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Tide cross country advances to state meet
Tide cross country
Photo by Misty Watford

The Long County Blue Tide cross country has had a ton of success over the last few years and the 2020 season has been no different. The boys’ teams qualified for the state meet on Wednesday, October 28 at the Region 1-AAA meet while having an individual girl qualify.

 The boys’ team finished second in the meet behind Appling County. This is the second year in a row the team finished second and qualified for state and head coach David White seems excited for the future.

 “I am proud of both teams. They all put in a lot of hard work and are deserving of going to state,” White said. “The boys gave Appling all they wanted and give me high hopes for next year.”

During the meet, junior Orlando Tellez-Baltazar finished with a personal best time of 17:38 and finished second place as an individual. This is the second straight season that Tellez-Baltazar has finished second at the region meet.

 Sophomore Jada Young also qualified for state as she finished fifth place in the girls’ race with a time of 24:28. White said that despite the girls having “nagging injuries” throughout the season, they finally ran a team of five girls, the minimum needed to qualify for state, and they have a shot to compete for a region title next season.

“I like our chances in the future,” White said of the girls’ team made up of five underclassmen.

 Joining Tellez-Baltazar on the boys team at the state meet will be Trent Rutherford, Wesley Wilson, Anthony Ferrie, Erick Fuentes, Blake Horner, and Jayonn Fintch and alternates Christian Whitman and Alex Morales.

The state meet will be held on Friday, Nov. 6, in Carrollton, Georgia. 

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