Union County Dominates Varsity Boys Race at North Georgia HS XC Championship

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Union County High School runners claimed the top five spots and placed 28 athletes in the varsity boys race at the North Georgia HS XC Championship held on Tuesday, Sept. 16, showcasing a strong performance in the cross country event.

Senior Holden Payne led the pack for Union County, finishing first with a time of 18:37.1. Junior Oliver Hillman took second in 19:20.8, followed by junior Ander Faulkner in third at 19:39.2, junior Noah James Payne in fourth at 19:47.1 and sophomore Cody Dupuis in fifth at 19:54.5.

Other Union County finishers included junior Andrew Nushtayev in seventh at 20:02.8, senior Trey Hawley in eighth at 20:02.8, sophomore Cole Brown in 10th at 20:17.7, freshman Mason Hopple in 12th at 21:07.6 and freshman Jake Payne in 15th at 21:25.3.

Junior Arthur Bowman placed 16th in 21:34.4, junior Bryson Brooks 17th in 21:39.6, freshman James Neumiller 18th in 21:59.6, sophomore Sawyer Alexander 19th in 22:50.4 and junior Ean King 21st in 23:17.9.

Senior Caleb Sheffield finished 24th in 23:23.8, freshman Nash Tanner 27th in 23:29.0, freshman Hillman Elliott 28th in 23:34.2, freshman Vincent Oleske 29th in 23:35.8 and freshman Brooks Payne 30th in 23:35.9.

Junior Parker Deal placed 33rd in 24:05.8, sophomore Tyler Hawley 35th in 24:23.4, junior Finn Lanham 36th in 24:41.3, senior Aiden Gregory 37th in 25:12.1 and sophomore Ryker Lambert 41st in 26:15.8.

Freshman Logan Tercero finished 43rd in 26:25.2, sophomore Grayson Shadden 46th in 28:10.8 and senior Cooper Allen 49th in 32:10.1.

These individual performances helped propel Union County to first place in the meet.