Myrtle’s Murphy takes ninth at Watson as regional week arrives
Myrtle junior Ally Murphy earned a top-10 finish against a multistate field Saturday, placing ninth in the girls’ Gold division at the Watson High School XC Classic at Choctaw Trails in Jackson.
Murphy ran the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 40.2 seconds, according to Xpress Timing’s completed results on MileSplit. The Gold race had 149 finishers. She finished ahead of East Rankin’s Jewel Baker and Tupelo’s Kailey Skaggs, who rounded out the top 11.
Parkview Baptist senior Lucy Cramer won in 17:43.0. Magnolia Heights sophomore Rylee Fullwood finished second in 17:54.2, and Hoover freshman Reese Gonzalez took third in 17:57.8.
Murphy’s next regional meet is close to home. Myrtle joins East Union, Ingomar and New Albany at the regional championships Thursday, October 22, at New Albany’s BNA Park Soccer/Tennis Complex and Tallahatchie Trails.
New Albany’s girls race at 10 a.m., followed by the Bulldogs’ boys at 10:30. East Union and Myrtle have girls entered in the 11 a.m. race; boys from those two schools and Ingomar race at 11:30. Results and awards will be separated by region.
West Union goes first in the county’s regional schedule. The Eagles have boys and girls entered Tuesday, October 20, at Blue Mountain’s cross-country trail. The girls’ 5K starts at 4 p.m., with the boys following at 4:35.
On the golf course, New Albany’s girls begin the state tournament Monday, October 19, at Dancing Rabbit, with play continuing Tuesday. The Lady Bulldogs enter after winning their sixth consecutive regional championship. New Albany’s boys play their state tournament at Dancing Rabbit October 26–27, according to the team’s announcements.
Football returns Thursday night with Myrtle hosting Bruce and East Union traveling to Belmont, both at 7 p.m. The Hawks carry a six-game winning streak and a 3–0 district record into the Bruce game after beating Water Valley 24–18 Friday. East Union follows its 23–14 victory over Strayhorn.
New Albany visits Tishomingo County on Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m., following its 49–9 win at South Pontotoc on October 15. All listed times are Mississippi local time.
Sources: Watson results; New Albany regionals; Regional entries; Blue Mountain regionals; West Union entries; New Albany girls golf; New Albany boys golf; Myrtle football; East Union football; New Albany football