengals racked up region awards and coaches Aleshia Hawkins and David Duncan were named both named Region Coach of the Year.
Up next Blythewood and Westwood teams will compete in the 5A State Cross Country Qualifiers. Though they run in the same region, Blythewood will move into 5A Division 1 and Westwood into 5A Division 2 as the post season progresses. Both meets are set for Friday, Nov. 15 at Fort Jackson Cross Country Course in Columbia. Division 1 races begin at 9 a.m.; Division 2 begin at 11 a.m.
The top 12 teams from each qualifier will advance to the State Championship meets, to be held at Newberry College on Thursday, Nov. 21.