Kosciusko senior Gustavo Orduna made all state in cross country by finishing 14th at the MHSAA 4A meet Monday at Choctaw Trails. The top 14 runners in each race receive all state medals.Orduna covered the 5,000 meter (3-1 mile) course in 18:20.83. That was 45 seconds better than he did at the state meet last year when he finished 24th and more than a mile under his team at the Region 4-4A meet at Choctaw Trails two weeks earlier.Kosciusko boys finished ninth and the girls were 13th.“Overall, everybody did really, really well,” said coach Greg Cooper. “They did well throughout the season. I'm really, really proud of them.”The French Camp girls were second and the boys were fifth MHSAA Class 1A, while the Choctaw County boys finished seventh in MHSAA Class 3A at the state cross country meet.The meet for 1A, 3A and 5A schools was run last Saturday at Mississippi College's Choctaw Trails course.“What a great ride. We had a great, exciting time,” French Camp coach Joe Watkins said of the season.The French Camp girls finished ahead of Tupelo Christian in a meet at Saltillo six weeks earlier. But with four runners in the top seven, Tupelo Christian won the state championship for the third year in a row with a team score of 27 to 54 for French Camp.Tupelo Christian coach Greg Warnick said the difference was the addition of two runners who were not on the Tupelo Christian team for the earlier meet. Anna Bishop Powell finished seventh and Sarah Elizabeth Long was16th. Abigail Craft of Tupelo Christian led the race with time of 19:54.1 for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles).French Camp was led by Ellen Ulerich, sixth with a time of 22:10.5. It was a personal best. “She has gotten better, and better all season,” Watkins said.Ulerich was followed by Averie Jane Gundy, 11th in 23:34.7; Annaleigh Bain, 14th in 23:25.3; Maddi Davis,17th in 23:44.8; Emma Wright, 20th in 24:24.4; Olivia Gundy, 24th in 24:58.7; and Olivia Surrette, 27th in 25:33.9.Every runner for French Camp is an underclassman. Ulerich and Olivia Gundy are eighth graders, Averie Jane Gundy a freshman, Bain and Surrette sophomores and Davis and Wright juniors.French Camp boys were led by Brady Peacock who was 11th with a time of 18:29. Stratton Choppala was 16th (19:40), Beau McPhail 37th (22:29.7), James Cantey 47th (23:29) and Ian Choppala 48th (23:49).Peacock is a senior, Stratton Choppala and Cantey freshmen and McPhail and Ian Choppala eighth graders.Tupelo Christian won boys 1A for the fifth consecutive year and had the individual winner in Causey Simmons, with a time of 17:43.2.Ulerich, Averie Jane Gundy, Bain and Peacock received all state medals by finishing in the top 14 of their races.Peacock had a personal best in his last race. “For six years, he has been a 23-minute 5K runner. To go out and be all state, that was absolutely incredible,” Watkins said.For Kosciusko, Orduna was followed by his brother Jorge, 24th in 18:44.75; Jon Gant, 42nd in 19:38.23; Cole Wilson, 72nd in 20:26.31; Christian Covarrubias, 104th in 21:59.54; Lem Whitcomb, 110th in 22:28.28; and Cooper Sparks, 117th in 22:53.77. Reid Hutchinson was the top girl, finishing 30th with a clocking of 23:12.50. She was followed by Emma Rhodes 41st (24:03.5), Macie Alford 64th (25:32.99), Savannah Fulgham 71st (26:00.41) and Lorelai Bell (30:31.04). All five were well under their times at the region meet.Gustavo Orduna and Macie Alford are the only seniors. “We'll miss Gustavo and Macie, but there's growth to be had moving forward with our program,” Cooper said.Jorge Orduna, Covarrubias and Sparks are sophomores, Gant, Wilson and Whitcomb freshmen. For the girls, Hutchinson and Fulgham and sophomores, Rhodes and Bell freshmen.Corinth repeated as boys and girls champion and St. Stanislaus junior Keegan Leverette repeated as the boys individual winner in 16:11.16. Mooreville sophomore Hannah Sanders won the girls race with a time of 20:19.33.
