2021 Tupelo Invitational
STACKED Large School Boys Race
The Large School Boys Race at the Tupelo Invitational saw nearly everybody in the North part of the state and did not disappoint. We saw 8 guys so sub-17 in the 5k, and 5 under 16:40. This year is one of the deepest years Mississippi has had for a while - just look at this pack at the 1-mile mark! And if you think this pack is deep, you should have seen Saltillo...
The winner that emerged from this pack was none other than All-State #3 ranked Luke Johnson of Oxford, who was the on-paper favorite going into this one. Johnson won in a 16:05, a 12 second PR and a course record, and ever so close to the sub-16 5k. He placed 3rd at Saltillo the week before and looks to be getting fitter every race as he is coming off of injury. 2nd, however, was a surprise, as Jaheim Bridges came charging in for another HUGE PR on his season, a 16:11. Bridges has now officially taken over a minute off of his 5k PR from last cross country season. Last year at state, Bridges placed 24th, but now finds himself in the running for the title favorite. Bridges stock is shooting up!! Bridges teammate, and All-State #5 ranked Taylor Brown rounded out the top 3, running 16:28.
The team race was also very close, as the 1st-3rd place teams were separated by a mere 8 points! Although Saltillo had the slowest 5k average of those 3, it was again their wicked 1-5 split that brought them through for the win, taking down Oxford by 4 points. Tupelo came in 3rd, 4 points behind Oxford.
Morgan Bounces Back, Gann reaches sub-20 5k
Moving over to the girl's race, All-State #5 Brookelyn Morgan is back to her winning ways, taking the win on her home course in 19:25 for 5k, 26 seconds ahead of the next competitor and also course record, which was All-State #6 ranked Kate Gann of Itawamba AHS. Morgan took it out hard as she likes to do and never looked back, running almost a minute faster than what she ran at the same course 5 weeks prior. Also running about a minute faster was Gann, as she finally snagged her first-ever sub-20 5k in her career, and I'm sure there will be more to follow. Gann proved to MHSAA 4A that she continues to be the favorite for the state title, and Morgan proved that she isn't out of the fight just yet.
In the team race, it was a Saltillo sweep as the girls took the team title by 55 points, scoring 36 total points for the win. What helped them out a lot was their usual low stick, Mia Card, coming back - She was out part of the season due to COVID. The Saltillo girls are back, though, and look to be the favorite for taking the MHSAA 5A team title.
Strong JV Competition
The Middle School competition was just as strong at Tupelo. In the girl's race, we saw the small school underdog from Baldyn, Eliza McCarley take down the 2 best large school JV runners in Maggie Irwin and Abbey Sanders, handing Irwin her first loss of the season. McCarley, Irwin, and Sanders all broke 13 minutes for the 2 mile and would have all placed in the top 15 in the boy's race.
Speaking of the boy's race, to no one's surprise, it was once again all Andrew Brown way up front, again winning by over a minute and agonizingly close to breaking the 11-minute barrier, running 11:00.11 for 2 miles - which is still absolutely absurd. There is no doubt in my mind that Brown will eventually run 10:5x. As a matter of fact, rumor has it that he will be at Jesse Owens this upcoming weekend...