There will

be a lot at stake at the Region cross country meet Saturday at Sandy Creek

High School.

As always there

are personal times that the runners are trying to best, and rivalries

between schools that add to the excitement of the race, but claiming one

of the top two spots in the region meet guarantees a spot at the upcoming

state meet and everybody wants a piece of that.

Everybody but

the Fayette County boys, who have already qualified for the state meet.

They would like to win the region meet, but that may be only because McIntosh

defeated them on the same course last Tuesday in the county championships

The Fayette

County boys had their top two runners claim the top two spots for the

second year in a row. Trey Alverson finished with a time of 16:11, while

Jon Riley paced second in 17:11. The Tigers put four runners in the top

10 and are looking for a slightly stronger finish from the rest of the

runners to edge themselves into the top spot in the region.

McIntosh's

boys have been gaining momentum all season. They had five runners in the

top 10 and the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers in the race.

The Chiefs would like to get between Alverson and Riley Saturday and will

need to stay on the pace that helped them win the county championship.

McIntosh's boys won the county meet every year since 1990 with the exception

of last year and they would like their dominance to continue.

Starr's Mill's

boys will present an obstacle for both teams. This is the first year that

the Panthers have been in direct competition with Fayette County and McIntosh

and they have some talented runners that could sway the meet for either

side. Les Page finished in seventh place last Tuesday in 17:39. He was

one of four Panther runners that placed in the top 20. Richard Epton placed

12th, Patrick O'Donell placed 17th and Jason Fitzgerald finished 20th.

All three teams

will have to compete with a much larger field this weekend. The region

includes East Coweta, Newnan, Riverdale, Forest Park, Lovejoy and Evans.

All three local teams will need to pack together and run the best they

have all season long.

The same goes

for the local girls squads. McIntosh's Lady Chiefs are the heavy favorites

this Saturday and have already qualified for the state meet, but they

do not want to slow down now. McIntosh had seven runners in the top 10

last Tuesday, including Elizabeth Gardener, the overall champion, who

finished with a time of 19:56. The Lady Chiefs put 15 runners in the top

20 and dominated the county meet. This also puts a target on them as all

of the teams in the region meet will be gunning for them.

Starr's Mill

had the number two finisher in the race, Ashley Meredith, and three runners

in the top 20. Meredith finished in a time of 20:06 and is a Wendy's High

School Heisman nominee. Starr's Mill finished second to McIntosh and has

a talented squad. Fayette County had one top 20 runner, Amy Eller, who

finished in 22:42. The Lady Tigers ran in the county meet without Jessica

Tyre, who had been their top runner this season.

All three teams

have competed against each other and other regional competition several

times this season. McIntosh has won or placed near the top in nearly all

of the meets, but will have some stiff competition with a much larger

field this weekend.

The racing

begins at Sandy Creek High School Saturday at 9 a.m.

This past Saturday,

the Landmark teams traveled to the campus of Furman University in Greenville,

S.C. to compete in the Furman Invitational. Early Saturday morning, on

a cool autumn day, the teams began to prepare for a great 5K race, against

teams from seven states. The Boys finished eighth out of 51 teams. Those

running for LCS finished in this order: 12th, Clark Rivers, 16:43; 25th,

Blake Fertitta, 17:07; 38th, Eric Sumner, 17:24; 61st, Joseph Register,

17:45; 141st, Dustin McDonald, 18:41; 142nd, Johnathan Best, 18:41; 163rd,

Scott Emery, 18:57

The LCS girls

cross country team ran its best team effort of the year, a team time of

two hours and one minute, which was four minutes faster than the team's

previous best. The LCS runners finished in this order: Melissa Register,

22:33; Mary Michael Joiner, 23:39; Courtney Piribek, 23:42; Kate Bailey,

25:33; Jenny Cone, 25:37; Sarah King, 25:56; Layla Constable, 27:15.

The Landmark

boys and girls will run at the Carrollton Last Chance Meet. The boys will

run at 9:45, followed by the girls.

Sandy Creek

ran in the Bleckley County Invitational in Cochran Saturday and got good

performances from the boys and girls teams. The boys placed second out

of 15 teams. The top five runners for the boys were Brian Wetmiller, 18:11;

Lukas Fortunato, 18:13; Brandon Goldstein, 18:14; Kellen Owens, 19:17;

and Jody Bilyeu, 19:47. The girls placed sixth overall. Rae Lynch finished

third overall with a time of 21:09.

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