The high school cross country

season is still young but Coach Charles Buckle is very happy with the

way the McIntosh boys and girls teams are progressing.

The girls team, which won the state championship in 1998, is healthy and

back in winning form. Dana Van Winkle, who missed all of the 1999 season,

and Elizabeth Gardner, who missed half of last season, are both back and

getting healthier by the day. The boys, while young, are also coming along

nicely.

McIntosh recently competed in the Twilight Invitational in Carrollton

and saw the girls squad finish first and the boys squad finish

second.

The girls were led by Van Winkle, who finished first with a time of 20:13.

Gardner finished fourth overall with 21:27. The girls then packed together

very well with Judy Thomasson finishing fifth with a time of 21:40, Morgan

Cunningham finishing eighth overall with 21:45 and Mary Crofton finishing

10th overall with 21:54. Tina Paone placed 15th in 22:26 and Megan Spencer

finished 19th in 22:51.

The boys placed second in

the meet, finishing behind Pope, which is one of the best programs year

in and year out. The boys were led by Shaun Emery, who finished in fifth

place overall with a time of 17:57. Randy Hutchison finished in ninth

place overall in a time

of 18:37, with Ben Brantley right behind him, placing 10th overall in

18:39. Ian Hardy finished 15th overall in 19:29, while Charlie Gonalez

finished in 18th place in 19:36. Tony Luciano finished 19th in 19:38 and

Michael Bowman placed 23rd in 19:48.

The Chiefs will run the course at Carrollton several times during the

season, including at the state meet. "It's a slower course,"

Buckle said. "These times will be faster at meets like Berry."

The Chiefs head to the Berry meet this weekend and will get a good sense

of who their competition at the state meet will be this year.

If both squads stay healthy and improve, this could be another great year

for the McIntosh cross country program.

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