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Cross Country Roundup: Benedictine Boys and Arts Academy Girls teams take gold. Wade and Ryan cross first

By Travis Jaudon/For Prep Sports Report | October 1, 2022

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Cross country season is in full swing and most of the area’s top runners and top teams competed at the 2022 Raider Invitational hosted by Savannah Christian on September 28. Both the boy’s and girl’s portions were tightly contested. Familiar names in the local cross country scene were near the top of the results page once all was said and done. All runners competed across a 5,000 meter course.

Benedictine (Class 4A) won the boys team event while state championship contender Savannah Arts Academy (2A) won the girls title.

 

Individually, Savannah Country Day senior John Ryan won the boys race with a time of 16:22.29. Benedictine sophomore John Dodson placed second, finishing right behind Ryan with a time of 16:26.75. Nicholas Aldrich (16:58.82) was third from The Habersham School.

John Ryan Savannah Country Day


A pair of Savannah Arts Academy runners finished first and second in the girls race. Seniors Margaret Wade (19:24.89) and Ava Coffey (19:29.52) finished roughly five seconds apart from each other, but Coffey finished a full 35 seconds before the third place finisher. It further proved why the SAA girl’s team is considered by many to be the best in the area, and maybe even in the entire state.

Savannah Arts Acdemy (l-r) - Margaret Wade, Ava Coffey

Here is a rundown of some of the Raider Invitational results for teams and individuals.

INDIVIDUAL 5000 METERS (BOYS)

  1. John Ryan – Savannah Country Day – Sr. – 16:22.29

  2. John Dodson – Benedictine – So. – 16:26.75

  3. Nicholas Aldrich – Habersham School – So. – 16:58.82

  4. Leo Tedder – Jenkins – So. – 16:59.41

  5. JT Gard – Savannah Christian – Sr. – 17:30.37

TEAM 5000 METERS (BOYS)

(Team points are determined by each team’s top-five finishers. Below are the results with team name, total points, and the finishing places of the team’s top-five runners)

  1. Benedictine 62 (2, 10, 11, 19, 20)

  2. Savannah Christian 104 (5, 21, 23, 27, 28)

  3. Savannah Arts Academy 113 (12, 18, 22, 24, 37)

  4. Long County 124 (14, 15, 25, 29, 41)

  5. Savannah Country Day 136 (1, 17, 26, 44, 48)

  6. Jenkins 173 (4, 13, 45, 55, 56)

  7. Habersham School 174 (3, 8, 47, 53, 63)

  8. Calvary Day 182 (7, 32, 33, 42, 68)

INDIVIDUAL 5000 METERS (GIRLS)

  1. Margaret Wade – Savannah Arts Academy – Sr. – 19:24.89

  2. Ava Coffey – Savannah Arts Academy – Sr. – 19:29.52

  3. Samantha Savinon Rios – Ware County – Jr. – 20:05.31

  4. Macey Higgason – Long County – Fr. – 20:09.17

  5. Keeli Holloway – Ware County – Jr. – 20:38.53

TEAM 5000 METERS (GIRLS)

(Team points are determined by each team’s top-five finishers. Below are the results with team name, total points, and the finishing places of the team’s top-five runners)

  1. Savannah Arts Academy 42 (1, 2, 7, 11, 21)

  2. Ware County 74 (3, 5, 6, 19, 41)

  3. Islands High School 77 (9, 12, 13, 16, 27)

  4. Calvary Day 114 (17, 18, 20, 28, 31)

  5. St. Vincent's Academy 119 (10, 14, 29, 32, 34)

  6. Savannah Country Day 132 (8, 24, 25, 33, 42)

  7. Long County 162 (4, 22, 40, 47, 49)

  8. Savannah Christian 200 (15, 37, 39, 54, 55)

TWO GIRLS TEAMS RANKED IN TOP-10

The September 22nd update to the MileSplit Georgia cross country team rankings have a pair of Savannah schools listed in the girl’s top-10 polls for their respective classifications.

In Class 2A, Savannah Arts Academy rose from second place up to No. 1 in the state. MileSplit GA explained its rationale for ranking the Panthers at the top of the poll. “Savannah Arts made a statement at (the Carrollton Orthopedic Invitational on September 10). They came out finishing fifth overall in the championship race with the sixth best overall average across all teams that day. Wade is no longer an under-the-radar name among elite girls after her first-place individual finish.”

Meanwhile, Savannah Country Day moved up one spot, from 10th to ninth in the poll.

Sarah Jane Schulze has been leading the team as she has set personal records at back-to-back events, besting her previous PR by nearly 10 seconds in total. At Carrollton, the Hornets posted a team time of 25:47.

FOLLOW Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.

Optim Orthopedics supports Benedictine Military School, Calvary Day School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. The team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill is Dr. David Palmer. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!

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The "Coach" Karl DeMasi has been teaching and coaching for the past 35 years on all levels of academia and athletics. One of his hobbies has been writing, announcing and talking about sports. DeMasi has been involved in the Savannah Area sports scene since 1995, and he created the high school magazine "The Prep Sports Report" in 2000. In 2010, the "Coach" started broadcasting The Karl DeMasi Sports Report. He's still going strong, broadcasting on Facebook live and Twitter live every Saturday morning. You gotta love it!


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