Milton Cross Country Performs Well at Gene Mullin-Furman XC Invite

Three new All-Time best performers added to School Records Board

Greenville, SC (Furman Univ) 10/12/13

Varsity Girls

While running their fastest team average of the season (19:50) the Lady Eagles finished an impressive 4th place (132 pts) out of 34 schools.  Myers Park (Charlotte, NC) (78 pts) was the clear winner with ranked Georgia schools Collins Hill (4th in AAAAAA) in 2nd (98 pts) just edging Harrison (7th in AAAAAA) in 3rd (99 pts). Milton (ranked 9th in AAAAAA) hung close as the Lady Eagles top-3 finishers all ran personal all-time bests with one becoming a new top-10 all-time school performer!  Junior Juanita Pardo led Milton with her 19:28 (16th), good to become the 5th fastest performer in school history and was followed closely by senior co-captain Abbey Jordan in 19:32 (18th) who is now the 6th best performer ever at Milton!  An all-time best by junior Amy Ruiz (22nd-19:43) carried along sophomore Riley Burr (25th-19:47).  A big personal best by sophomore Anna Renko (27th-20:39) was a 90-second improvement and gave the Lady Eagles a big cushion over the 5th place team.  Junior Hallie Howell followed (69th-20:51) along with senior Kim Toscano (85th-21:06) both recording all-time bests and the scoring was concluded for Milton. Also running varsity for the Lady Eagles were senior co-captain’s Rachal Cronin (105th-21:29) & Katie Robinson (112th-21:43) There were 261 finishers.

Varsity Boys

Not to be out done by their teammates, the Eagle boys ran one of their best team races of the season as well (16:57 avg for top-5 finishers) and with 2 new all-time school performances, finished a very strong 7th (217 pts) out of 36 schools!  Again, Georgia top ranked schools dominated the meet with Harrison (1st-63 pts, 6th-AAAAAA) besting both Parkview (2nd-75 pts, 9th-AAAAAA) and Collins Hill (3rd-141 pts, 7th-AAAAAA). Milton (15th-AAAAAA) fastest team average of the season came with two record-setting performances!  Sophomore’s Clay Marshall (29th-16:40) & Jack Bluth (34th-16:43) move onto Milton’s all-time performer’s board at the 9th & 10th fastest!  Following these performances, the Eagles then had a slew of personal bests on the Furman golf course layout.  Fellow sophomore Matt McGorrey (51st-17:05) and junior Connor Cole (52nd-17:05) led a strong group that also included sophomore Jacques DuPlessis (57th-17:10) & senior co-captain Kevin McGorrey (63rd-17:18).  Concluding the scoring for the Eagles was senior Brendan Kemple (79th-17:36) which appears to also be a lifetime best!.  Also running varsity for Milton were junior Mikey Newell (92nd-17:46) & freshman Michael McCarthy (145th-18:28).  293 runners finished.

JV Girls

A great race soon developed for the Lady Eagles as Harrison & Milton traded punches all throughout the race.  Milton eventually settled for 2nd (61 pts) besting 12 other schools.  The Lady Eagles had three up front most of the race and were led by the all-time best of sophomore Victoria Wagner. Her 21:11 was good for 4th place holding off Harrison’s top runners. Junior Michelle Pick took the lead several times and was eventually 7th (21:19) in other all-time best. Fellow junior Meagan Thistleton continues her stellar season as she ran her best time in 2013 (9th-21:34).  All three were recognized with individual awards.  Senior co-captain Addie Luxton (26th-22:34) passed many runners during the race to keep Milton close to Harrison and the scoring concluded for the Lady Eagles with sophomore lacrosse standout Emily Velez (43rd-23:13).  There were 207 finishers.

JV Boys

In Milton’s strongest showing of the day, the Eagles (53 pts) finished a very close 2nd to Harrison (1st-43 pts) and just edged Parkview (3rd-56 pts) with Myers Park (4th-68) as those 4 teams dominated the race!  The overall race win by sophomore John Fravel (1st-17:24) propelled a slew of all-time bests and led the team as the Eagles took advantage of the quick Furman course layout.  Fravel did not take command until just past the halfway point and maintained his margin throughout the last mile of the race.  Also making the Milton effort strong was the running of sophomore Brock Schutt. Schutt (3rd-17:32), also ran an all-time best and made a big move just before two miles to secure his finish position.  Senior homecoming king Peter Randall, running his best ever, finished in an impressive 17:51 (8th) and was upfront for much of the early part of the race.  Senior co-captain Spencer Greene ran a huge personal best (15th-18:09) and was followed in by junior Preston Meade (26th-18:24).

Also of note:

Coach Kelly Conron ran & completed the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon with her 3:29:16. She ran 1:45:51 for her first 13.1 miles and 1:43:25 for her second 13.1 miles!

Coach Keith Marshall ran 18:03 at the Hoppy 5k (in Crabapple) the evening after returning from the Furman Meet to place 4th overall!

Congratulations Coaches on your fine performances!!!