Despite a trio of Lowco stars earning top-three finishes, James Island swept both the boys’ and girls’ titles Saturday at the Region 7-4A cross country championships in Bluffton.
The boys’ meet was a nail-biter, as the Trojans and Bluffton Bobcats tied with 67 points while Lucy Beckham finished a point back in third. It took the sixth runners’ results to decide it, and James Island’s Landyn Spurling edged Bluffton’s Cooper Anderson by one second to clinch the region crown.
Earlon Baker (16:23.50) anchored the Bobcats’ runner-up showing, and Tyler McMahan (16:50.00) finished in 11th. Hilton Head’s Caden Thune (16:18.20) led the Lowco contingent in third place, while May River’s Cohen MacDonald (16:30.80) and Noah Wasserman (16:31.90) took fifth and seventh. Beaufort High rounded out the top ten with an impressive three straight finishers, as Gavin Moore (16:32.70), Connor Eby (16:39.50), and Charlie Bennett (16:48.20) placed eighth through 10th. LaShombre Johnson (20:02.80) led the way for Colleton County.
Defending girls’ 4A state champion Hannah Vroon of James Island (18:06.30) held off May River’s Anya Arroyo (18:06.60) in a thrilling finish, besting the Shark standout by just three-tenths of a second. The Trojans (28 pts) placed four runners inside the top seven and five in the top 10 to edge runner-up May River (43 pts). Senior Victoria Sosa (19:05.00) took fifth overall for the Sharks, while Ashlyn Babkiewicz (19:42.70) finished eighth. Charlize Antia (18:53.00) took the bronze for Beaufort High, and Aubrey Sampson (19:48.30) paced Bluffton in ninth. Cynthia Gudaitis (20:21.40) led Hilton Head High with a 13th-place finish.
The SCHSL 4A Lower State Qualifier will take place Friday in Newberry.
By Wes Kerr
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