Bears chase down top finishes
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

The Burke County High School cross country teams ran their way to the front of the pack last week at two events.

At a meet in Swainsboro last Tuesday, the boys team finished first ahead of Swainsboro, Jenkins County and Jefferson County.

Bears Joshua Jones and Darius Lakes were the first and second runners to cross the finish line with times of 19:26 and 19:54, respectively. Miguel Thomas, Phillip Hayden, William McGee and Marcus Stephens also helped claim the first place finish for their team.

Although the Lady Bears were one shy of competing with a complete team, three of the four girls who ran finished in the top eight. Alaytra Carswell's time was good enough for third while Jaquetta Chandler finished fourth and LaTangela McGee came in eighth.

On Saturday, it was the girls team that brought home the trophy from the Ray Miller Jenkins County Invitational. They finished third as a team, with Chandler and Carswell claiming top 10 medals and running their best times of the year at 24:20 and 24:43, respectively.

Synquis Givens, McGee and AnnNell Byne also ran to win the Lady Bears their trophy.

BCHS cross country coach Bill Knight said his runners are already showing improvement in their times.

"We just need to continue working hard each day at practice," he said. "Running in these meets as well as an invitational will give us an idea of where we need to be."

Coach Knight looks for the experience to help the teams as they head to their region meet.