Pickens Proves Productive for Eagle Runners

Roper Park, Jasper, GA

10/14/22

The Milton Cross Country teams returned to Roper Park in Jasper, GA for their final regular season meet at the Pickens & Grinnin’ Invitational and got a preview of the GHSA Region 6-7A course and came away with 2 race wins, 3 runner-up finishes & a 3rd place in collective team finishes.

Varsity Boys
In a battle of state top-10 ranked programs, Milton (2nd-67 pts) raced well but was unable to match the Wolverines of West Forsyth (1st-38 pts). The Eagles put down 12 scoring schools with 5A top-ranked Dacula (3rd-113 pts) closest to the Eagles. Senior co-captain Cory Chambers (4th-16:17) paced Milton and led close to half of the race. The Eagles kept it close to the Wolverines with strong races from sophomore Justin Sevel (11th-16:46), junior Zach Patell (15th-17:05), seniors Pearson Gillam (16th-17:07), Keller Wilson (21st-17:13), and co-captain Oliver Stone (24th-17:20) and finally junior Danny Murray (25th-17:21).

Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles ran into a tough West Forsyth (1st-72 pts) squad as Milton (2nd-83 pts) finished as runners-up besting 10 schools. Girls Prep (3rd-97 pts) from Tennessee closed out the team trophy winners. Continuing where she left off, senior co-captain Farrah Frith (2nd-19:28) led the Lady Eagles as she raced in the top-5 the entire race. A strong run by senior Sydney Anderson (6th-20:03) saw her move from outside the top-20 early on to get a top-10 placing. Scoring for Milton included junior Calista Cacciatore (12th-20:09), junior Ella Grace Malcom (23rd-20:37) & senior Emmaline Kelley (41st-21:33). Also factoring in the scoring were junior Emerson Armistead (42nd-21:34) & sophomore Ivy Rindt (61st-22:10).

JV Boys
In the closest race of the night, Milton (2nd-28 pts) tied West Forsyth (1st-28 pts) for the race win but lost on the 6th-runner tiebreaker (12th v 14th places of each team’s 6th finisher). The Eagles bested 14 schools with Dacula (3rd-124 pts) the closest. Milton put 4 finishers in the top-6 overall places with junior Jayson Faupel (2nd-18:17), senior Ethan Hagel (4th-18:28), junior Luke Erbey (5th-18:29), and senior Brandon Sevel (6th-18:33). Junior Martin Sand (11th-18:44) concluded the Eagle scoring for the runner-up team spot.

JV Girls
The Lady Eagles used a come-from-behind strategy to capture the team victory! Milton (1st-41 pts) outdistanced 16 schools with region rival West Forsyth (2nd-51 pts) & Riverwood (3rd-78 pts) 2nd & 3rd.
Sophomore Ashley Murray (3rd-22:43) was as far back as 20th in the 1st mile and moved up to a top-5 finish at the end. Fellow sophomore Ella Franke (5th-22:45) employed the same strategy coming from as far as 30th place in the first mile. Big races from senior Ella Butler (8th-22:59), sophomore Shreya Shetty (10th-23:02) & freshman Hollis Thompson (15th-23:10) secured the win for the Lady Eagles.

Open Boys & Girls
Milton (3rd-59 pts) boys bested 3 schools with senior Daniel McBride (7th-19:53) leading the way.
The Lady Eagles turned back 3 schools with Milton (1st-31 pts) getting the team win. Junior Olivia Diethelm (2nd-23:42) was the Lady Eagles top-finisher.

Milton’s cross-country teams will race the GHSA Region 6-7A Championship meet Saturday morning, October 22nd right back at Roper Park in Jasper, GA to earn a trip to the GHSA state meet in Carrollton on November 4th.