Panthers set for region meet Thurs.

The Jackson County Panther cross country teams competed twice last week as they continue to prepare for this week’s region meet.

The teams started last Wednesday at Buford, where the boys’ team placed sixth with some strong times.

The highest finisher for the boys was Thomas Carroll, who placed 22nd with a time of 20:07.

Also scoring for the team was John Florentine with a 20:29, Miguel Guereca with a 20:39, Tyler Ledford with a 21:05, and Austin Moser with a 21:20.

The girls placed fourth with a strong team score. Receiving a medal was sophomore Brittany Aikens, who finished third overall with a time of 20:52 and freshman Sydney Baird who placed sixth overall with a time of 22:56. The scoring was rounded out with a personal best by senior Mary Collin, who placed 25th with a time of 25:41. Lexie Miller and Rachel Pasko also turned in resilient performances for the team.

Next up was a trip to Riverside Military Academy to compete on Saturday.

The girls were led by race winner Brittany Aikens who broke her own school record by running a time of 19:15. Sydney Baird ran a personal best 21:19 to finish third overall. Lexie Miller ran a season best time of 24:25 to finish 15th, while Mary Collin finished with a personal best time of 24:37 to place 17th.

The boys were led by Tyler Ledford who ran a personal best time of 18:53. Thomas Carroll ran a personal best 19:34. Dragos Teodor turned in a personal best time of 20:15. John Florentine turned in a time of 20:18. David Serna recorded a personal best time of 20:25.

The Panthers will travel to Athens Christian on Thursday to compete in the Region meet.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.