Cooler temperatures translated into improved performance for the Tallulah Falls School middle school cross country team at a meet in Highlands on Sept. 20.
“Twenty six boys and 21 girls running 2.2 street miles with lake, woods, and tourist views around Highlands School at an altitude of 4100 under a cirrus canopy without direct heat led to improved TFS times and a memorable experience,” said Athletic Director Scott Neal. “‘Competitive camaraderie’ describes the Tri State middle school teams. The runners are getting to know each other better, times are dropping, and the victors go back and forth.”
TFS girls tied for first with Summit with 11 points while the boys were three points behind the Bears. Eighth grader Ben Fisher of Clayton won in 15:05, followed by eighth grader Collin Kelly of Demorest (4th in 15:26) and eighth grader Shepherd Roland of Cornelia (6th in 15:46). Sixth grader Tyler Farmer of Mt. Airy moved up to 7th overall in 16:10. Eighth grader Eli Sims of Clarkesville and seventh grader Ethan Wanner of Toccoa battled it out for 9th and 10th, with Sims getting the nod by less than a second. The same margin of placing occurred with sixth grader Lincoln Hall of Mt. Airy edging seventh grader Tyler Popham of Demoret for 13th.
Runner-up seventh grader Lucy Alexander of Sautee-Nacoochee ran 17:02 while sixth grader Emma Jackson of Clayton placed 4th in 18:08. Sixth grader Kate Trotter of Demorest rounded out the scoring by placing right behind, in 19:22. Seventh grader Maggie Peacock of Clarkesville ran 11 seconds later to place 6th.
