The Fort Mill Township will be well represented in the state cross-country championships coming this week.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams for Fort Mill, Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge will all be participating at the Sandhills Research Center Nov. 5 and 6. The 4A event will be at 11:30 a.m. for the girls and noon for the boys Nov. 5, while the 5A event will be at 9 a.m. for the girls and 9:30 a.m. for the boys Nov. 6.
The 4A state qualifier was held Oct. 30 in Chapin at Crooked Creek Recreational Park. Catawba Ridge boys won their race of 12 teams finishing first with a score of 62. Sam Rich won the race in 15:10 to lead the Copperheads.
In the girls’ race, Catawba Ridge finished sixth making the state meet by two points with a 163 compared to Aiken High’s 165. Maddy Mack led the Copperheads with a seventh-place finish in 19:53.
In the 5A girls race at the state qualifier Saturday, Nation Ford’s Katie Pou won one of two races, as teams had to be divided to prevent overcrowding for COVID-19 prevention. The top six teams from each race advanced to the state meet. Pou won the race in 18:31 and Nation Ford finished fourth overall. JL Mann won the race with a score of 26, while Fort Mill came in second with a 75. Alivia Cleveland was the highest finisher for Fort Mill coming in seventh overall in 19:34.
In the boys’ 5A state qualifier, Connor O’ Flynn was the highest finisher for Nation Ford coming in third at 15:51. Nation Ford finished fifth overall, as Wade Hampton won the race. Alec Lootens was ninth overall coming in at 16:15 for Fort Mill as their highest finisher. The Jackets finished third overall as a team. It was the first race this season that Fort Mill has competed in that they didn’t win.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
