Burrell earns All-State honors, Lady Raiders finish ninth and Raiders finish seventh at GISA State Meet

Published 8:12 pm Monday, November 8, 2021

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From Staff Reports

 

 

MACON, GA – Southland Academy senior Jadie Burrell highlighted SAR’s cross country season by finishing in seventh place at the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) State XC Meet and earned All-State honors as a result. Burrell helped lead the Lady Raiders to a ninth place finish as a team, while the SAR boys’ team finished in sixth place at the state meet.

Burrell finished her brilliant senior season with another top 10 performance, as she finished in seventh place with a time of 22:33.06. Burrell finished just eight seconds shy of sixth place finisher Emma Burnett of Valwood, who finished the race in a time of 22:25.92. Ellie Runyan finished as the individual state champion, winning the race in a time of 21:19.43.

Burrell’s teammate, Brianna Brown, finished 31st out of 87 competitors in a time of 24:55.61 and Reese Graft was the next Lady Raider to cross the finish line, finishing in 46th place in a time of 25:56.00. Maddie Godwin (28:42.79) and Ella Arnold (28:49.05) also turned in solid performances in the GISA Girls’ State Meet.

In the team standings, the SAR girls finished in ninth place with 215 points and were 14 points behind eighth place finishers Tiftarea Academy (201). Westminster Schools of Augusta finished as the state runner-up with 74 points and Frederica Academy won the girls’ state title with 43 points. In the sport of cross country, in order for a team to finish high in the standings or to win a team championship, the goal is to finish with the fewest points possible.

The Southland Academy Boys’ Cross Country Team poses for a team picture before their race in the GISA State Meet. As a team, the Raiders finished in sixth place in state. Left to right: Tanner Humphrey, Noah Sheff, Lee Graft, Shaw Pinnell, Matteson Debaise, Matthew Peck, William Kinney.
Photo by Carol Burrell

In boys’ action, the Raiders finished in sixth place as a team with 167 points. Frederica Academy finished as the state runner-up with 66 points and Westminster Schools of Augusta won the boys’ team championship with 29 points.

Junior Tanner Humphrey turned in the best individual finish for the Raiders. Humphrey finished in 15th place out of 76 competitors, crossing the finish line in a time of 19:29.07. Eli Scott of Westminster Schools of Augusta won the individual state championship, finishing the boys’ race in a time of 17:45.64.

Southland Academy’s Jadie Burrell competes in the GISA State Meet.
Photo by Carol Burrell

Humphrey’s teammate, Noah Sheff, finished six spots behind in 25th place in a time of 20:26.58 and Matteson Debaise finished in 39th place with a time of 21:52.05.

Shaw Pinnell was the next Raider to cross, as he finished the race in a time of 22:35.70. William Kinney (24:22.37), Lee Graft (24:32.87) and Matthew Peck (25:06.42) also turned in solid performances in the boys’ state meet.