Hilton Head’s boys and May River’s girls bested their county rivals on the trails Thursday, claiming both the team and individual titles at the 2021 Beaufort County Cross Country Championship in Bluffton.
The Seahawks (33 pts) impressed on the boys’ side, placing all five scoring runners in the top 10 led by overall champion Caden Thune (16:43.92). William Lemire (17:26.92), Max Struna (17:48.05), and Miles Brown (17:49.64) took fifth, eighth, and ninth, while freshman Coen Smith (17:57.68) rounded out the stellar Seahawk showing in 10th.
Sparked by individual runner-up Earlon Baker (16:49.67), the Bluffton Bobcats (40 pts) took second place in the team standings. Tyler McMahan (17:33.81) and Carson Colmer (17:46.39) nabbed a pair of top-10 finishes in sixth and seventh. May River (70 pts) earned the bronze thanks to Cohen MacDonald (17:15.98) and Noah Wasserman (17:20.23) placing third and fourth.
Anya Arroyo (19:06.09) notched another individual victory for the May River girls as the Sharks (28 pts) won the team title. Victoria Sosa (19:38.73) was third, while Ashlyn Babkiewicz (20:48.52) and Caroline Stickler (20:51.18) finished sixth and seventh. Charlize Antia (19:07.01) turned in a terrific runner-up finish to lead Beaufort High.
Bluffton’s girls (48 pts) impressed in second place, as all five scoring runners crossed the line inside the top 13. Eighth-grader Aubrey Sampson (20:21.54) shined with a fifth-place finish, while Ava Gerschutz (21:17.52) and Kaitlyn McDonagh (21:37.02) placed eighth and 10th. Hilton Head High (84 pts) took third, as Cynthia Gudaitis (20:17.72) and Chloe Fair (21:22.54) paced the Seahawks in fourth and ninth place.
The Region 7-4A Cross Country Championship will take place on October 30 in Bluffton.
By Wes Kerr
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