By MICHAEL MURRAY

AMERICUS – Several area schools met at Southland Academy on Sept. 9 to compete in the 2017 Southland Invitational, including Schley County High, Southland, Furlow Charter School (FCS), and Americus-Sumter High School (ASHS).
The local athletes competed against teams from Sherwood Christian, Grace Christian Academy, Terrell Academy, Southwest Georgia Academy, and Westfield School.
In varsity boys’ action, Sherwood Christian (team) finished in first place at the meet, followed closely by the Schley county team, which earned second place.
Schley’s Anthony Austin earned individual first-place honors at the meet, completing the 5K with an impressive time of 18:45.06. Schley’s Aaron Pinckard took fifth-place honors with a time of 19:30.18, followed by Southland’s Gray Torbert, who completed the 5K in 19:34.81.
Southland’s Max Foster earned an eighth-place finish, followed by Schley runners, Tucker Welch and Peter Horton, who occupied the ninth and tenth-place spots, respectively.
In the varsity girls’ competition, the Southland Lady Raiders took the top spot on the dais due, in part, to a first-place finish by Southland speedster, Ryleigh Bell, who won the individual race with a time of 21:12.69.
The FCS team took fifth place as a group and Southland followed with a sixth-place team finish.
FCS’ Maya Wynn took second place in the individual race, making her way through the course in 22:00.22. Southland’s Alex Exum and Calyn Fort occupied the fifth and sixth-place spots, completing the race in 23:20.09 and 23:27.69, respectively.
Georgia Torbert added a seventh-place finish to Southland’s tally and Reese Roland came in eighth for the Lady Raiders.
In the junior varsity boys’ competition, Schley County took second-place honors behind a strong team from Sherwood Christian.
Southland’s Tanner Humphrey took third place in the individual race, finishing the course in 12:28.22. Schley’s Dustin Howard finished sixth with a time of 13:44.78. Schley’s Griffin Toms finished tenth with a time of 14:20.06 and FCS’ Edwin Gonzalez followed closely, trailing Toms by only four seconds.
The Lady Raiders finished first in the girls’ junior varsity meet, with the FCS team ending up in fifth place.
Southland was paced by Jadie Burrell, whose time of 13:58:59 was good for a second-place finish. Southland’s Julia Claire Hubbard earned sixth place with a time of 15:29.78.
FCS’ Vanesa Aquirre finished ninth in 15:45.84. Southland’s Ila Johnson came in 11th place.
Southland’s runners will be returning to action on Sept. 16, participating in the Westwood Wildcat Invitational in Camilla.
Schedules for Schley and FCS’ cross country teams were not available at press time.