The Boys Cross Country team traveled to Cartersville for the Woodland Quad Meet on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. Woodland's course, called The Rock, has a 400 meter winding hill which begins its elevation early in the second mile. The hill serves as a transition between a relatively flat, wide open field, into sheltered, tree-covered trails.
Senior Mark Shutley won the Varsity race and led the Raiders to a second place overall team finish. The JV Raiders won their competition, having six of the top nine runners overall.
Varsity Notes:
Although four teams stood on the starting line, the fiercest competition was between the Raiders and the host Woodland Wildcats. The Rome Wolves and Adairsville Tigers also competed in the Boys Varsity race.
When a pack of three Woodland Wildcats jumped out at the start, Raiders Mark Shutley and Jeffrey Edge were right with them. Trailing about ten meters behind the leaders was another pack of three Wildcats and four Raiders. Shutley and Edge passed the first mile marker at 5:22, 15 meters off the leaders, with the next group of Raiders passing at 5:36-5:40. The second mile was over the hill and out of sight.
When the runners emerged from the trails for the final stretch, many were surprised to see only two runners -- and the Raiders were thrilled to see Shutley ahead of the Woodland runner by five yards. The Wildcat was tiring; as his hands went to his head in an attempt to catch his breath, Shutley surged even further ahead. With 800 meters remaining, the race was his. Shutley earned his first victory with an impressive PR time of 17:46 (only 17 seconds off the Raiders best time on this course).
Trey Dotson was the next Raider to cross the tape. He finished 6th immediately behind the Woodland lead pack with a PR 18:18. Jeffrey Edge also set a PR; he was 7th overall at 18:31. Andrew Ungashick outkicked Adairsville's top runner for 10th place. Luis Zambrano finished 12th; Willie Herrigel finished 14th; Reece Bernard finished 19th. The team finished 2nd behind Woodland 33-36, with Rome in 3rd with 77 points.
JV Notes:
Although the five-team JV start was slightly delayed, the Raiders were able to stay focused on their race plan. In addition to Woodland, Rome, and Adairsville, Excel Christian Academy joined the JV competition. Similar to the Varsity race, the Woodland runners aggressively claimed the lead in the first half mile. The Raider pack, and a few Rome runners, settled in behind.
Shortly before the end of the first mile, Rome's top runner charged ahead, closely followed by Baxter Shirey and Bayne Jarvis. As the group hit the hill, Shirey closed on the Rome runner. At the same time, Erick Ramirez worked his way through the crowd and began chasing the front runners.
Once the leaders emerged from the trails for the final 1200 meters, Shirey was still at the front. It was a two-man race for the win between Shirey and the runner from Rome, with Ramirez (19:47) having worked his way into the third spot. The Rome runner won at 19:13; Shirey in second at 19:21 (PR). Jarvis finished 6th and a three-man pack (Nasir Muhammad, Chris Sprung, and Gerardo Camacho) outkicked a Rome pack to clinch the team victory.
In addition to PR's by Baxter Shirey and Erick Ramirez, eight other Raiders notched PR's: Nasir Muhammad (20:50), Mitchell Davidson (21:20), John Henry Fitzgerald (21:54), Sam Miller (21:59), Sam Sullivan (23:08), Jared Mills (23:15), Edgar Avalos Losza (23:40), and Yair Barranca (23:55)
The next Boys Cross Country race is the Cass-Cartersville Invitational at Dellinger Park in Cartersville on Tuesday, October 6. The Cass-Cartersville Invitational is the largest and longest-running weekday meet in the Southeast.
