Hayesville Middle School Boys Claim Home Meet Title

By Travis Dockery

Sports Writer

The Hayesville Middle School boys cross country team dominated its home meet Aug. 22 at Hayesville Recreation Park Ball Fields, scoring 23 points to win the MS Boys 2-Mile Run.

The Yellow Jackets finished well ahead of Cherokee (69) and Carolina Mountain XC (95). Hayesville’s top five runners placed second, third, fourth, sixth and eighth and combined for a team time of 1:01:47.

Eli Danico led the way for Hayesville in 11:55.9 for second place overall. Gage Jones was third in 11:56.6, and Jackson Badger took fourth in 11:58.2. Caiden Curtisplaced sixth in 12:53.1, and Colton Crawford finished eighth in 13:03.0.

Other Hayesville finishers included Nash Carter, 13th in 13:37.9; Ladyn Giddens, 15th in 14:00.3; Isaac “Townes” Lomauro, 22nd in 14:13.4; Deacon Dye, 23rd in 14:13.5; Bentley Smith, 29th in 15:04.2; Jackson Hucks, 37th in 16:04.7; Salvadore “Gabe” Garcia, 38th in 16:06.0; Amos “Reese” Crowder, 52nd in 18:27.6; Wyatt Smith, 53rd in 19:02.1; and Kaiden Smith, 62nd in 21:51.9.

In the girls' portion of the event, Cherokee took the team title with 36 points. Hayesville did not field a full scoring squad but had three individual finishers.

Gracie Taylor paced the Yellow Jackets in 16:33.6 for 18th place. Ava Burns was 29th in 17:48.8, and Natalie Wilson placed 39th in 18:38.9.

The middle school Yellow Jackets will swarm into Tallulah Falls, Ga. on September 9th for the "Cookies n Quotes" cross country festival.