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AMERICUS – The Furlow Charter (FC) girls and boys cross country teams both showed why they are at the top of the class, as both teams captured the GHSA Class A Division 2 Region 6 cross country championships on Wednesday, October 25, at the Sumter County Parks and Recreation course.

The FC Lady Falcons won the region title with just 25 points and finished ahead of region runners up Schley County (SCHS), who finished with 58 points. On the boys’ side, the FC Falcons won the region title with just 22 points, 24 points less than region runners up Marion County, who finished the meet with 46 points. In cross the country, the team goal is to score the fewest points possible.

The Schley County boys’ team finished in third place with a total of 65 points.

On the girls’ side, FC’s Maria Kilheffer won the girls’ race, finishing with a time of 22:41. “It feels really good to be region champion. The race went pretty smoothly,” Kilheffer said. Kilheffer’s teammate, Elizabeth Arizmendi, finished as the race runner up with a time of 24:30. Karen Perez was the next Lady Falcon to cross the finish line. Perez finished in fourth place with a time of 24:54, which is a new PR (personal record) for her. Mallory Crenshaw of Schley County finished right behind Perez in a time of 25:22.

The next local runner to cross the finish line was FC’s Addison Drinnon. Drinnon finished in eighth place with a time of 26:35. Drinnon’s teammate, Ashley Narvaez, finished 11^th out of 32 competitors with a time of 27:12. Other local female athletes who turned in strong performances are as follows:

 

• Kaleigh Johnson (SCHS) 27:39
• Emily Wilder (SCHS) 27:56
• Syruis Zhang (FC) 29:20
• Britton Cox (SCHS) 29:22
• Lily Harris (SCHS) 31:47
• Brandi Ardon (FC) 33:05
• Abby Kirkland (SCHS) 33:17

 

On the boys’ side, FC’s Dennis Gonzalez won the boys’ race and finished in a time of 18:05, which is a new PR (personal record) for him. Gonzalez’s brother, Ibis Gonzalez, finished as the race runner up in a time of 18:38. “It feels really good. I’ve been dreaming about this forever. I knew I could make it happen,” Dennis Gonzalez said. Ian Biedermann of FC finished the race in third place with a time of 18:41.

The next local male athlete to cross the finish line was FC’s Haydn Wright, who finished in sixth place with a time of 19:32. Markus Sowell of Schley County finished right behind Wright in seventh place with a time of 19:55.

Cole Bartholome was the next local runner to cross. Bartholome finished in 11^th place out of 31 competitors in a time of 22:16. Other local male athletes who turned in solid performances in the region meet are as follows:

 

• Ethan Bliss (SCHS) 22:59
• Sterling Blanchard (SCHS) 23:03
• London Lee (SCHS) 23:24
• Eli Grace (SCHS) 23:54
• Ty Grace (SCHS) 24:00
• Hudson Barker (SCHS) 24:33
• Wiley Stewart (FC) 24:54

 

There were also girls and boys’ junior varsity races as well. As a team, FC took the top spot in the JV Boys’ standings with 20 points and Schley County was the runner up with 35 points

Individually, Aiden Mathis won the boys’ race, finishing with a time of 20:18. Mathis’s two teammates, Jacob Walker and Tony Aguilar, finished in second and third place respectively with times of 21:50 and 22:58.

Tray Thomas of Schley County finished in fourth place with a time of 23:31and Judah Grace of SCHS finished right behind Thomas in a time of 23:50. Other JV boys’ runners who turned in strong performances in the JV meet are as follows:

 

• Anthony Molina (FC) 24:32
• Thomas Eggers (SCHS) 24:45
• Lawrence Chang (FC) 24:50
• Matteo DeTitta (SCHS) 24:59
• Chase Owens (SCHS) 25:09
• Antonio Arencibia (SCHS) 25:50
• Remington Bellew (SCHS) 26:12
• Jayden Monford (SCHS) 26:14
• Baylor Hughes (SCHS) 26:18
• Jackson Crowley (SCHS) 26:35
• Kyler Walton (SCHS) 32:16

 

In the JV girls’ race, Neicy Perez of FC won the race and finished in a time of 24:52. Khloe Little of Schley County finished as the runner up (27:50) and Ramsey Driver of Schley County finished in third place with a time of 27:51.

Jentrea Skipper of Schley County finished in fourth place (27:53) and Litzy Alejo of FC finished the race in fifth place in a time of 30:32. Other local runners in the JV girls’ race who turned in solid performances are as follows:

 

• Shelby Tanner (FC) 31:42
• Mikayla Jackson (SCHS) 31:46
• Shelby Barfield (SCHS) 31:49
• Sandra McCook (FC) 33:30
• Sarah Renfroe (SCHS) 36:30
• Harley Eggers (SCHS) 38:23