Both the Raider Boys and Girls Cross Country teams competed at the 2015 Coach Benson Double Dip Invitational held at Marist on Saturday, September 12.
The Marist course is considered a tough course; however, fast times are possible for strategic runners. The last time the Raiders ran this course, only one Raider came in under 19:00 and only one other broke 21:00. This year was a different story. Over the four races Saturday, the Raiders clocked two runners under 19:00, seven runners under 20:00, and 11 runners under 21:00. It was a day of personal bests, too, as 17 Raiders set new times, four others ran their best races of the year, and four more were within 15 seconds of either a season or personal best.
Varsity Notes
The Raiders finished 14th out of 27 teams and they came very close to their 18:39 goal. (Based on Owen McDaniel's (Class of 2015) time set on this course in 2013). Jeffrey Edge (18:50) led the way and was only one second from a new PR. Mark Shutley followed right behind (18:51). Andrew Ungashick and Willie Herrigel both finished at 19:26; Luis Zambrano was next (19:37). Reece Bernard and Trey Dotson rounded out the Varsity scoring, crossing the finish line in just over 20:00.
JV Notes
Probably running in the worst conditions of the day, the JV team finished 12th out of 22 teams. Baxter Shirey led the way with a breakout performance of 19:44 (26th overall). Others scoring for the JV were Bayne Jarvis, Christopher Sprung, Benny Soran, Mitchell Davidson (PR), Samuel Miller (PR), and William Madden.
1st year Runners Race
As the day progressed, the humidity dropped significantly. The novice Raiders enjoyed the improved conditions and placed 6th out of 15 teams. After missing the last two races due to an injury, Erick Ramirez picked right up where he left off with a Top Ten finish. He was 8th overall and his 19:58 was a PR. Gerardo Camacho ran an almost three minute PR placing 16th with a time of 20:14. Others setting PR's were: Richard Lea, Juan Pablo Gasperin, Ethan Hunt, Nasir Muhammad, Reid Scheinman, Charlie Woodman, and Jared Mills.
Open Race
All eight Raiders in the Open race ran a PR or a season best. Leading the way were Harrison Andrews (33rd) and Jaime Prentice (52nd) with season best runs. PR's came from Edgar Avalos Losza, Ethan Wells, Jonah Mills, Yair Barranca, Jack Buehner, and JP Lutz.
The next race is not until Tuesday, September 22nd at Woodland High School in Cartersville.