2022 RunningLane Cross Country Championships
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- Mississippi saw a total of 37 athletes compete at the 2022 Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships.
Regarding who covered the muddy 5,000-meter course the fastest, Tupelo's Taylor Brown and Simpson's Lilly Overby, the 2022 Mississippi XC All-State Championships winner, rose to the top. Brown stopped the clock at 16:04.8 to place 22nd in the Silver Boys 5K, while Overby was the only female prep from the Magnolia state to go under 20 minutes in the 5K, running 19:54.1 to place 86th in the Silver Girls 5K.
While the venue of John Hunt Park is famous for its fast times, the weather got the best of it and ran an average of 30-45 seconds slower than normal. For reference, Christian Balcer's state record of 14:3X was set at the 2020 RunningLane Cross Country Championships at that venue. However, the winner of this year's Championship race was 15:0X, over a minute slower than last year.
At the end of the day, however, the sport of Cross Country is about nothing but pure competition, and Mississippi's best distance runners did just that on Saturday at the 2022 Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships.
Tupelo High School's Taylor Brown
*commenting on his race strategy and the course conditions
"I had heard before the race that if you got stuck in the pack, it was impossible to get out because all of the mud. So, I got out hard in the top 10 through the mile at around 4:50 . I knew I was gonna slow down because of the mud and the hill on the back half, so I tried to just stay around the top group. I dropped back a few spots after the 4k hill but then started passing a few guys the last 400 meters."
*commenting on what he learned at such a high-caliber competition
"Sometimes staying relaxed at the beginning doesn't always work as well as putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, in big meets"
*Tupelo's Andrew Brown breaking the Mississippi Middle School Boys 3K record
Photo credits: Chris Webber
Post-meet Statistics
-Taylor Brown and Lilly Overby were the fastest Mississippi performers of the day at 16:04 and 19:54, respectively.
-Brown was the only Mississippi High School Boy under 16:20 in the 5K, and Overby the only Mississippi High School Girl under 20 minutes.
-Andrew Brown, little brother Taylor Brown and Mississippi Middle School Boys 3K state record holder, was the fastest 8th-grader at the entire meet with a 5K time of 16:28.1, good for 56th place in the Bronze Boys 5K.
-A total of 5 Mississippi preps ran 16:30 or faster. Those athletes are the Brown brothers, Madison St. Joe's William Fugate, and Oak Grove's Bennett Ferguson and Gavin Wheat. Assuming the statistic of this year's meet running 30-45 seconds slow, it would be safe to say that these athletes would have broken 16 minutes in the 5K.
-Gabe McElwain and Sidney Stegall, the top two Mississippi High School Boys in Cross Country, were unable to compete at this year's RunningLane Cross Country Championships.
Important Links
Results | Race Video | Mississippi course records, John Hunt Park - High School Boys - High School Girls | Combined Mississippi Results - High School Boys - High School Girls *coming soon!*