Neshoba Central wins 6A state title

The Neshoba Central Boys’ Cross Country team secured the 6A team state title last week, with four runners finishing in the top ten of the 5K race and all seven of the team’s runners finishing in the top 25 of the race at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.

Junior Evan Hallford had the highest individual finish for the Rockets, finishing second overall with a 16:50:0.8 time in the race of 5000 meters.

Freshman Quinton Dan, Junior Emjae Willis, and Senior Isaiah Thomas rounded out the top ten of the standings with sixth, seventh and ninth place finishes for Neshoba Central, respectively.

Also in the top 25 of the race results were Senior Jon Paul Moore, Senior Shot Stribling, and Sophomore Zayden Nowell, with 18th, 19th, and 23rd place finishes in the race, respectively.

There were 98 participants in the class 6A race, so for all seven of these racers to finish in the top 25 of the state’s best runners is a very impressive accomplishment in itself.

The team with the lowest scores wins the state title in the state cross country meets and Neshoba Central finished with 42 teams points, beating second place Saltillo with 59 points, third place Pascagoula with 86 points, fourth place Olive Branch with 108 points, and fifth place Ridgeland with 172 points, to round out the top five in the competition.

The Rockets had a great season, also winning a region title, before capping off their campaign with a state title. This program will have a chance to be in the mix for a title once again next year, only losing three of their seven runners that competed in the state title meet.