Lady Knights run to 5-3A championship

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Oct. 29, 2004
In the last cross country meet before the state championship, West Lauderdale did all it could to prepare for its season finale.
Kacy Covert and Alexa Flaskamp each broke 19 minutes and finished in the top five to lead West Lauderdale's girls' cross country team to the Division 5-3A championship on Thursday.
Covert finished second in the race with an 18:28, and Flaskamp came in fifth at 18:57.
Amanda Marshall of Magee won the girls' race with a 17:58.
The West Lauderdale boys came in second in its meet behind district champ Carthage, which finished with 37 points. The Knights had 75 points, just ahead of Choctaw Central, which tallied 78 points.
Corey Rigdon led the West Lauderdale boys' team with a first-place finish at 17:37 more than a minute and a half ahead of the closest runner. Two of Rigdon's West Lauderdale teammates, Jay Stoddard and Ryan Hill, finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Brandon LaBue of Newton finished in second place, followed by Marguice Eubanks of Carthage in third.
The Lady Knights, who scored 34 points, outran second-place Choctaw Central, which finished with 60 points. Newton County came in third with 77 points.
Other local runners finishing in the girls' top 10 were Chantay Frazier of Choctaw Central in sixth, Myster Dale of Choctaw Central in seventh, Polly Vaughn of Newton County in eighth, Brittany Smith of Southeast Lauderdale in ninth and Shyatesa York of Choctaw Central in 10th.
The meet took place at the long, hilly trail at Lake Okatibbee Dam. Runners were challenged throughout the course, particularly at one of the first hills, which went on for close to a quarter of a mile.
The teams' next meet will take place Nov. 6 at the arduous Choctaw Trails on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton.