Auburn, AL-- On a crisp fall morning, the MCPS Cross Country squad went to Auburn for the Tiger Classic and harvested its share of awards. The course was muddy and soft due to the extraordinary amount of rain seen in the River Region over the past few weeks. Yet, the Racing Knights were excited to be competing on the trails that traditionally yield the fastest times of the year.Almost 120 girls toed the line for the Varsity girls contest, including some of the swiftest runners in the state of Alabama. The Racing Knights started well and Katherine Terino, Lizzie Terino, and Sarah Talbot were in the front pack at the first mile. Shannon Guin, Jessica Taff, and Allie Micher were close behind. Maggie Dene and Shelby Taff also started well. As the girls came around for the finish, splattered with mud and breathing huge gulps of the chilly air, Katherine was secure in fourth place (21:02). Lizzie held the final individual award spot in 10th (22:37) and Sarah Talbot was close behind her in 12th (22:43). Allie and Shannon surged to take 27th and 28th respectively (24:47 and 25:06) and complete the team scoring for the Lady Knights. Jessica sprinted home in 30th (25:17). Maggie cruised in 26:26 for 38th. Shelby sauntered across in 31:52 and 55th place. The girls finished fourth with 73 points in the small schools (1A-4A) scoring behind TR Miller (32), Lawrence County (66), and LAMP (72).
Encouraged by the fast times run by the girls, the MCPS boys lined up for their race with 177 other competitors. The course was still fast in spite of being chewed up by the previous races and the guys started well. Corey Cotter paced the Racing Knights with a blazing 18:24 finish, the fastest time ever run at Kiesel Park by an MCPS athlete. HIs fourth place finish made a huge difference in the team scoring. Jarrett Mason cracked the all time MCPS top ten (9th position) with a 17th place finish in 19:32. Senior captain Rich Mullikin took 19th in 19:48. Josh Stark kicked it in to finish 38th (21:09) and senior Ryan Crutchfield rounded out the Knight scoring in 41st (21:15). Skip Martin recorded 21:15 (43rd) and Jacob Burke was close to him in 21:43 and 48th place. Jake Crutchfield (22:26; 58th), Kyle Daniels (23:41; 66th), and Thomas Woods (24:22; 71st) closed out the competition for the Knights. In the team scoring for the boys, Lawrence Country took first by finishing in 5 of the top 7 spots. MCPS was second with 85 total points, just two points in front of LAMP.
--Coach John Terino
