Cross Country comes to town
By CHRISTIAN LEHMAN Sentinel Writer

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Chris Jones pushes down the home stretch, just ahead of a Lumpkin County runner. Jones finished second overall.

Last Thursday Meeks Park played host to Union County High's first home cross-country meet, as the Panthers were joined by six other teams from both Georgia and North Carolina. As a team both the boys and girls fared well, with the Panthers boys placing second and the girls finishing fifth.

The three-mile loop at Meeks Park saw runners from Gilmer, Dawson, Rabun, Fannin, and Lumpkin County, as well as Murphy High School and the Union County Panthers. In all 70 girls and 79 boys participated, making for a lot of athletes competing against their respective groups.

The boys second place finish was led by a second place finish overall from Chris Jones, with a time of 18:31. He was followed by Alex Litman with a time of 19:04. Ian Thomas' time of 19:15 edged out teammate Bo Kelly by only four seconds. Thomas ran a personal best time in this race, which Coach Hughes said was difficult. "To get a personal record on this course you really have to run hard," said the coach. Litman, Thomas and Kelly got 8th, 9th and 10th places respectively. T.J. Burgess finished the top five Panther runners with 24th place and a time of 20:31.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Emma Krier stays just ahead of the Lady Bulldogs runner. Krier finished tenth out of 70 girls in the competition.

The Lady Panthers finished 5th overall and according to Coach Hughes were "much more competitive" this week. The team was led by Emma Krier who finished 10th with a time of 24:47. She was followed by Jasmine Gonzalez with a time of 25:58, Erika Bunpermhoon at 26:02, Hanna Dohogne with 26:23, and finishing out the top five was Monica Garcia with a time of 26:42. Hughes is proud of the Lady Panthers' performance, stating that it was "a great effort" by the girls. "They are doing exactly what I'm asking," said Coach Hughes. Times are coming down each week." The girls seem to be able to "get a minute or so faster each week."

Coach Jackie Hughes was very pleased with everybody's performance, including the improvement by the boys. "Last week we only had three runners with times in the teens. This week four guys got into the teens," said Coach Hughes. "The guys are working hard and working well as a team." The goal for the upcoming week is to get the top five boys runners to run together and finish together. The team's next match is a Tuesday afternoon contest on the road at Lumpkin County.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Jasmine Gonzalez heads down the hill. Gonzalez finished second for Union. Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Jared Kelley and Ian Thomas start out the race side by side. Thomas posted a personal best time of 19:15 in the race.