Baylor School’s Simon Holden picked the perfect day to come through with his first win.
The Red Raiders sophomore pulled away from the field to claim his first high school victory Thursday in the Woodland Park race of the Chattanooga Cross Country League. Holden ran the five-kilometer event in 17 minutes, 16.55 seconds.
Baylor also won the boys’ team event, with their top five all under 19 minutes. They finished with a total of 67 points, nearly half of second-place Cumberland County’s score.
Heritage won the girls’ team event with 68 points. Notre Dame was second, Cumberland County third and GPS – with individual winner Johanna Gartman in 20:11.92 – taking fourth.
The Red Raiders wore yellow ribbons on their shoes in memory of Janie Davis, the wife of Baylor athletic trainer Eddie Davis, who died Wednesday after a bout with cancer.
“We were racing for her and her family,” said Baylor’s Houston Massey, who finished fifth. “That was our No. 1 motivation.”
Said coach Jan Gautier: “It’s just been a long week. The guys definitely ran with heart, because they didn’t have fresh legs. I was glad to see them step up and get the victory.”
Holden, who has hovered around the top five of every meet he has run this year, won by seven seconds over East Hamilton’s Nick McCormick.
“I didn’t feel near as well as I had in some of the other races I had run in,” said Holden, who got sick after the race. “A lot of it was in the sun, which I think had a lot to do with it.
“I liked this course, though, and we did great as a team, having three guys under 18 minutes today.”
Gartman was never really threatened, claiming a 13-second victory over St. Andrew’s Sewanee’s Keeley Stewart. Heritage had two top-five finishers in sisters Mallory (third) and Moriah Edwards, and Soddy-Daisy’s Kacy Roberson was fourth.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311.