STAFF REPORT
The Woodland girls and boys cross country teams opened the 2021 season with a strong showing in the Cherokee County Classic Saturday at Boling Park in Canton.

Rylee Evans finished seventh to lead the girls team to fifth place, while McKinley Chappell’s ninth-place showing helped the Wildcats slot in sixth on the boys side.

Evans, a senior who placed fourth in the Class 5A state meet last year, completed the course in 19 minutes, 40.7 seconds. Olivia Berry (18th, 20:46.1) and Emma Segars (23rd, 20:56.9) also put together impressive performances in the season-opening meet.

Danielle Thayer came in 44th overall, finishing with a time of 21:42.2. Miranda Pelow (56th, 22:09.5) rounded out the Woodland competitors.

Chappell finished the race in 19 minutes, 47 seconds. Tyler Jones came in 13th with a time of 17:05.2. Kain Tanturri (18:11.3) wound up 53rd overall. John Forsyth (18:37.2) and Landon McSwain (18:39.7) finished back-to-back in 63rd and 64th, respectively.

Adairsville brought four varsity boys to the event — one short of the competitors needed for an official team score. Brayden Miller paced the Tigers, finishing in 20 minutes, 18.9 seconds. Griffin Bozeman (20:51.5), Jaxson Curry (23:06.1) and Cody Teer (23:58.9) rounded out the team’s participants.

Callie Viktora was the lone Adairsville girl in the varsity race. The sophomore (24:16.7) finished 109th out of 164 participants.