Pictured: Mansfield runners Hope Rainwater, Katlynn Moore, Darby Jones, Faith Rainwater, McKenzie Griffin, and Jadelynn Wood earn hardware at the Magazine Fun Run
The snake pit at the Magazine Rattler cross country course provided a highly contested senior girls race between conference foes on Tuesday, September 14. Mansfield and Acorn, who have become stead rivals of late, battled to a one-point difference. Unfortunately for Mansfield, the point total tilted towards the blue and gold-clad Tigers of Acorn.
“It was a tremendous race that came down to one point,” said Magazine Coach Randy Bryan on the school’s video news program. “Acorn topped Mansfield 32 to 33.”
The scoring places for Mansfield including the non-teams went 3, 6, 9, 11, and 13. Acorn, although not running as fast as Mansfield’s top runner went 5, 7, 8, 10, and 12.
“For a moment it looked as if we were going to the sixth person to break a tie,” noted John Mackey of the Mansfield coaching staff. “When some of the non-team contestants dropped out of the standings, Acorn slid ahead by just one point.”
The senior high race was only a 1.5-mile loop. According to the coach, that may have been a difference-maker. Normally, the team competes at a 5K or 3.1-mile distance.
“The distance is a little misleading,” expressed the Mansfield coach. “It grabs our attention as we move towards district, regionals, and state. Acorn is definitely a contender in 2A cross country.”
Darby Jones as she has all season led the Lady Tigers of Mansfield with top honors. The senior rounded the one lap in 9:43. She was followed by Faith Rainwater (10:35), McKenzie Griffin (11:07), Jadelynn Wood (11:19), and Hope Rainwater (11:34). Katlynn Moore was the potential tie-breaker at 18th place overall with an 11:50 time.
The junior boys of Mansfield had a good showing as well. The group collectively placed third overall with 75 points. They fell behind Waldron’s 49 points and Acorn’s 72 points.
“Our boys are starting to figure it out,” said Mackey. “Because of quarantines, we are just now getting some players back. When they get back into shape, we should be pretty solid by conference time.”
Joey Fildes and Gunner Williams once again made the most noise for the young Tiger cubs off the junior high team. Fildes was 4th overall at a time of 8:50. Williams crossed at 20th place. Both carried home medals.
The junior team’s top five included Fildes, Williams, Jonah Martin, Rylan Nichols, and Joseph Carter.
The junior girls were unable to score as a team. Volleyball conflicts took the majority of the team’s runners away from the meet to compete in a conference game with Lavaca.
Aidan Fildes, Ashley Martin, and Rileigh Parker did race as individuals for the Lady Tiger junior girls.
