The Dawson County boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are starting to peak at just the right time. Both teams have improved their times tremendously over the last two weeks as evidenced by recent finishes at Riverside and Buford. “We are starting to peak at the right time,” Dawson County High School Head Cross Country Coach Brian DeRose said. “Our runners have posted personal records for the season at our last race. They are excited and ready to run.” The boys had their best overall race of the season on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville. Riverside will also be the site of the Region 8-AA meet this Saturday, Nov. 1. “We wanted our runners to run the course before next Saturday. Every team in the region except North Oconee ran. I was proud of both the boys and girls,” said DeRose. Dawson’s boys finished third with 85 points just behind East Jackson and Oglethorpe County with 56 and 59 points respectively. Tyler Thurmond was the top runner for Dawson. He finished 9th with a time of 18:55.16. Logan Porter crossed the finish line in 10th with a respectable time of 19:01.19. Rounding out the Tiger racers were: Luke Williamson, 13th, Stephen Scaiffe, 26th, Seth Stowers, 27th, Jacob Evans and Renee Santillion. “It was the meet of the season for the boys,” DeRose said. “They ran a really good race. If they run like that at the region meet we could qualify for state.” Winning the Riverside race was Josh Wheeler from Oglethorpe with a time of 17:45.37. Runner-up was Kevin Kesler of East Jackson with a time of 18:13.25. The Lady Tigers also had an outstanding meet at Riverside. The girls’ team finished in 4th place behind Jackson County, Jefferson and East Jackson respectively. Freshman Maddy Walters placed 4th for the Lady Tigers with a time of 21:41, which is only 20 seconds off the school record. “She has the potential to get to the state meet as an individual if she runs well,” DeRose said. Emily Beusse came in 7th overall with a time of 21:58, followed by teammate Krista Morgan with a run of 22:23 and a 10th place finish. Earlier in the week both Dawson teams competed in the Buford Invitational at Buford High School. The Lady Tigers had a great meet finishing in 3rd place with 73 team points. They only trailed 2nd place winner Athens Christian Academy by 14 points. Winning the meet was West Forsyth with 38 team points. Beusse ran the best time for the Lady Tigers with a 22:53.56 and a 7th place finish. On her heels was Maddy Walters with an 8th place finish and a time of 22:53:93. Also running in the meet were Morgan Bennett, Morgan Williams, Paige Reese and Shelby Rage. Winning the girls individual title was Kat Gibson from West Forsyth with a time of 20:38.27. Runner-up went to Taylor Roeck of West Forsyth with a time of 21:03.35. For the boys, Tyler Thurmond turned in the best time with a 19:30.28 coming in 17th place. Logan Porter ran stride for stride with Thurmond coming in 18th with a time of 19:30.84.
Seth Stowers, Luke Willamson, Stephen Scaife, Cody Reidling and Jonah Bishop also placed for the Tigers. Taking the individual title on the boys’ side was Colin Bishoff of Athens Christian Academy with an impressive time of 16:55.01. Aurelio Montano of Gainesville picked up 2nd place. Both teams are now off until Saturday’s region meet at Riverside Military Academy. The boys’ race will begin at noon, while the girls’ race will start at 12:45 p.m. “We are running really well right now,” said DeRose. “Both teams have a chance.” The girls’ team is led by freshman sensation Maddy Walters. Emily Beusse and Krista Morgan also are having great years for the Lady Tigers. “Maddy has really been the strongest runner of late. Emily is just coming back from an injury. She is just now getting back to feeling good. Krista is solid and never gives up. All our other runners could surprise some people this weekend,” said DeRose. The Dawson boys’ team has really improved. Tyler Thurmond, Logan Porter, Luke Williamson, Stephen Scaiffe and Seth Stowers have all dropped their times this season. “Tyler is just coming back from injury and had a strong meet at Riverside. Logan is solid and we never have to worry about him. He always does what he needs to do. If we all run like we did last week at Riverside we will be alright,” DeRose said about the boys’ team. The team will run at Buck’s Corn Maze today for a “fun-run” before this weekend’s meet. Both teams will race for the coveted corn maze trophy.
Seth Stowers, Luke Willamson, Stephen Scaife, Cody Reidling and Jonah Bishop also placed for the Tigers. Taking the individual title on the boys’ side was Colin Bishoff of Athens Christian Academy with an impressive time of 16:55.01. Aurelio Montano of Gainesville picked up 2nd place. Both teams are now off until Saturday’s region meet at Riverside Military Academy. The boys’ race will begin at noon, while the girls’ race will start at 12:45 p.m. “We are running really well right now,” said DeRose. “Both teams have a chance.” The girls’ team is led by freshman sensation Maddy Walters. Emily Beusse and Krista Morgan also are having great years for the Lady Tigers. “Maddy has really been the strongest runner of late. Emily is just coming back from an injury. She is just now getting back to feeling good. Krista is solid and never gives up. All our other runners could surprise some people this weekend,” said DeRose. The Dawson boys’ team has really improved. Tyler Thurmond, Logan Porter, Luke Williamson, Stephen Scaiffe and Seth Stowers have all dropped their times this season. “Tyler is just coming back from injury and had a strong meet at Riverside. Logan is solid and we never have to worry about him. He always does what he needs to do. If we all run like we did last week at Riverside we will be alright,” DeRose said about the boys’ team. The team will run at Buck’s Corn Maze today for a “fun-run” before this weekend’s meet. Both teams will race for the coveted corn maze trophy.
E-mail Pam Jacobs at sports@dawsonnews.com.