A bold season opener, a breakthrough from Lafayette, and a patient comeback from an eighth grader highlighted this week's action in Mississippi. From Tupelo to the Coast, runners gave us plenty to talk about as the cross country season continued to take shape.
MHSAA Red-White-Blue Run
Sumrall's Gage Bezoski recorded the fastest boys time across the divisions at the MHSAA Red-White-Blue Run, winning his race in 17:48.09. Gulfport sophomore Tucker Hines claimed the other division title in 17:48.70, leaving just six-tenths of a second between their performances.
The two performances rank second and third in meet history behind Evan Hallford's 17:41 from 2024. For Bezoski, the result also represented a considerable step forward: he cut roughly 3:12 from his performance at this meet last year.
Petal's Adriana Cage led the girls with a winning time of 24:27, improving on her performance here last season by approximately 1:10. Both Cage and Bezoski left with victories and a clear measure of how far they have come in a year.
'ON' Running Tupelo InvitationalAndrew Brown wasted little time making his intentions clear in his season opener.
The Tupelo senior came into the race as clear favorite and Mississippi's top returner. This was his first race of the year and an eye-opening look into his goals for the year. From the start, he attacked the opening mile in under 4:40 and reached halfway around 7:20--7:25, putting a sub-15-minute finish within reach if he could sustain the effort. The pace began to catch up with him in the second half, and he passed two miles around 9:50--9:55 before finishing in 15:32.50. Even after slowing, Brown secured the win by more than 38 seconds.
Behind him, Lafayette junior Kiplin Loprinzi delivered one of the day's most impressive performances, finishing second in a personal-best 16:10.70.
The improvement on the clock was only part of the story. Loprinzi entered with a best of 16:14.06 and had run 16:42.37 at Memphis Twilight the previous weekend. At Tupelo, he raced with the confidence of someone ready to change the conversation. With Autry Foster, David Lee, Trace Thornhill, and Graham Vaughan in the field, the chase behind Brown promised to be competitive. Loprinzi took responsibility for that race early, leading the chase pack through the opening half-mile and beginning to create separation by the mile.
Lee and Foster remained within striking distance at halfway. Between that checkpoint and two miles, however, Loprinzi made the decisive move. His advantage grew, and the Lafayette junior entered the closing stretch with a firm grip on second place. He finished 13.3 seconds ahead of Lee, who took third in 16:24.00. On a humid day, Loprinzi had both lowered his personal best and beaten a strong group of challengers.
For me, the way he earned that result stood out most. He committed early, absorbed the pressure behind him, and kept extending his advantage. Already an accomplished runner, Loprinzi added another reason to include him among Mississippi's leading contenders this fall.
Tupelo sophomore David M. Sanders also deserves recognition. He finished fourth in 16:28.90, cutting nearly 22 seconds from his previous best of 16:50.58. Coming off a 17:07.61 at Memphis Twilight, Sanders produced a substantial rebound and his first sub-16:30 performance.
In the girls' race, Maggie Mask showed just how much patience can matter over 5,000 meters. The Tupelo Christian Preparatory School eighth grader opened her season with a 19:21.61 at Myrtle before recording slower times at NMPHC and TCPS Twilight. At Tupelo, she returned to the low-19-minute range with a performance that was as impressive tactically as it was on the clock.
Racing in the large-school division without the rest of her team, Mask faced experienced seniors Kailey Skaggs of Tupelo and Kyleigh Carter of Hernando. She let the early leaders establish the pace and settled into her own rhythm.
Skaggs passed the first mile around 5:45--5:50, while Mask followed in approximately 6:00--6:05. At halfway, the gap remained substantial: Skaggs came through around 9:15--9:20, with Mask at roughly 9:30--9:35. But Mask was making progress through the field. She had moved ahead of Carter into second, and the next stretch changed the race.
By two miles, Skaggs's advantage had shrunk to approximately five seconds. Mask had gained more than 10 seconds in about half a mile, bringing the leader firmly within reach heading into the final mile. She completed the comeback and continued to pull away, winning in 19:32.50. Skaggs finished second in 19:45.20, followed by Lafayette freshman Hazel Dawson in 20:22.40. Mask's early-season speed was already established. At Tupelo, she showed the composure to turn that ability into a win against a talented field.
Oxford won the large-school boys title with 67 points, followed by Tupelo with 80 and Clinton with 93. The girls championship came down to a tiebreaker, with Tupelo and Clinton both scoring 61 points and Tupelo taking the win on its sixth runner. Lewisburg finished third with 85.
Those battles deserve a closer look, from Oxford's tightly packed scoring five to the depth that decided the girls' title. Be on the lookout for a deeper dive into these team performances soon.
Coastal Meets: Ocean Springs Invitational and Saint Stanislaus Classic
Ocean Springs gave its home crowd plenty to celebrate, with Henry Danos and Bella Graves leading sweeps of the top three places in the boys and girls races.
Danos won the boys 5K in 17:46.46, finishing more than 49 seconds ahead of teammate Liam Daley. The freshman took second in 18:35.59, followed by junior Bryce Rainey in 18:52.18.
For Danos, the victory moved him up one spot from his runner-up finish at this meet last year. He also arrived with a strong recent result behind him: third place in 16:46.60 at The OPENER the previous weekend. His home victory added another top-three finish to the junior's start to the season.
Ocean Springs's depth carried through the rest of the scoring lineup. Patrick Ryan finished fifth overall in 19:07.85, just four-hundredths behind Saint Patrick's Armondo Codella, and freshman Bain Travis placed seventh in 20:28.69. With runners from incomplete teams excluded from scoring, the Greyhounds claimed the first five scoring positions for a perfect 15 points. West Harrison followed with 60 and Vancleave with 65.
Graves led a similarly strong showing at the front of the girls race, winning in 20:48.40. Fellow juniors Abby Walton and Jennifer Nguyen completed the Ocean Springs sweep, finishing in 21:16.66 and 22:09.57.
It was a successful title defense for Graves, who also won this meet last season. After finishing ninth in 20:26.90 at The OPENER a week earlier, she returned home and established a winning margin of more than 28 seconds.
With three juniors filling the podium, Ocean Springs showed an experienced core at the front of its lineup. Saint Patrick eighth grader Jolene LaPrad was the first runner to break up the Greyhounds' finishers, taking fourth in 23:19.01.
At the Saint Stanislaus Cross Country Classic, Tucker Hines completed a productive week with another win.
The Gulfport sophomore ran 17:19.58 to finish 11.05 seconds ahead of Biloxi senior Owen McMahon, who crossed in 17:30.63. The pair were the only runners under 18 minutes, with third-place Kyle Barnes of St. Paul's finishing in 18:27.47.
The most telling comparison for Hines comes from his previous appearance at this meet. Last year, he finished 17th in 19:06.58. This time, he returned to take the title while improving by exactly 1:47.
That year-over-year jump fits the larger pattern of his season. Hines opened with three consecutive runner-up finishes at the Cory McGee Open, Port City Classic, and Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. He then won his division at the Red-White-Blue Run before adding the Saint Stanislaus title three days later. His 16:09.26 personal best from Port City had already demonstrated his speed; this week brought the victories to match.
Pearl River Central's Thomas Molaison finished fifth in 18:33.87, while Will Compretta led the host Saint Stanislaus squad with a ninth-place finish in 18:50.97.
In the girls race, St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Celia Adams broke 20 minutes to win in 19:58.83, ahead of Archbishop Hannan's Jacklyn McMenamin in 20:40.36. Gulfport junior Hannah Ezell was Mississippi's top finisher, placing third in 22:37.68, with teammate June Karnes fifth in 23:03.33.
Our Lady Academy led the Mississippi girls teams, finishing second overall with 59 points behind Archbishop Hannan's 33. Eighth grader Caroline Zimmerli paced Our Lady Academy in seventh, and the team placed all five scorers inside the top 19. Gulfport finished third with 70 points.
A bold season opener, a breakthrough from Lafayette, and a patient comeback from an eighth grader highlighted this week's action in Mississippi. From Tupelo to the Coast, runners gave us plenty to talk about as the cross country season continued to take shape.
MHSAA Red-White-Blue Run
Sumrall's Gage Bezoski recorded the fastest boys time across the divisions at the MHSAA Red-White-Blue Run, winning his race in 17:48.09. Gulfport sophomore Tucker Hines claimed the other division title in 17:48.70, leaving just six-tenths of a second between their performances.
The two performances rank second and third in meet history behind Evan Hallford's 17:41 from 2024. For Bezoski, the result also represented a considerable step forward: he cut roughly 3:12 from his performance at this meet last year.