MISSISSIPPI STATE MEET

Jacquavion Bryant Leads Young Pearl Team To 23rd Boys Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Sophomore Jaquavion Bryant ran 16:04.1 for the fastest time of the day to help Pearl win its 23rd state championship at the Mississippi state cross country championships at Choctaw Trails. 

Pearl scored 40 points and broke the new Choctaw Trails state course record for team average with 16:30. Farren Oberto was fourth, Tanner Moore was eighth and Maxi Duran was 10th. All seven in the lineup are eligible to return next year. 

Tupelo, which placed three runner in the top five, was second with 93 points. 

The Ocean Springs girls held on to their 6A team championship with 48 points. Junior Addison Rainey led the way with a victory in 19:10.4. She was eighth in 2021. 

Saltillo overwhelmed the fields in the Class 5A competition, with the boys and girls teams scoring 46 points combined on the way to a decisive sweep over top rival Brookhaven. Juniors Parker Shannon (16:49.1) and Enoch Caviness (17:35.7) went 1-2 in the boys race as the Tigers went 1-2-4-6-9-10-11. 

On the girls side, Anna Caroline Crouch was at the head of the Saltillo parade, winning in 20:59.8. The Tigers went 1-4-5-7-8-11-13.

In Class 4A , Corinth proved to be the dominant program with a team sweep for the Warriors. The boys put four in the top 10 on the way to 37 points; the girls also put four in the top 10 to reach 41 points. 

Mooresville, however, swept the individual titles. Seniors Lukas Dykes (16:49.7) and Hannah Sanders (20:01.5) both won by comfortable margins. 

St. Patrick swept the Class 3A team titles. The boys got a 1-2 finish from junior Jack Hewes (17:47.8) and freshman Tristan Davis (18:20.4) on the way to 24 points. Last year, St. Patrick swept places 2-8. This time, the Fighting Irish went 1-2-5-6-10-11. 

St. Patrick's girls scored 41 points and put all seven runners in the top 20 of the girls final. Emily Ireland from St. Andrews Episcopal won the 3A final in 20:51.7.

East Union swept the team championships in the Class 2A finals. The girls team put six runner in the top 21 as it slipped past Walnut (60) and Myrtle (69) with 56 points. Seventh grader Ally Murphy from Myrtle won the race in 20:16.9. 

Gabe McElwain from Walnut blew away the 2A boys field and won by more than a minute in 16:21.8. 

French Camp continued its reign in the Class 1A competition, scoring 32 points with 1-2-6-13-15 placement in the final. Sophomore Lucy Littlejohn beat teammate Annaleigh Bain by 36 seconds to win in 21:44.9.

West Union's boys scored 52 points to knock out defending champion Tupelo Christian. The Eages put five scorers across in the top 16. Chandler Ray from Falkner won the race in 17:26.2 and by a margin of 33 seconds. 

Team Champions - 

Class 6A - Pearl boys 40 points, Ocean Springs girls 48 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Saltillo boys 21 points, Saltillo girls 25 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Corninth boys 37 points, Corinth girls 41 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - St. Patrick boys 24 points, St. Patrick girls 41 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - East Union boys 72 points, East Union girls 56 points - RESULTS

Class 1A - West Union boys 52 points, French Camp girls 32 points - RESULTS