*Benjamin Owens of Madison Central
Photo Credits: Drew Lewis, Milesplit Mississippi
Madison, MS --- It was the Ben Owens show at the 2022 Jaguar Trails Classic in the Varsity Boys 5K.
Owens took a commanding victory, marking his second win of the season. Finishing in a time of 16:46, he was only 11 seconds off his PR from the fast 2022 Saltillo Cross Country Invitational.
Not only did Owens take the win, but this race marks the largest margin of victory in his career, finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of Germantown's Kohl Griffin, who had a great race in his own right.
Griffin finished in a time of 17:14 over the 5k distance, the second-fastest performance he has had this season. He narrowly edged out the freshman from Neshoba High School, Evan Hallford.
Hallford has had a fantastic freshman year. On Saturday, he ran a new PR of 17:16. This performance earned him a podium finish.
In addition, Hallford has cemented himself as the second-fastest freshman in the state, based on all Mississippi performances this season.
RANKINGS: Mississippi 9th-Grade Boys 5K List
*Hannah Mitchell, Pearl River Central High School
Photo Credits: Drew Lewis, Milesplit Mississippi
This victory marked Mitchell's first win of the season, and it was also a significant PR as well, improving upon her previous best time by nearly 25 seconds.
This was undoubtedly Mitchell's best performance this season, and it will be exciting to see how she continues to progress into the championship season.
Behind Mitchell was French Camp's Lucy Littlejohn, and taking the final podium finish was Kylie Truss from Neshoba Central HS.
Truss also had a fantastic day, running a time of 21:20, her second time under 22 minutes for 5k. This was also a massive PR for her of more than 30 seconds.
Other News
McKinley Drennan, NW Rankin
Photo credits: Drew Lewis MileSplit Mississippi
Cooper Wallace of Brookhaven High School took the middle school boys' 2-mile victory in a time of 11:32. This was his first 2-mile race of the season, placing him sixth in the state over that distance. Gage Sumrall took the runner-up spot in 11:52, his first time under 12 minutes for the cross-country 2-mile.
In the middle school girl's race, McKinley Drennan got a win of 12:58 in the 2-mile distance, winning by over 30 seconds over North West Rankin's Grace Hoeniges, extending her undefeated 2022 cross country season in the middle school scene.