Fall Sports Recap: Women's Cross Country finishes 8th and Men Come in 9th at State Championships

The River Bluff men's and women's cross country teams capped off impressive seasons with top-10 finishes in the SCHSL AAAAA-Division I State Championship races.

While the women's team was looking for a higher finish, coming off a third-place finish at the state qualifier meet, head coach Cameron Starr was still pleased with how his team progressed throughout the season. "Although the results are not what we had hoped for, I'm extremely proud of each and every one of these girls, especially Madelyn [Cathey] and Savannah [Davis], our two seniors. Our finish does not reflect how far this group has come this season in both athletics and life."

Savannah Davis finished the race in seventh place overall, a fitting end to an extraordinary season by the River Bluff senior, her first with the cross country program.

Junior Abby Tinsman came in 35th, followed by Cathey (41st), juniors Braelyn Davis (50th) and Hayden Hindman (52nd), sophomore Leah Esber (54th), and junior Taylor Denny (94th).

The men's team finished in ninth place, which was also their overall position in the state qualifiers. Junior Daniel Campbell highlighted the race for the Gators, coming in tenth out of 114 runners. Each Gator competitor improved his time from the state qualifier.

Campbell was followed by junior Paul Herron (37th), senior Parker Branham (51st), senior Luke Jenkins (74th), junior Hudson Brown (76th), senior Will Cohoon (79th), and sophomore Jack Dooley (81st).

While both squads will lose integral members to graduation, they will also be returning experienced runners, promising continued success for two of the top programs in the state.