Weekend Recap: 2021 Watson becomes deepest MS XC Meet Ever

Boys

In the boy's silver division race, Saltillo High School swept the competition, scoring 19 points total with their top 7 all finishing in the top 10 with a team average of 16:57. Corinth High School placed second overall with a team score of 66 points with their top 7 finishing in the top 30. Saltillo's J.J. Lincoln and Mohammad Zaqief along with Corinth's Parker LeGoff took the podium spots individually, with all three runners hitting under sub 16:45. The top 22 runners crossed the finish line all going under sub 18 with little separation in between, proving the dense field in the silver division.

Note from the State Editor: This was indeed a very strong showing from Saltillo, literally dominating the large school race placing what seemed like their whole entire team inside of the top 10. Also hats off to J.J. Lincoln and Parker Legoff for giving us a great race, as Lincoln's confidence was sky high after his performance at Saltillo and you could tell, and Legoff simply would not let go of Lincoln. Zaqief also ran a huge PR, breaking 17 for the first time in his career. 

Race Video: 

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Girls

In the girl's silver division race, a young Simpson Academy squad scored big with a team total of 42 points to take home the team win with Dominican placing second scoring 106. A tight race for third place between Saltillo, Lewisburg, and Corinth went down, with Saltillo coming out on top with a score of 114 points. All three teams were within one point of each other and within seconds average between. Saltillo's Mia Card took home the individual win, clocking in at 20:11. Corinth's Emma Hall took second place with a time of 20:27 and Lewisburg's Rylee Blanchard placed third with a time of 20:30. The top ten finishers in this race all ran under sub 21.

Note from the State Editor: Simpson had a huge run in the large school, smoking the field which included a very strong Saltillo squad. Their win and 1-5 5k average automatically qualifies them to the All-State Meet, a feat that Saltillo, Corinth, and Lewisburg all accomplished as well. 

Race Video: 

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Blue Division

Boys

In the boy's blue division race, Christ Episcopal School barely edged out Saint Patrick High School for the win, scoring 40 points and 49 points, respectively. Both teams had their top 3 runners in the top 10, dominating most of the front pack. Ouachita Christian placed third overall with a score of 108 points. Individually, Saint Patrick's Jack Hewes highlights the race with a breakout performance, going sub 16 for the first time in his young high school career and winning with a time of 15:57. Christ Episcopal's Jake Tournillon placed second with a time of 16:20 along with his teammate Mason Lyons taking the third place spot with a time of 17:37.

Note from the State Editor: What an absolutely insane run from Jack Hewes - one of the most impressive runs of the whole day. As a matter of fact, that this was the #2 All-time run for a sophomore, and he ran that in the small school race! I can't wait to see what this stud does against the likes of Leverett, or even better, the All-State Meet. 

Girls

In the girls' blue division race, French Camp High School won with a score of 49 points, having their top 5 runners placing in the top 20. Christ Episcopal School placed second scoring 64 points with St. Augustine barely edging out Saint Patrick by two points with a score of 86 points. Another huge individual performance was Christ Episcopal's Svenya Stoyanoff, winning with a time of 19:01, breaking her PR in the 5k by roughly a minute. Highlighting the Mississippi talent were French Camp's Lucy Littlejohn, who placed second clocking in a time of 20:04 and Benton Academy's Lindsey Hogue, coming in third place with a time of 20:08.

Note from the State Editor: French Camp is the real deal folks, staying undefeated through their 7th race of the year! They are easily the best small school in the state right now, and with such a young team, I can't wait to see what they do later down the road.