First cross country meet of the season, and the Savannah Arts Academy Panthers were already on the prowl for the top spot.
Cross country is back, and Savannah Arts didn't waste much time getting everybody's attention.
The Panthers went up to Statesboro Thursday and came home with both team titles at the Frazier-Hite Invitational at 7 Mile Farm. The boys won it. The girls won it. And there were plenty of Savannah area runners right there near the front.
The Savannah Arts boys finished with 31 points, well ahead of runner-up Habersham School, which had 83. Senior Walter Yang led the Panthers with a second-place finish in 18:43.33, but this one was about the pack behind him. Nico Klaras finished fifth in 19:27.46, Aleksandar Domazet was sixth in 19:28.09, William McCarn took eighth in 19:42.29, and Logan Brodhead was 10th in 20:12.71.
Five scoring runners all near the front. That's how you win a cross country meet.
Habersham had a strong day of its own with Jude Stubbs finishing fourth in 19:20.32. Savannah Christian Prep freshman Christopher Manchester made an early-season statement by taking seventh in 19:30.34, helping the Raiders finish fifth as a team. Calvary Day's Cooper Crunkleton also cracked the top 20 with a time of 21:14.33.
Savannah Arts Academy cross country captains, from left, Walter Yang, Will McCarn, Francie Tedder and McKay Bennett pose with their medals and trophies following the Frazier-Hite Invitational on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, at 7 Mile Farm in Statesboro, Ga. (Photo courtesy of Savannah Arts Academy)
Then the Savannah Arts girls went out and did the same thing.
Senior Francie Tedder won the girls 5K in 21:10.97, finishing more than 40 seconds ahead of Effingham County's Chloe Adkins, who was second in 21:52.70. Savannah Arts junior McKay Bennett wasn't far behind, taking third in 22:16.35.
The Panthers put three more runners near the front with Madeline Balthrop ninth, Ava Treece 10th and Morgan Irvine 13th. Add it all up and Savannah Arts finished with 35 points to complete the boys and girls sweep.
“Both the girls and boys teams put in a lot of work this summer and trained hard the last three weeks despite the heat,” Savannah Arts head coach Steve Ricciardi said. “Their hard work paid off, as this is the first time they have both taken first place at the Frazier-Hite Invitational.”
Habersham also made it two runner-up finishes as a team. Gaby Kenard finished sixth and Eliana Beckman eighth as the Patriots scored 91 points. Savannah Christian finished fourth behind Grace Cunigan's 11th-place finish, while Effingham County took sixth with Adkins and fifth-place finisher Liana Palmberg leading the way.
One more local performance worth watching came from St. Andrew's freshman Lane Mandel, who finished 12th overall in 23:43.98.
It's August. Nobody is handing out championships yet. But Savannah Arts sweeping both races, Habersham taking second in both, and local runners filling up the front of the results is a good start to the cross country season.
Editor’s Note: All meet results, times and team standings used in this story are from MileSplit Georgia
Photos courtesy of Savannah Arts Academy Athletics
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