Lady Arrows XC named Region 1-6A champs

By Datti Jinkiri

The talented Clinton High

School girls’ cross country team recently completed another solid season. The Lady Arrows ran in a total of eight races this fall. Their season was highlighted by five top-three team finishes and a Region 1-6A Championship.

The team is led by Head Coach Allen Marett, who says he is proud of his team’s spirited effort this season.

“They are a very dedicated group of young ladies with a competitive spirit that is rare,” he stated. “They bounce back from disappointments like champions. I am very proud of them.”
The Lady Arrows began the season at the Ole Brook Invitational, where they finished in second. Their second race was the Memphis Twilight Invitational, where they finished in the top-25 in a field that included some quality high school teams from across the Southeast.

Next up for the team was the French Camp Invitational. A second-place finish in that race was then followed by back-to-back third-place finishes at the Clinton Arrow Invitational and the Jaguar Trails Classic.

“The team showed the most improvement in racing strategy,” Marett said. “They have always had the talent. They have really improved by putting it all together in the performances.”
The improvement manifested itself in the postseason, when the Lady Arrows won the Region 1-6A Championship meet. Five of the team’s runners finished within the top-10. Sabine Cook (individual champion), Evelyn Mata-O’Dwyer (second), Kaedyn Wilson (fifth), Anna Renegar (seventh), and Mati Grace Miley (tenth) each earned All-Region 1-6A selections due to their placements in the race. Two more runners (Brooke Harrison and Ella Goolsby) finished within the top-20.

At the MHSAA Class 6A Championship Meet, the Lady Arrows finished in tenth overall. Mata-O’Dwyer finished as the team’s top finisher, finishing in 28th.

Outlook for next season
Though the team is losing four seniors, there is talent in position to take the mantle and propel the team into next season. Mata-O’Dwyer, who is a junior, finished in the top-five five times this year. She ran a season-best 5K time of 20:38.20 at the Clinton Arrow Invitational. Cook – who won the region individual title with a season-best time of 20:51.84 – is a sophomore who finished within the top-ten twice more this season. All-Region selections Wilson, Renegar and Miley were all freshmen this season.

“They [four seniors] have led us in their great work ethic, and they will be missed,” Marett said. “But they are leaving behind great attitudes for the younger runners to model.”

“Our junior high program is also showing a lot of talent,” he continued. “They will continue to push the older runners and make the program stronger. The strength of the program is credited to every young lady that has worn the Arrow uniform.”