On Sept. 14, the Eupora cross-country team traveled to French Camp to compete in its first meet of the year with eight other schools.
Junior varsity girls had four top 20 finishers: Hallie Johnston, Ava McCain, Estra Herard and Kate Vowell. They finished second place as a team. The JV boys finished fifth overall as a team with Woods Mitchell and Joseph Rollins both finishing in the top 20.
On the varsity side, varsity girls finished fourth as a team while the boys didn't have enough runners to compete as a team. John Thomas Frank finished in the top 10 for the boys.
The Eagles then competed in their own Eagle Claw Invitational on Oct. 5. Eupora hosted eight other schools. JV girls brought home the team championship with nine girls finishing in the top 20. McCain took second place while Vowell and Katrelya Pratt took sixth and seventh places, and Johnston and Herard rounded out the top 10.
On the JV boys side, they finished third overall with four finishing in the top 20. Dylan Coleman, BJ Cork and Rollins were in the top 20 while Mitchell cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place finish.
The varsity girls had three in the top 10. Mae Young took third while Macie Manasco and Lillian Winter took the fifth and sixth spots. The varsity girls took the top spot as a team and brought home the first-ever championship trophy in cross-country for Eupora.
Varsity boys had three in the top 20. Anthony Schexnaydre was 12th, Chris Nicholson eighth and Frank at fifth. The varsity boys team finished in third place overall.
On Oct. 8, the Eupora team competed with eight other schools in the Houston Invitational at Stinkin' Jim's Horse Park. The varsity girls took the top spot and added another trophy to the shelf, and the varsity boys got a step closer with a second-place finish.
In four races, the Eagle runners had a total of 10 top 10 finishers. JV boys were ninth, Mitchell; and 10th, Coleman. JV girls were sixth, Adrieana Ellis; and seventh, McCain. High school girls were fifth, Young; sixth, Manasco; and eighth, Winter. High school boys were second, Frank; fourth, Nicholson; and ninth, Mitchell.
The Eagles were to run Saturday at the French Camp Classic. The Eagles host the MHSAA Region 2, Class 2A District Championship followed by competing in the MHSAA 2A-4A-6A State Cross-Country Championships in Clinton.
