HOPE MILLS — Scotland High’s cross country team began its season by competing in South View’s annual Jungle Run on Saturday, with the boys team finishing in fifth place out of 36 teams and the girls team finishing in 11th place out of 25 teams in their respective 5K invitational races.
In a field of 302 runners on the boys side, sophomore Aaron Aycock finished in eighth place with a time of 17:13.55. Junior Jackson Sellers was the next Scot to cross the finish line, logging an 18th-place finish with a time of 17:34.05. Aycock and Sellers both received medal for their top-20 finishes.
Not far behind Sellers was 27th-place finisher Cooper Sutherland, who crossed the finish line in 18:04.27. The other finishers for the Scots were Keldon Clark (19:11) and Hogan Hyatt (20:24).
Scotland’s boys finished with 245 points as a team, putting them two points ahead of sixth-place Jesse Carson High and eight points behind fourth-place Croatan. Carrboro was the boys invitational team champion with a score of 62.
In the girls invitational race, which included 222 runners, junior Madison Williams paced the Lady Scots while earning a top-20 medal with a 16th-place finish (21:00.42). Freshman Tabitha Williams crossed the line in 42nd place with a time of 22:09.31. The other top-five finishers for the Lady Scots were Bethany Matthews (24:01), Mikayla Tucker (24:12) and Qiara Worth (25:42).
With 291 team points, the Lady Scots were 10 points behind 10th-place finisher Fayetteville Christian School. Broughton won the girls invitational race with a team score of 56.
Scotland’s cross country runners are scheduled to compete in the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival on Friday night in Kernersville. Mount Tabor High School will host the meet.
