Maclay boys' team -3 takes cross country win in Mobile, Girls finish second as Ryan Deak and Kara Newell win invitational titles

Sports Correspondent
Maclay of Tallahassee, Fla., narrowly defeated Landmark Christian of Georgia in a tiebreaker to win the invitational boys’ division while Mt. Carmel edged Maclay in the invitational girls’ division of the Alabama Orthapaedic Clinic Challenge of Champions at Langan Park Saturday afternoon.

Maclay and Landmark Christian both had 73 points, but a higher finish by Maclay’s sixth runner gave the Tallahassee school the title. Pearl, Miss., was third with 83 points, while McGill-Toolen was fourth with 103.

Mt. Carmel edged Maclay 62-65, with St. Paul’s of Mobile third with 119, followed by McGill-Toolen and Murphy with 143.

Foley was first in the 21-team open boys’ division, scoring 86 points, ahead of Ocean Springs, Miss., which had 103, and Baker, which had 113. The Lions, led by Lincoln Funk’s sixth-place finish (17 minutes, 33.63 seconds), had four runners in the top 20.

Ben Franklin of New Orleans won the open girls’ division with 46 points, ahead of Mt Carmel’s B squad, which had 88, and Ocean Spring’s B squad, which had 95.

Maclay’s Ryan Deak, the defending champion, won the three-mile invitational boys’ race in 15:28.70, more than a minute ahead of Pearl’s Robert Stevenson.

Kara Newell of Maclay won the invitational girls’ 2-mile race in 12:20.42.

East Central’s (Miss.) Jake Raines defeated Homewood’s Ty Stanfield in a battle of preseason All-Americas in the open division race. Raines took the lead early and was never challenged, winning in 15:39.42, while Stanfield ran 15:53.63.

Ocean Spring’s Danielle Princotta won the open division girls’ 2-mile in 12:52.36, with Resurrection’s Erin Sanford second (13:44.75).