Weekend Preview: 2023 Miss. XC back in full force

South Panola XC Classic

Venue Records: South Panola High School

• High School Boys: Adam Gomez (Desoto Central High School): 17:18.90
• High School Girls: Riley Jackson (Hernando High School): 20:28.53

Reigning Champions

• Varsity Boys: Austin Winstead (Senatobia High School)
• Varsity Girls: Madison Jordan (Senatobia High School)

Entries

Teams Entered

• Blue Mountain High School
• Cleveland Central High School
• Coahoma County High School
• Desoto Central High School
• Greenville HS
• Hernando High School
• Houlka High School
• Leflore County High School
• Lewisburg High School
• Olive Branch High School
• Senatobia High School
• South Panola High School
• South Pontotoc High School
• Strayhorn High School

Quick Highlights

• Desoto Central's Gavin Brown, a rising senior and well-rounded distance runner with PR's of 2:00, 4:30, and 16:01 in the 800m, 1600m, and 5K(XC), enters as the No. 1 seed and will be making his 2023 Cross Country debut. However, not far behind is fellow MHSAA 6A rival Graham Weiss, a long distance specialist from Hernando High School with a 5K(XC) PR of 16:09. These two athletes are the only competitors in the Varsity Boys field with PR's of under 17 minutes, and could potentially push each other to a new venue record time. Watch out for Brown's kick late in the race!
• It will be the duel of the duos in the Varsity Girls race, as Hernando's Kaitlyn Burge and Riley Jackson will toe the line against the Blanchard sisters, Rylee Blanchard and Kaydi Blanchard. Burge, the recent MHSAA 6A runner-up in the 1600m, enters as the No. 1 seed with a 5K(XC) PR of 19:11, while Jackson currently holds the venue record. Add in South Panola's Maine Lund who will have the home course advantage, and we have ourselves a highly-competitive, early-season Varsity Girl's race!