From STAFF REPORTS

CHULA – The Southland Academy Cross Country teams traveled to Tift County to compete in the Tiftarea Academy Panther Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 1.
Other teams attending included Sherwood Christian, Berrien County, Cook County, Grace Christian, Westwood, Crisp Academy, Furlow Charter School, and Fitzgerald, as well as several additional middle school teams.
For the second time this season, the Lady Raiders and their Middle School counterparts swept the girls’ races.
Freshman, Ryleigh Bell, was the overall winner of the varsity women’s race, outrunning Sherwood Christian’s leader, Samantha Pappas.
Junior team captain, Sydney Hayes, took fourth place. Sophomore, Calyn Fort came in in fifth and Lilli Dickens nabbed an eighth-place finish. Senior Paisley Greene was the number-five runner.
Sherwood Christian’s team took second place, followed by Berrien County in third.
In middle school action, Jadie Burrell took third place to lead her team to the title. Georgia Torbert came in fifth, followed by Elizabeth Law in seventh, and Reese Roland in eighth. Brooke Wiesner was the team’s number-five runner. Berrien County took second in the middle school division and Sherwood Christian came in third.
Southland’s varsity men earned third-place honors, behind Tiftarea and Berrien County.
Senior team captain, Billy Calcutt, was the meet runner-up behind Tiftarea’s Dallas Hunt.
Freshman, Gray Torbert, finished fourth. Zach Calcutt, Harrison Bell, and Trent Rundle made up the top-five for Southland’s men.
Southland’s middle school boys finished outside the top three, but boasted two top-four finishers in Max Foster (meet runnerup) and Tanner Humphrey, who finished fourth.
Furlow Charter School’s meet results were not available at press time.
Southland’s varsity teams leave the state of Georgia once again next weekend, traveling to Tallahassee for the FSU invitational at Apalachee Regional Park. This park is the site of the upcoming Florida State High School Championships as well as the NCAA Division I South Regionals.
The middle school teams are currently preparing for their own State Invitational in Sandersville on Oct. 15.