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The Bainbridge Lady Cats Cross Country team took 1st place last Saturday at the Region 1- 3A championships. Their performance continues their region reign for the third consecutive year. Freshman Emerson Huggins led the Lady Cats, finishing the 5000m course in 23:47, a new personal record, and a 4th place individual finish in the region. Sophomore Teagan Barefoot finished second on the team with a time of 25:24 placing 6th overall in the region. Senior Elana Sheffield finished 3rd for the girls’ team, covering the course in 26:44, followed by teammates Enajiya Marcus (28:14), Angelina Gomez (28:22), and Sophia Velasquez (39:51).  

The meet, hosted by Jones County Cross Country in Gray, GA, also served as the GHSA 3A Section 1 (Regions 1-4) championship. Bainbridge finished 8th overall in the section, securing their spot for the state championships in Carrollton, GA this Saturday, November 9th.  

The boy’s side also elicited a strong performance, in both the region and sectional scoring divisions. The team finished as Runner-Up in the Region 1 Class 3A division, behind Peach County. They placed 8th overall in the section, punching their ticket to the state championships. Junior Angel Bonilla-Ortiz led the Bearcats with a strong 16th place finish in the section (which includes Regions 1-4 in the state of Georgia), and finishing as the Region 1 champion with a personal best time of 18:35. Sophomore Le’Tuan Howard finished second for the team in a time of 19:58. Junior Gamblar Dollar finished closely behind his teammate with a time of 20:15. Other Bearcat performances include: Mitchell Carter (20:49), Detric Burden (21:14), Nathan Jackson (21:24), and Preston Hutto (24:01). 

In closing remarks, Head Coach Eric Conner says, “ I am proud of both teams. Angel bringing home the region title is huge for Bainbridge and the boy’s team ran strong as a whole. The girls won region for the 3rd year in a row. Which is awesome from a culture standpoint. Those three teams that won, while back to back, were 3 very different teams with different runners. It’s exciting to see the success be a constant with working with different runners throughout the year. Heading into state, we want the team to compete well and race with the goal of putting forth their best effort and finishing the year strong.”