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Local Teams compete and place at Redskins Invitational
Henderson and Blazina set the pace for local runners at Social Circle home meet
Eastside Cross Country Redskins Invitational
Eastside's Chance Henderson(57) in the middle of the pack at the start of the Boys 5K run. - photo by Garrett Pitts

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Local teams hit the trail at Social Circle on Wednesday as the school hosted its annual Redskins Cross Country Invitational.


Over 20 teams took part in the event, and multiple county-area athletes finished with strong placements.


Henderson and Blazina lead the way for local runners


Eastside High School finished the day in fourth place for both the girls and boys 5K runs on Wednesday.


However, a pair of Eagles set the tone for the rest of the team in the form of Chance Henderson and Kaleb Blazina.


Henderson got ahead of the pack early and was positioned in second for most of the race as he only trailed Loganville’s Harris Price.


By the end of his run, Henderson finished in second place with a time of 17:20.71


Blazina was not far behind, and raced in to earn fourth place at 17:58.80.

Kaleb Blazina Eastside Cross Country
Eastside's Kaleb Blazina crossing the finish line to earn fourth place. - photo by Garrett Pitts


Head coach Caleb Watson praised Henderson and Blazina for their efforts on Wednesday as the two battled through the course.


“He[Henderson] has been just lights out this year, he has done really well and has put in the hard work,” Watson said. “I know he is a little disappointed with his race today because he beat the guy who got first a few weeks ago. I know he is not going to be content with it but he still had a great race. He fell early in the race which is kind of hard to bounce back from. Fourth place Kaleb Blaizna was huge because he was seeded seventh but came in fourth so that was huge. Just excited seeing the work going toward Sectionals and the progress we are seeing.”

Hunter Land provided another top 20 finish for the boys team as he earned 13th place with a time of 18:25.43.


Other finishes for the varsity boys team came from Jackson Dobbs(51st, 20:37.37), Trevor Brown(71st, 21:39.63), Alex Vargas(84th, 22:47.39) and Calvin Meller(96th, 23:37.62).


For Eastside’s girls team, the pace was set by Maren Poynter.


Poynter ran a time of 24:03.71 to earn 14th place.


Lei Shaw did not finish too far behind in 23rd place with a time of 24:20.46.


“We were fine with that [fourth place finish]. We were resting three of our top six girls. They were just a little banged up, nothing serious,” Watson said. “We just wanted to take today off and make sure no injuries got bad or worse than they are. We have a tricky meet next week in Helen that is really hilly so we were happy with most of the girls’ performances today. We knew we were not in contention for first or second because we were resting so many.”


Other finishes for the varsity girls team came from Chloe Icenhour(34th, 25:36.36), Jocelyn Romero(36th, 25:50.51) and Addie Consuegra(53rd, 28:20.65).


In a race that featured a fair share of sunlight, shade and the heat, Watson discussed what the plan was for his team ahead of the events.


“It was hot so that is one thing you have to keep in mind. The hottest day in September just happened to be today so that was great,” Watson joked. “There was a bad hill on the back side of the course but it was overall flat so we were just telling the guys to get out quick just to get a good lead before getting to the hill and pushing through it and work the downhill afterwards. A lot of them did what they were supposed to do.”


Maddox and Snell lead the way for the Rams


Only two runners from Newton’s girls team competed in the varsity run, and Jazmin Maddox led the way.


Maddox, who is year one with the Rams, claimed 30th place with a time of 24:53.33.

Jazmin Maddox Newton XC
Newton's Jazmin Maddox on the first lap of the Girls 5K run. - photo by Garrett Pitts

Lauren Foster provided the other finish on the team in 62nd place with a time of 29:05.95.


For the boys team, the leader was JaQiem Snell, who earned 45th place with a time of 20:21.31.


Other finishes for Newton’s boys team came from Aidan Fann(75th, 21:48.96), Omarion Wong(97th, 23:41.48), Dayvon Robinson(98th, 23:42.08), Ed Calhoun(105th, 25:09.22) and Kingston Phillips(107th, 25:09.22).


Hargove delivers top 20 finish for hosting Redskins


When it came to the hosting Social Circle Redskins, Gable Hargrove came through with the school’s top finish.


Hargrove competed in the boys 5K and finished in 17th place with a time of 18:47.48.

Social Circle XC Redskins Invitational
Social Circle runners at the Redskins Invitational on Wednesday, Sept. 24. - photo by Garrett Pitts

Simeon Gibbs and Ruel Crutchfield finished in 55th(20:47.59) and 56th(20:48.30) place, respectively.


Other finishes for the varsity boys team came from Quenton Ervin(73rd, 21:43.86), Maxwell Falanga(90th, 23:25.58) and Cohen Chambers(93rd, 23:32.53).


On the girls side, Social Circle was led by Lenzi Gaither, who ran a 28:39.67 to earn 57th place.


Other finishes for the Redskins’ girls team came from Emma Lantrip(64th, 29:44.25), Bennett Joyner(65th, 29:44.38), Vivian Watkins(72nd, 32:04.86), Lina Chavez(78th, 34:54.23), Alana Thomas(82nd, 38:46.49) and Shauna Bates(83rd, 41:41.04)


What’s Next


For Eastside, the team will go to compete at the Mountain Invitational at Unicoi State Park on Thursday, Oct. 2.


Newton will go on to run at the Sixth Annual Kent Kramer Classic at Athens Christian on Wednesday, Oct. 8.


Social Circle will take part in The Reservation Run 2025 at Stephens County High School on Thursday, Oct. 2.