NEL sweeps 5-4A cross-country crowns
By Staff
from staff reports
Oct. 31, 2004
It wasn't easy, but the Northeast Lauderdale Lady Trojans healed a hurt they've been feeling for a year on Saturday Morning.
NEL placed seven girls in the top 10 as the Lady Trojans wrestled the Division 5-4A cross-country championship away from Wayne County. It gave Northeast four titles in the past five years.
The Northeast boys won their fifth consecutive title in the meet hosted at NEL, while Newton High School won the girls and boys Division 5-2A titles.
NEL finished with 25 points, while Wayne County was second with 39 and Quitman was third with 74.
In cross-country the team with the fewest points win. Each team gets a point for the place each of its top five runners finish in. For example, the winner gets one point, second place two, third place three, etc., etc., etc.
Wayne County's Lauren Pittman won the individual title in the 4K event with a time of 17:48, while teammate Deanna Powe was second at 17:57.
Whitney Ward of NEL took third with an 18:05, while Bianca McDonald (18:36) was fourth and Yolanda Truman (18:55) fifth.
Owen Lide set a personal best with an impressive 18:46 to win the Division 5-4A boys 5K run.
Teammate Antonio Serton was second with a 19:12, while Quitman's McElvin Shepard (19:33) was third, followed by NEL's Stanton Wallace (19:37) and Matthew Snyder (20:40).
Northeast Lauderdale won the event with 19 points, while Quitman was second with 51 and Petal was third with 56.
The Division 5-2A meet was a tight one, as Newton took a 35-38 win over clarkdale. Philadelphia was third with 55 points.
Cory Sharp of Philadelphia ran an 18:38 to win the event, while Tanner Cline of Clarkdale was second with a 20:26 and Derrick Murrell of Newton was third with a 21:46. Clarkdale's Curtis Woods (21:49) was fourth, while Pedrick Keyes of Newton was fifth (22:22).
In the girls 4K event Newton ran away with the 20-35 win over Philadelphia.
Na'Chandra Evans of Newton won the race with a 19:33, while Jessica Luman of Clarkdale was second with a 20:07. Shaketa Dukes of Newton was third with a 20:22.
The MHSAA State Cross-Country meets in all classifications will be held at Choctaw Trails in Clinton on Saturday.
Austin Bishop
