St. Andrew’s Cross Country completes their best season
From Staff Reports
The St. Andrew’s Parks and Playgrounds cross-country team has enjoyed their best season yet, advancing nineteen runners from the Junior Olympics State Championship in Newberry, SC on November 12 to the Region 4 Meet in Fairburn, GA on November 19. Six of these runners qualified for Nationals, which took place in Texas on December 9.
Seven girls finished in the top ten in South Carolina. The top two St. Andrew’s finishers were Bobbi Cutcliff and Veda Wagner, who finished fifth in the state in the girls 8 and Under and 11-12 age groups, respectively. Brooke Bowles finished sixth among the 13-14 girls, while Harper Seago took eighth in the 8 and Under category. Reese Bianchi claimed the ninth spot among 11-12 girls, and in the 9-10 bracket, Sissy Groeber placed ninth and Reese Seago finished tenth. Other female qualifiers included Alexandra Doose, Hannah Doose, Stella Hider, and Russie Kate Kendrick.
Qualifying for the boys were Henry Adams, Jack Adams, Luciano Cusatis, Finbar Groeber, James Groeber, Charlie Hider, Adam Leach, Oliver Pitts, Jack Teeple, Michael Teeple, and Tallon Tirozzi.
The Region 4 Meet included qualifiers from South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. St. Andrew’s top finisher was Cutcliff, who finished sixth in the Region, followed by Harper Seago who took 11th. For the boys, Charlie Hider took 8th in the 15-16 age group. Other qualifiers were Finbar Groeber, Sissy Groeber, and Reese Seago.
Seven-year-old Cutliff made the trip to College Station, Texas last month to represent St. Andrews at the United States Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championship. In a pack of 190 runners, Bobbi finished 85th in the nation, covering the 2,000-meter course in 9:04, thirty-one seconds faster than her previous best time.
“Bobbi’s a tough runner. It’s been quite a first season for her,” said St. Andrew’s head coach, John Cusatis. “She’s worked hard and gotten better every meet. I’m very proud of all these kids!”
