Mid-way through the 2009 cross country season the Dawson County boys' and girls' cross country teams seem to be hitting their stride.

On Sept. 20 the team traveled to Jefferson for a huge meet called the Eagle Run, hosted by East Jackson. Nineteen boys' teams and 17 girls' teams competed in the event.

On the girls' side, Dawson finished third overall. The team obtained 104 points, just behind second place powerhouse North Oconee (91 points) and Clarke

Central (74 points) who finished first.

Leading the way for Dawson was Krista Morgan and Emily Beusse.

Morgan came in ninth overall out of 89 runners with a time of 22:02. Beusse finished right on her heels in 10th place with a time of 22:03.

Also running strong were Maddy Walters (24:18), Morgan Bennett

(24:21), Genevieve Hoynes (25:51), Morgan Williams (26:41) and Alora

Mitchell (27:25).

Logan Porter led the boys' team with a 30th place finish out of 121 runners. Porter posted an impressive time of (19:26).

Tiger runner Luke Williams also ran well and came in 33rd place with a time of 19:33.

Finishing the grueling 3.1-mile course for the Tigers were Tyler Thurmond (20:03), Seth Stowers (20:09), Steven Scaiffe (20:53), Jonah Bishop

(21:40) and Cody Reidling (22:10).

Overall both teams did well in the event against some larger schools. It was also a good measuring stick to see how they stand up against Region 8-AA competition.

Teams participating were: Dawson, Prince Avenue, Elbert County, North Oconee, Apalachee, East Jackson, Stephens County, Buford, Clarke Central, Habersham Central, Taliaferro (boys only), Madison County, Hebron Christian (boys only), Morgan County, Cedar Shoals, Rabun County, Jackson County, Lakeview (boys only) and Fannin County.

Both teams will be back in action next Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Buford.