On a temperate, sunny Saturday morning, the Boys Cross Country team traveled to Jefferson Georgia for the 2018 North Georgia Championships. Hosted by East Jefferson High School, 18 teams from across the state converged at Lamar Murphy Park on Saturday, August 28. The Raiders finished 10th overall against a stacked field. Sophomore Eli Hoppenfeld gave notice that he will be looking for the podium at State in November by placing 17th with a time of 17:47.
The JV race featured some great pack running, which is becoming a hallmark of a McKeone-coached squad. Freshman Brayden Dugger led a parade of Raiders who finished 67-69-71-75-78.
Boys Cross Country Head Coach Zach McKeone was really happy with his team. "Once again, we ran great. We are exactly where we should be this time of year. A bunch of guys pushed themselves hard today. In particular, I want to recognize Eli Hoppenfeld, Riley (Cooper), Brayden (Dugger), and Alex (Culbreath) who really left it all out on the course today. And a then there's Cody Kaplan, who literally left it all out on the course; he sprinted past a bunch of runners down the stretch and left his breakfast at the finish line."
The team next competes as a split squad on Saturday, September 8. The Varsity heads to Carrollton to preview the State course, while the JV heads over to Marist for the vaunted Coach Benson Double Dip.
View or download the Boys Cross Country 2018 Schedule
Raiders North Georgia Championship Top 10:
17:47 Eli Hoppenfeld
18:40 Cody Kaplan
18:40 Alex Culbreath
18:58 Harry Mehre
19:36 Armaan Manjiyani
19:36 Riley Cooper
20:01 Mick McQuary
20:11 Edgar Avalos Loaeza
20:33 Ian Radar
20:35 Jacob Johnson
