JDMS competes in state championship

The JDMS cross country teams competed Oct. 14 in the Georgia Middle School State Cross Country Championships hosted by Bleckley County.
The longstanding event that was started by legendary Bleckley County coach Shelly Crandford saw more than 140 Middle School and Club Teams compete in six divisions. The divisions are split by Private Schools, Club Teams, and Public Schools. The public school division is divided into four divisions based on school size. The Jeff Davis teams competed in Division 2 which is the second smallest division of public schools.
The JV teams were the first to race, with the JV teams racing boys and girls together and then separating the scores by gender.
The JDMS junior varsity team finished 8th and 8th Grader Gabriel Osorio led the team with a 33rd place finish. The JDMS junior varsity girls team fared a lot better as the team finished 2nd overall. Brenlee Boatright (2nd) was the JV girls Division 2 runner-up as she was edged out by three seconds by Livie Shephard of Pierce County. Myla Worthington (6th) and Brinley Parlor (7th) also finished in the Top 10.
In the boys varsity race 8th grader Ignacio Rubio continued to lead the boys team as he finished in 33rd place. The team finished in 13th place overall inthe Division 2 Championship.
In the girls race Mattie Clair Worthington (8th) led the JDMS Lady Jackets to a 3rd place finish behind Fannin County MS (1st) and The STEM Academy of Savannah (2nd). Brandy Castro (21st), Braylee Talamantez (25th), Josemar Avila (30th), and Fernanda Valdelar (36th) rounded out the scoring for the JDMS Lady Jackets.
This was the second year in a row the girls team has finished 3rd at the State Championship.