The Georgia International Horse Park will host the Region 8-AAAAA Cross-Country Championships Saturday morning, Nov. 2.
The event will feature nine regional schools, including Heritage and Salem High Schools.
The race will begin with the men’s cross-country championship at 8 a.m., with the women’s championship to follow at 8:30 a.m. The junior varsity race will begin at 9 a.m.
Apalachee, Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Loganville and Winder-Barrow will also participate in the region meet.
The race will be held at The Steeplechase along the Yellow River, featuring a 3.25 mile course.
Spectators may park at The Steeplechase for a $5 fee.
Last season, Cedar Shoals' Josiah Jenkins finished first overall in the men’s race with a time of 16:36, just ahead of Salem’s Gabriel Alverez (second overall, 16:52).
Flowery Branch finished first overall in the team competition with 29 points, while Heritage finished sixth overall, with Salem placing ninth.
Ferree Buck led the way for Heritage in the women’s race with a 30th place finish, with Salem’s Jordan Marshall
finishing not far behind at 31st. Heritage and Salem finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the women’s team race.
Disney competition
Members of the Heritage High School cross-country teams participated in the 19th Annual Disney Cross Country Classic, presented by New Balance Oct. 11-12.
The Patriots’ Darryl Bowie cracked the top 50, finishing 31st in the men’s 5K 3A varsity run with a time of 17:49.38.
Heritage’s Jacob Ball (105th, 19:31.20), Tharyn Coe (107th, 19:34.74), San Marte Rozier (120th, 19:45.85), Samuel Wells (130th, 20:00.09), Carl Davis (144th, 20:15.38), Chris Camp (183rd, 22:29.87) and Seth Kirksey (195th, 23:46.21) also competed for the Patriots at the 206-man race.
The Patriots finished 16th overall with 435 points out of 25 total schools. Northview (Johns Creek, Ga.), Venice (Venice, Fla.) and Naples (Naples, Fla.) finished first, second and third in the men’s race, respectively.
The Heritage women’s team finished 24th overall in the women’s 5K 3A varsity run, finishing near the middle of the pack in the 34-team race. The Lady Patriots finished with 650 points, four points behind Charlotte High School (Punta Gorda, Fla.).
Alexia Wilson led the charge for the Lady Patriots, finishing 72nd overall in a time of 21:55.24.
Buck placed 134th for the Lady Patriots (23:28.57), while Damali Thomas (157th, 25:15.76), Emily Taylor (164th, 24:23.63), Sophie Moll (174th, 24:46.00), Estrella Bailon (204th, 25:45.29), Mikayla Nolden (206th, 25:52.48), Melissa Jasso (214th, 26:06.21) and Liliana Cruz (253rd, 29:35.66) also represented Heritage in the 262-women race.
The event was open to middle school- through college-level cross-country teams. Highlights of the competition can be seen on various ESPN platforms, including ESPN3.com and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex digital network.
