Several important meets took place during the first big weekend of high school cross country, including the Clara Bowl, the University of Georgia Invitational and the Landmark Christian Invitational.
The largest meet of the weekend was the Berry College Clara Bowl Invitational, which played host to nearly 75 of the top programs in the Southeast. St. Pius earned first place, with Austin Sprague and Joseph Ferrugia posting top-five finishes. Peachtree Ridge’s Kevin Mills finished first overall, but his team finished in second place.
In the boys Class A-AAAA race, Bryce Schubert and Quintin Miles led North Hall to a first-place finish. Galloway’s Reilly Friedman finished with the fastest time, but the Scots finished eighth overall. On the girls side, Peachtree Ridge was led by Addy Lippit, and finished first ahead of Harrison and Dunwoody. In A-AAAA St. Pius edged Lovett for the top spot.
More cross country: Kenan Farmer, Andrew Singh and Connor Kilch led Walton to a first-place finish at the University of Georgia Invitational. North Oconee edged Mountain View for second place, and Centennial and Oconee County rounded out the top five. The Raiders girls also finished first, with junior Avery Bussjager leading the way.
The Sandy Creek boys won the 15-team Landmark Cross Country Invitational, finishing ahead of Landmark. The Landmark Christian girls won first place.
Volleyball: Making its case for possible state title contention, Johns Creek moved from No. 6 to No. 3 in the AAAAAA rankings after a 25-20, 25-20 victory against North Cobb. Visiting Johns Creek beat Walton 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22). The Gladiators' Annika Olsen recorded 20 kills, and sophomore Mikaela Gauthreaux had 12. Olsen also had 16 digs, and sophomore teammate Madeline Savage finished with a team-high 18. Junior Maddi Harty had 31 assists. … Hillgrove battled back from Alpharetta's 2-1 lead Tuesday to take the best-of-five match. … Previously unbeaten Blessed Trinity lost for the first time this weekend 25-23, 25-22 to Sullivan South (Tenn). The Titans went 9-1 against Tennessee teams during the weekend and did not lose a set in any of the nine wins. No. 1 ranked Blessed Trinity is 24-1 and will play a difficult tri-match Thursday with Marist and South Forsyth. … St. Pius was 5-0 Saturday with victories against Lassiter, Northview, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge and Mt. Paran.
Softball: Buford is cruising through the early part of the 2013 season with a perfect record in Region 7-AAA and has beaten traditional Gwinnett and state powers such as Archer (AAAAAA defending champion), Mill Creek and Brookwood. The Wolves have allowed more than three runs only two times this season despite playing a rigorous schedule. They have also outscored their opponents 92-18. Buford is trying for a seventh consecutive state championship. … Kennesaw Mountain lost its first game Tuesday night to Lassiter 5-4. In its 13 victories, Kennesaw has shut out opponents or allowed one run in eight games. Only Lassiter and Chapel Hill (six runs in extra innings) have scored more than three runs in a game against the Trojans.
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