Sports
Milton Runners Finish In Top 50 At Nike Cross Country Nationals
Sam Bowers placed 35th while Nicholas Yanek finished 44th in the championship held in Portland, Oregon.
By Andy Carr
PORTLAND, OR -- Milton High School senior cross-country runners Sam Bowers (35th-15:45) & Nicholas Yanek (44th-15:52) concluded the best season in Fulton County if not the state of Georgia by their finishes at the Nike Cross Country Nationals today on the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon. In a field of close to 200 runners, Eagle runners Bowers & Yanek raced the nation’s best high school runners on a rain-soaked and muddy course to finish in the top 50 in the nation.
The race started out fast & furious and also very crowded as the top-teams & individuals from around the country vied for the title in both a team and individual championship. Bowers & Yanek represented the SE USA which performed well with the winning team Loudon Valley (VA-1st-89 pts) coming from the SE region. Finishing 2nd overall was Brody Hasty (TN/Brentwood Academy-2nd-15:06) on the same SE team as Bowers & Yanek. The Milton duo had a crowded start and said they were pushed and bounced around most of the early part of the race.
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After the 1st mile, Bowers (52nd-4:56) & Yanek (67th-4:58) began to move steadily through the field and passed many by the time they got to the 2-mile mark where Bowers (30th-10:06) & Yanek (40th-10:10) had improved their positions and looked to be able to pass even more but as the final mile wound-down both Milton Eagles held pretty much where they were and went on to record their 35th & 44th place finishes.
Later this week both Bowers & Yanek will be honored by Atlanta Track Club at their annual All-Metro Cross-Country banquet honoring the Atlanta area best cross country athletes. In 2016 Bowers was named Metro Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
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This final race of the 2017 cross country season was the conclusion of Milton’s most successful season in school history with highlights that included an undefeated regular season, 5th consecutive county title, 4th consecutive Furman Invite title, 3rd region/area title, the school’s 1st state championship in the states largest classification.
Along with the best team time average in state history, the Eagles look forward to improving on their 4th place state track finish from earlier this year, which was their first trophy winning performance at the state meet since 1966.
