Murphy, NC — Both Union County cross country teams took home first place at last week’s Tri-County Early College’s Jaguar Jungle Run.
The girls finished with 25 points, defeating Cherokee, North Carolina (75 points), Copper Basin, Tennessee (76), Robbinsville, NC (87) and Towns County (95). In the guys’ race, the Panthers tallied 33 points to edge second-place Robbinsville, NC (45). Cherokee, NC, was third with 96 points, followed by Hiwassee Dam, NC (108), Swain County, NC (122), Summit Charter, NC (156), Towns County (197) and Nantahala, NC (206).
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Union County turned in a number of strong individual performances, with four Panthers finishing inside the top 10 in the girls race and five doing so in the boys race.
On the girls’ side, Neva Brott led Union County with a fourth-place finish in 24:42. Tessa Schurter followed in sixth at 25:00, while Macy Payne placed eighth in 25:19 and Grace Wright finished 10th at 25:47. Kate Barrett rounded out the Panthers’ top five in 11th at 25:54.
Julia Adams finished 13th in 26:10, followed by Kate Hoffman in 18th at 27:54 and Arianna Whalen in 22nd at 28:58. Ava Irvin placed 28th in 30:20, while Macy Oakey was 29th in 30:22.
Estefania Alvarez finished 33rd in 31:30, followed by Madeline Griggs in 42nd at 34:37, Abigail Willingham in 43rd at 34:50 and Josie Queen in 45th at 35:49. Lillie Rotko finished 54th in 46:42.
Maddux Oakey led the boys with a fourth-place finish in 18:00. Oliver Hillman was fifth in 18:13, followed by Andrew Nushtayev in seventh at 18:21, Ander Faulkner in eighth at 18:37 and Noah James Payne in ninth at 18:52.
Mason Hopple placed 12th in 19:33, with Nash Tanner finishing 13th in 20:05. Jake Payne was 17th in 20:34, Ayden Weaver finished 19th in 20:36 and Eli Baker was 20th in 20:38.
Cody Dupuis placed 23rd in 21:10, followed by Cole Brown in 26th at 21:35 and James Neumiller in 27th at 21:54. Wyatt Goddard finished 31st in 22:29, while Sylis Flaim was 33rd in 22:50 and Ean King placed 36th in 23:09.
Finn Lanham finished 41st in 23:35, followed by Logan Tercero in 44th at 23:43, Alexander Lites in 45th at 23:46 and Hillman Elliott in 46th at 23:48. Parker Deal placed 48th in 24:00, Corbin Swor was 52nd in 24:04, David Tran finished 55th in 24:23 and Gianni Brown was 57th in 24:36.
Ryker Lambert placed 60th in 25:05, followed by Jeffrey Carroll in 61st at 25:12. Grayson Shadden finished 72nd in 28:27, and Ethan Parker was 73rd in 28:37.
Union County Middle School also competed, with the boys finishing fourth and the girls sixth. Miles Sturgeon led the Panthers with a fourth-place finish, while Eliza Colwell finished 16th in the girls race.
