Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy
The Southside boys and girls’ cross country teams finished runner-up in the Class 4A-7A division at the St. Bernard Oktoberfest Invitational 5K last Saturday (Oct. 16) in Cullman.
The boys had three runners finish in the top 10. Jackson Griggs (pictured above) was runner-up with a time of 16:45.61, followed by Luke Holcombe in fourth 17:09.61 and Ryan Maudsley in seventh at 17:29.72.
Evan Christopher helped the Panther cause with a 19th place effort of 18:14.25. Southside’s average time of 17:47 was 18 seconds shy of first-place Cullman.
Alexis Valentine was the lone Southside girl to make the top 10, coming in fifth place at 22:04.09. The Lady Panthers’ average time of 23:15 was second to Huntsville (22:41).
Posting top 20 performances for the Southside girls were Zoie Menk in 13th place at 23:13.36, Mallory Rich in 14th place at 23:16.78, Taylor Dortch in 18th place at 23:49.37, Mallory Tucker in 19th place at 23:53.23 and Sydney Hughes in 20th place at 23:55.66.
Southside will host the Etowah County Schools 5K on Thursday, October 21 at Vivian Maddox Sports Complex in Rainbow City. The girls’ race begins at 4 p.m., followed by the boys at 4:30 p.m.
