MHS takes sixth in Tally

The Marianna Bulldogs cross country team took sixth place in the Tallahassee City Championship Friday at Maclay High School.

The Bulldogs next get set for the district meet Saturday at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

The Marianna team was sixth out of 11 teams at the Maclay meet, finishing fourth out of five district teams. District foe Godby finished second, while Florida High was fourth, Wakulla fifth and East Gadsden 10th.

The Bulldogs finished with 182 points on the day, 46 behind Wakulla.

Marianna coach Allan Gibson said the course was muddy and that slowed down the times.

However, he said he thought his team still could’ve done more.

“Honestly, we didn’t move up like I hoped we could,” the coach said. “Joseph (Gibson) didn’t have a great race, which hurt us, and we were still behind the two teams we’re chasing.

“But all we have to do is have a good race on Saturday. If we do, then we have a chance. It’s an outside chance, but if we make it out of district it would be a good day for us.”

Marianna would need to finish in the top six in district to qualify for regionals.

“We still have some work to do,” Gibson said. “We have to have a better race Saturday. If we run like we did on Friday, we’ll be done. If we step up and run like we’re capable of, we’ll have a chance.”

Jesse McGowan picked up the best individual time for Marianna, finishing 26th overall with a time of 20:16.

Zack Brocker finished 30th at 20:26, while first-time varsity runner Angel Morales finished 35th with a personal record time of 20:35.

“He really stepped up in a big way,” Gibson said of Morales. “He was the only person (to run a personal best). If he can run like that Saturday, that really helps our chances.”

Patrick Cox finished 45th for MHS with a time of 21:09, while Joseph Gibson was 48th at 21:34. James Lien was 54th with a time of 22:13, while Paul Kelson was 58th at 22:24.

For the girls,  Lindsey Tool led the way for MHS by finishing 18th with a time of 24:24.

Samantha Arroyo finishing 24th with a time of 24:46. Tiffany Stephens was 49th at 29:28.

While teams must finish in the top six at district to advance to regionals, individuals can advance by finishing in the top 15 of a run.

“Samantha’s best time this year ranks 12th in district, so she has a good chance of going,” Gibson said. “If Lindsey runs with her, she’ll have a chance as well.”