JACKSON – Winona had four boys and two girls compete at the Mississippi College Invitational cross-country meet at Choctaw Trails — the annual course for the state meet. Because neither team had five runners they did not have team scores.
Winona competed in Division 2 for 1A, 2A and 3A schools.
Carson Holly had the best performance for Winona, finishing 28th out of 202 runners in the boys’ race with a time of 19:47.89 for 5,000 meters. Sam Matriasciano was 83rd in 22:11.17, Noah Durham 106th in 23:14.89 and Jabraelle Davis 147th in 25:28.22.
In the girls’ race, Kaylee Rice was 77th in 28:13.87 and Amya Phillips 129th in 36:38.70.
Coach Chris McRae was especially pleased with Holly’s performance. “When we got there, I pointed out some of the better guys in 3A. We had a plan for him to try to stay with those guys. He did until the last half mile. It shows that there are things we have to work on. I have to do a better job of getting them in better shape.”
Last year, Holly just missed making all state in the 2A meet, finishing 15th. The top 14 are all state.
“That has really motivated him,” McRae said.
Winona is a 3A school this year due to the merger with Montgomery County.
Winona also had three boys and two girls compete in the 3,300 meter middle school race.
“Overall, it was a good experience for everyone,” McRae said.
Winona runners will participate in a local fun run, the Pumpkin Dash, Saturday and will host a meet Oct. 18.
