Columbia, S.C. --- The 2002 State Cross Country Meet was held at Sandhills Research Center in Columbia on Saturday. There were a total of 6 races throughout the morning and early afternoon. Awards were held following the boy's 4A championship race.
Kate Niehaus, a freshman at Spring Valley High School, ran a female state meet best of 17:52.9 to capture the 4A girl's title. The previous holder of the female state meet best was set by Michelle Crow of Irmo in 1984. Crow ran a time of 18:02 in 1984. Michelle Crow won the 4A State Championship individual title her freshman (1982), sophomore (1983), and senior year (1984). Niehaus finished 1:09 ahead of the rest of the 4A finishers. The next runner finishing in the female 4A race was Michele Milner of Aiken (19:01.7). Freshman Amy Laughlin of South Aiken finished out the top three finishers in the female 4A race in 19:04.2. Spartanburg High School captured the team title over South Aiken (76) with 60 points. The top five finishers for Spartanburg were (Santresa Jamison, 4th), (Elizabeth Couch, 7th), (Elly MacPhail, 16th), (Caroline Saleeby, 19th), and (Kacie Hodge, 20th). The boy's fastest time of the day was by 4A runner Fred Smith of Sumter (16:02.7). Dorman captured the boy's 4A team title with 66 points over Summerville (89). Dorman's top five runners were (Nick Holt, 6th), (Craig Thompson, 9th), (Ryan Jank, 11th), (Matt Hogan, 13th), and (Brian Jank, 26th).
In 3A action Wren sophomore Sunday Ford stunned the crowd by capturing the female title in 18:46 over the 5k course. Coming in second in the girl's race was Sarah Brinkley of Dreher (18:52.2). Last years 3A champion Vicky Echeverria of Riverside rounded out the top three finishers. Greer captured the 3A girl's team title with 61 points over Riverside (76) and third place team Daniel (88). The top five finishers for Greer were (Yunai Jackson, 9th), ( Raye Lin Chappell,10th), ( Janet Durst,13th), (Taylor Hughes,16th), and (Anita Casey, 22nd). Jacob McCaskill of Riverside ended his high school cross-country career with his second individual 3A title in 16:04.7. McCaskill also captured the 3A title in the 2001 season with a time of 16:06. Riverside placed 6th in team scoring. McCaskill defeated Brad Orr of Wren by 25 seconds. The boy's 3A team title was captured by Wade Hampton High School. Wade Hampton's boys team top five finishers placed (3rd, Jeff Crane), (5th, Joel Hamner), (7th, Matt Holmes), (9th, F.J. Goodwin), and (13th, Asher Hoffman). Wade Hampton has the3A team title for four consecutive years. This season Wade Hampton defeated Wren (82) with 35 points to capture the team title.
Sophomore Diana Willard of Pelion captured her fourth consecutive individual state title in 1A/2A action on Saturday (1999-2002). The only other runner in South Carolina to achieve this feat was Lindsey Rogers of TL Hanna (1993-1996). Willard ran 19:13.8 over the 5k course. Sally Stephenson (20:14.3) of Christ Church placed 2nd and Amber Hines (20:19.6) of Chapin placed 3rd. Chapin's girl's team captured the team title over Pelion (77) with 62 points. Pendleton girls placed 3rd with 102 points. The top five finishers for the Chapin girls were (Amber Hines, 3rd), (Jeane Whyte, 8th), (Christin Boatwright, 16th), (Ashlyn Ruczko, 18th), and (Erin Lovelace, 20th). In boys 1A/2A competition Ben Sherard of Palmetto captured his first ever-individual state championship over Matthew Creggar of Chapin. Sherard ran a 16:23.6 and Creggar ran 16:31.2. Jonathan McAlister of Emerald ran a 17:06 to finish third in 1A/2A boy's action. Emerald captured the team title over Christ Church with a 19-point margin (77-96). The top five finishers for Emerald were (Jonathan McAlister, 3rd), (David Payne, 13th), (Joseph Holley, 16th), (Mac McMahan, 22nd), and (Andrew Wilkie, 23rd).
Next up in South Carolina is the Shrine Bowl Run on December 21st. The Shriner's use this event to raise money for the Children's Hospital in Greenville. It starts at 5:15 a.m. at the State House steps in Columbia. Qualifying senior runners will transport the game day football to Rock Hill District Three Stadium from the State House steps in Columbia. More information will be posted when available.