Lady Jackets win title, boys are runner-ups

Region 2-AA Champion Zoie Marchant

Boys starting race. Back, Levi Manning and Logan Carelock. Front, Friley Reyes, Cam Lewis, Joshua Ratliff.

Region 2-AA runnerups — Levi Manning, Jonathan Cortes, Joshua Ratliff, Logan Carelock, Briley Reyes, Skylar Cravey, Cam Lewis

All Region Lady Jackets Riley Walters, Alexandra Uribe, Zoie Marchant

Region 2-AA Champions — Coach Will Wood, Jennifer Munoz, Hailey Beach, Flor Rangel, Joselyn Avila, Alexandra Uribe, Riley Walters, Zoie Marchant, Coach Meg Wood

The Jeff Davis cross country teams hosted the Region 2AA Cross Country Championship for the fifth straight year at their home course at Jeff Davis Middle School. The top four teams and top six individuals in the boys and girls races advance to the State Championship Nov. 2 at Carrollton High School.
In the boys race the Vidalia team raced to the front and held on to a commanding lead throughout the race, placing four individuals on the All-Region team. Senior Joshua Ratliff just missed the All-Region Team placing 7th overall for the Yellow Jacket squad, with the remaining members of the team all finishing in the Top 20.
The Yellow Jacket squad finished as the Region 2-AA Runner-Ups for the third time in the last five years. Toombs (3rd) and Metter (4th) captured the final two qualifying spots for the State Championship.
In the girls race, sophomore Zoie Marchant led the race from the gun and finished as the Region 2AA Individual Champion for the second straight year. Senior Riley Walters (2nd) and freshman Alex Uribe (4th) also finished on the All-Region team. The remainder of the Lady Jacket squad also ran great times helping the team win the Region 2AA title for the 4th straight year. St. Vincent’s Academy (2nd), Vidalia (3rd) and Woodville-Tompkins (4th) were the other teams qualifying for the State Championship.
Going into the State Championship the Top 4 boys teams are Bleckley, Banks, Union, and Vidalia with the Yellow Jacket boys poised for a Top 10 finished. On the girls side Bleckley County is the clear favorite, with Jeff Davis, Banks, St. Vincent’s Academy, and Berrien fighting for the final podium spots.
Following are the Yellow Jacket results in the region match:
Boys Results
7. Joshua Ratliff, 18:31.42; 10. Briley Reyes, 18:41.55; 11. Cam Lewis, 18:41.98; 15. Skyler Cravey, 19:10.24; 16. Levi Manning, 19:13.77; 17. Logan Carelock, 19:38.61; 19. Jonathan Cortes, 19:56.61.
Team Scores
1. Vidalia 23
2. Jeff Davis 59
3. Toombs County 87
4. Metter 109
5. Woodville-Tompkins 137
6. Bacon County 151
7. Swainsboro 181
8. Bryan County 236
Girls Results
1. Zoie Marchant, 20:52.67; 2. Riley Walters, 21:37.49; 4. Alexandra Uribe, 11:14.06; 9. Flor Rangel, 23:18.27; 11. Joselyn Avila, 23:32.93; 14. Hailey Beach, 23:47.18; 22. Jennifer Munoz, 25:04.28.
Team Scores
1. Jeff Davis 27
2. St. Vincent’s 52
3. Vidalia 64
4. Woodville-Tompkins 109
5. Swainsboro 143
6. Metter 161
7. Toombs County 176