John Paul II’s girls and Hilton Head Prep’s boys got it done for the second straight week on the cross country trails, taking the top spots Tuesday at Cross Schools in Bluffton.
Jimmy Kuehler led the Dolphins (36 pts) to victory with a time of 20:39.88, finishing in second place just behind CBCCA’s Jesse Richardson (19:52.40). Hilton Head Prep placed three more runners inside the top 10, as Ernest Friday (21:27.95), Beckett Jones (21:41.97), and Luke Aragon (21:43.38) took sixth, eighth, and ninth while seventh-grader Matthew Moe (22:05.85) rounded out the scoring runners in 11th.
John Paul II (47 pts) put together another strong performance for second overall, paced by Blake Hubick (20:58.05) in fourth and Kelon Reynolds (21:33.25) in seventh. Noah Kaufman (20:45.66) excelled for Hilton Head Christian Academy with a third-place mark, and eighth-grader Burgin Topper (23:29.20) led Beaufort Academy. Lucas O’Nan (25:05.37) recorded the top time for Heritage Academy, and Nick Rauch (26:19.64) paced Bridges Prep.
The Golden Warriors dominated the girls’ meet, as seventh-grader Ayla Reynolds (24:13.05) crossed the line first to earn the individual and team title. John Paul II (34 pts) cruised to a 19-point victory, earning top-10 finishes from Brady Mahoney (25:53.56), Abby Brock (27:04.20), and Lauren Weniger (28:59.05) in fourth, sixth, and 10th. Hilton Head Christian Academy (53 pts) took runner-up honors, as Anna Taylor (27:55.20), Brinkley Smith (28:49.69), and Lily Chase (28:50.54) went 7-8-9. Freshman Gabby Jimenez (25:24.42) shined for Heritage Academy, taking second place individually.
The next Grounded Running high school meet is scheduled for Tuesday at Sea Pines Montessori.
By Wes Kerr
