A second place finish for the second year in a row in the 8-AAA region meet at Athens Christian will send the Jackson County girls cross country team to state competition.
The girls were led by race winner Brittany Aikens, who placed second overall with a time of 19:50. Sydney Baird placed eighth with a 23:25. Rachel Pasko placed 11th with a 23:46. Lexie Miller placed 24th with a 25:00. Mary Collin placed 29th with a 25:28. Other runners included Katie Maiolo and Susie Diesch.
The girls scored 74 points to place behind Oconee County and ahead of Archer.
“It is fun to see hard work pay off for these girls,” said coach Joseph Brubaker. “This is a great reward for the daily effort and sacrifices each one made.”
The girls will move on to the state meet in Carrollton on Saturday.
For the boys, John Florentine led the Panther charge with a time of 19:59, as the team placed 10th.
Other runners included Miguel Guereca, Thomas Carroll, Zack Knight and David Serna.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
