TCPS Twilight
Varsity Girls Race
Wow... a lot like the varsity boy's race, I did not see this one coming. Kate Gann, who recently took 2nd to Tupelo's Brookelyn Morgan at the Golden Wave Season Opener, showed the whole state that her performance was no fluke as she took the win against a star-studded field in Belden, MS on Thursday night. That field included 2 of the 6 runners in the state, #6 ranked runner Mia Dawson and #5 ranked runner Mia Card, MHSAA 4A State Champion Hannah Sanders, the Meeks sister, Ava Meeks and Katie Meeks, AND the stacked Saltillo High School girl's squad. At the halfway mark, Gann was leading with Dawson covering her every move, and it was evident that the winner would be one of these 2. In the end, though, it was Gann who came out on top with a fast last mile, being the lone runner to break 21 minutes in the 5k on a tough course and a very hot day. With two very solid performances to open up her season, Gann will most likely find herself on the updated MileSplit Mississippi All-State teams, which will be dropped tomorrow.
Varsity Girls results can be found HERE
Varsity Girls Race Video can be found HERE
Varsity Boys Race
As I hinted earlier, exactly like the girl's race, there was an upset in the varsity boy's race as well. That upset was caused by Saltillo's J.J. Lincoln. This was a huge race from Lincoln. As a matter of fact, this was his first-ever win on the grass, and even his first ever top 5 finish in cross country. Lincoln was only 6 seconds away from his PR, which is from his home course in Saltillo. And as we all may know, this course is MUCH harder than Saltillo, and probably runs at least 45 seconds slower. Lincoln took the lead early on and never looked back, and although he may have only won by a mere 5 seconds, he took control of the race much earlier than the finish. The fact that Lincoln had that much the confidence to take control of the field like that and go for the win, especially when on paper he isn't even #1 on his team, is awesome, and he opened up his season with a bang on Thursday night.
Varsity Boys results can be found HERE
Varsity Boys Race Video can be found HERE
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A quick summary of the team race would be that it was all Saltillo in both the Varsity Races. The girls put 3 in the top 8 (Overall) and won the meet with 77 points, and the boys had an even more dominating victory, placing all 5 of their scoring runners in the top 9 (Overall), and their 6 and 7 were not far behind. Kossuth High School took the small school scoring section on the girl's side (Races were run together and results were separated afterward), and TCPS defended their home course and brought home the team win on the boy's side. While the times weren't screaming from this meet, this was indeed a very hilly course and was run in the late afternoon in the mid-to-high '80s, so I'm sure the effort was definitely there and will show on a faster course.