James McConnell finished second individually and Walnut placed three runners in the top 10 Thursday, carrying the Wildcats to the Class 2A boys cross-country runner-up trophy at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.
Walnut scored 73 points, finishing 13 behind champion Myrtle and just three ahead of New Site in the Oct. 29 state meet. McConnell covered the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 57.70 seconds, trailing Wesson’s Dalton Jackson, who won in 17:34.90. Landon Jones took ninth in 18:56.80 and Jeremiah McAlister finished 10th in 18:58.40, giving Walnut three finishers under 19 minutes.
Walker Bryant’s 21st-place finish in 20:13.70 and Abdulrahman Quhshi’s 36th in 21:14.80 completed Walnut’s scoring five. Jackson Meeks followed in 38th at 21:20.10, with Hayden Hopper 56th in 22:35.00. The Wildcats finished second among 14 scoring teams, according to the official meet results.
In the Class 2A girls race, Walnut’s Evelin Aguilar placed 13th in 24:15.90 and Aubree Carter finished 43rd in 28:41.50. Walnut did not record a girls team score.
Blue Mountain’s boys finished seventh among 10 scoring teams in Class 1A, totaling 171 points. Caleb Galvez led the Cougars in 22nd at 20:41.80, followed by Cason Gentry in 27th (21:16.60), Garrett Thurmond in 30th (21:38.10), Jaier Johnson in 48th (23:01.90) and Landon Vandergriff in 61st (24:04.20). Pine Grove’s Preston Baswell placed 58th in 23:43.60 and Owen Vick finished 80th in 33:34.40; the Panthers had no team score.
For Blue Mountain’s girls, Adrianna Bolden took 27th in 27:37.50, Addison Gentry 40th in 29:49.70 and Ava Beaty 46th in 30:28.60. The Cougars did not post a team score.
Thursday evening brought three football defeats. Ripley lost 33–7 at Senatobia, which remained unbeaten at 10–0. The Tigers pulled within 14–7 on a second-quarter 40-yard touchdown pass and extra point, but Senatobia scored 19 unanswered points after halftime. Deavion Watson’s touchdown runs of 95 and 47 yards helped separate the Warriors from Ripley, now 2–8.
Potts Camp beat host Falkner 35–0, building a 20–0 halftime lead and ending the Eagles’ three-game winning streak. Derrion Johnson scored three touchdowns and Tylan Love added two for the Cardinals. Falkner fell to 5–4 overall and 2–1 in district play.
At Baldwyn, Walnut fell 38–8. The Bearcats turned a 20–0 halftime advantage into a 38–0 lead during a third quarter that included Kaden Crump’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown. Walnut answered with a fourth-quarter rushing touchdown and two-point run, finishing the night 4–6.
