Panthers, Wolfpack prevail

The county's premier showcase for area cross country teams played out about as expected Saturday.

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Lakeside won the varsity girls division and Greenbrier won the boys division at the Columbia County Invitational held at Blanchard Woods Park.

Lakeside girls claimed the top three spots individually.

Junior Anna Bowles won with a time of 19:30. Teammate Katie Townsend came in second in 20:03 and Bowles' sister, freshman Sarah Bowles, finished third in 20:19.

"It's not my best time," Anna Bowles said. "I'm still pretty satisfied."

Evans' girls put three in the top 10 and edged Greenbrier by a point to finish second as a team.

For the boys, Greenbrier's Robert Blackwelder finished in 17:27 to beat out Lakeside's Shane Wilson by five seconds.

Blackwelder said the two battled for the top spot throughout the race.

"That's what kept me going," Blackwelder said. "I never hurt that much in my life."

Lakeside girls were ranked No. 4 in Class AAAA and the Lakeside boys No. 4 in the latest gatfxc.com rankings, released Friday.

None of the other area teams was ranked, but the competition is usually stiff when the teams race each other at Blanchard Woods Park, considered one of Georgia's toughest courses.

Greenbrier won the junior varsity boys race, led by Reggie Redd, who finished first with a time of 18:54. Six Wolfpack JV members finished in the top 10. Lakeside's junior varsity won the girls race. Greenbrier's Jasmine Payne ran a 23:09 and finished first.