GAINESVILLE — Stacey Merck was not able to watch her teams participate in Tuesday's Hall County Cross Country Championships -- but the Chestatee coach would certainly have been proud of the effort.
Merck, who was hit by a motor vehicle while running with her team on Sunday, is still recovering from the resulting serious injuries in the hospital but was honored by War Eagles runners, who swept the team honors and also saw Lindsey Grater finish first place individually in the meet at Riverside Military in Gainesville.
(NOTE: See below for a complete list of team results and top 10 individual finishes. And see video highlights and interviews with the wnners above,)
Chestatee's boys edged out North Hall, as did the Lady War Eagles, who took first behind Grater (20 minutes, 13.4 seconds), as well as third, fourth and fifth behind Megan Dew, Dennis Gomez and Bertha Alejo-Cruz, respectively. North Hall's Mattoe Bohanan finished second (21:03.7).
Meanwhile, Johnson's Issac Hernandez shattered a personal record by breaking the 16-minute barrier with a time of 15:38.2 to claim the boys individual title. He held off North Hall's Devan Crow (15:42.3) in second. Ivan Martin led the Chestatee boys, who also claimed sixth behind Tony Martinez and ninth behind Edwin Amaya.
HALL COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Riverside Military Academy, Gainesville
Sept. 27
TEAM RESULTS
BOYS
1. Chestatee, 42
2. North Hall, 51
3. Gainesville, 69
4. Johnson, 101
5. West Hall, 114
6. Lakeview Academy, 129
7. East Hall, 214
8. Riverside Military Academy, 216
GIRLS
1. Chestatee, 26
2. North Hall, 32
3. Johnson, 81
4. Lakeview Academy, 131
5. West Hall, 133
6. Gainesville, 136
TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
BOYS
1. Issac Hernandez, Johnson, 15:38.2
2. Devan Crow, North Hall, 15:42.3
3. Ivan Martin, Chestatee, 15:51.0
4. Tommy Johnston, North Hall, 15:53.6
5. Carter Robinson, North Hall, 16:29.6
6. Tony Martinez, Chestatee, 16:33.5
7. Daniel Ruiz, Gainesville, 16:36.2
8. Alex Sosa, Gainesville, 16:40.6
9. Edwin Amaya, Chestatee, 16:51.6
10. Wright Allen, Lakeview Academy, 17:01.1
GIRLS
1. Lindsey Grater, Chestatee, 20:13.4
2. Mattie Bohanan, North Hall, 21:03.7
3. Megan Dew, Chestatee, 21:13.8
4. Dennis Gomez, Chestatee, 21:17.2
5. Bertha Alejo-Cruz, Chestatee, 21:21.7
6. Hennebry Waters, North Hall, 21:35.4
7. Madilyn Patterson, North Hall, 21:38.0
8. Georgina Hoffman, North Hall, 21:42.1
9. Morgan Mize, North Hall, 21:43.1
10. Molly Hayes, Johnson, 21:52.8
