Photo: The Ashville High girls cross country team gathers for a photo after winning the Fairview Invitational 5K in the Class 1A-4A division last Saturday (Sept. 13). Pictured, from left: Emma Drinkard, Kathleen McCarthy, Meghan McCarthy, Taylor Knight, Emma Thompson, Grace Staples, coach Michele Rogers, Molly Northam, Callie Stewart. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
Out of 16 teams and 139 competitors, the Ashville girls cross country team won the Fairview Invitational 5K in the Class 1A-4A division last Saturday (Sept. 13).
Helped by top 10 performances from Meghan McCarthy, Taylor Knight and Kathleen McCarthy, the Lady Bulldogs edged J.B. Pennington, 22:39.07 to 23:05.89, in average time.
Meghan McCarthy’s time of 21:33.88 was good for fourth place, while Knight finished fifth (21:48.70) and Kathleen McCarthy 10th (22:35.65). Also finishing in the top 25 for Ashville were Emma Drinkard (23rd, 23:33.59) and Callie Stewart (25th, 23:43.53). Helping the Lady Bulldogs’ cause was Molly Northam (24:13.05), Emma Thompson (25:23.16) and Grace Staples (28:25.06).
The Ashville boys finished fifth, followed by Hokes Bluff in seventh. Wyatt Knight paced the Bulldogs with a fourth-place showing of 17:11.43. The Eagles’ Sam Green came in 13th (18:05.81), while Ashville’s Joe Stephens finished 24th (18:28.09).