Dasha Rowland recorded a personal-best 26 minutes, 54.80 seconds Saturday to lead Ripley’s girls at the Saltillo Cross Country Invitational, placing 34th among 102 finishers in the Class 1A–4A varsity 5-kilometer race.
The senior’s time is the fastest 5K listed on her MileSplit athlete record. She led a six-runner Ripley contingent at Saltillo High School on Sept. 19, with sophomore Kailyn Shead next for the Tigers in 58th place at 30:05.80.
Ripley finished 11th among 11 scoring girls teams with 256 points. Its five scoring runners averaged 31:55.74, with their combined time totaling 2 hours, 39 minutes, 38.70 seconds. Rowland and Shead supplied its two finishes in the top 60; the Tigers’ remaining three scorers crossed in a span of less than a minute.
Amberlyn Wallace, a sophomore, placed 83rd in 33:37.80. Senior Mia Ward followed in 85th at 34:25.60, and freshman Sophia Perez finished one place behind her in 34:34.70. Senior McKinley Osborn completed Ripley’s lineup in 93rd at 38:20.70.
French Camp Academy won the girls team competition with 73 points, ahead of Myrtle’s 96. Myrtle’s Ally Murphy took the individual title in 19:22.20, according to Pirate Timing’s results.
In the boys Class 1A–4A race, freshman Braylyn Derrick led Ripley with an 87th-place finish in 25:37.90. Juniors Kolton Strong and Joaquin Martinez finished 127th and 128th, respectively, in 33:14.70 and 34:10.60.
The boys results list 131 finishers and three Ripley runners. Ripley did not receive a team score. Myrtle edged French Camp 92–93 for that division’s team championship.
A late-reported football final also fills a gap from Friday: East Webster defeated Ripley 34–0 on Sept. 18. The home loss left the Tigers 1–3 after three consecutive defeats, while East Webster improved to 4–0. Ripley is scheduled to host Booneville on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. Central, according to its MaxPreps schedule.
