RALEIGH THOMPSON
CLAY WEBB
By Kevin Eckleberry
By Kevin Eckleberry
Nothing was going to keep Clay Webb from crossing the finish line first, not some talented pursuers, or a soggy, muddy course at Pyne Road Park. On a rainy October afternoon, Webb raced to the top spot in the Troup County Championship, finishing ahead of LaGrange’s Bo Beall, who claimed the number two position. Earlier in the season, Webb bested all the runners from LaGrange and Callaway during a race at Lafayette Christian School, but he took nothing for granted in the rematch. “I was thinking, I won last time, and I knew they’d been training really hard, and I knew they’d come out swinging,” Webb said. “I knew I was going to get that time down, and I did.” Indeed, Webb finished the 3.1-mile race in 18 minutes, 23 seconds, which was a personal-best time. While Webb was in control the entire way, Beall remained close behind until the finish line.
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“I kept turning around seeing him,” Webb said. “That was definitely helping.” Webb has made dramatic strides during his time at Troup, and he enjoyed a phenomenal junior season that included a county title. “You don’t have to tell him to work hard. He does it on his own,” said Troup coach Rusty Taylor. “He’s a great kid. Anything you tell him to do, he does it, and he does it with pride.”
Callaway’s Colton Alsobrook finished fourth, and LaGrange’s Gabe Shaw was fifth. Troup’s Tim Dunn was sixth, and LaGrange’s Javon Harris, Marcus Franklin, Cameron Clay, Joseph Haywood and Hollis Stephens snared the next five spots. Troup’s Ephrem Davidson, Brayden Hutchins and Jacob Walker were 12th through 14th, respectively, and Callaway’s Avery Brooks was 15th.
While Webb’s primary focus during a race is on continuing to lower his personal-best time, he does enjoy the challenge of going toe-to-toe with other strong runners.
While Troup was unable to unseat LaGrange as the county champion, Taylor is pleased that the gap between the two teams has closed considerably.
“Me personally, I like testing myself and getting better,” Webb said. “It’s fun getting to test yourself against the other schools.”
“I’m very proud of them,” Taylor said. “I preached to them how important four and five are. That’s where it all matters. We were so good with our top three, and four and five we’ve got to get better. But I’m proud of them. We’ve done really good, and we’re at least competing with them now. They know we’re here now.”
While Webb was the individual winner, LaGrange took the team title, with Troup coming in a close second. Webb and Beall captured the top two spots, Troup’s Caleb Lynd was third,
It has been a smooth transition for Raleigh Thompson. Thompson, who a year ago was an eighth-grader at Gardner Newman Middle School, enjoyed an exceptional freshman season that included a victory in the county championship at Pyne Road Park. Thompson, LaGrange coach Chase Wilson noted, is always willing to go above and beyond to succeed. “She has reached out to me and said I don’t feel like I’m getting better,” Wilson. “What else do I need to do? She has taken the initiative on the few days we’ve had off to go out and run herself. She is by far the most mature freshman we’ve had.” At the county championship, Thompson posted a time of 23 minutes, 33 seconds to win the title, with Long Cane eighth-grader Grace Johnson (competing for Troup High) placing second. Troup High’s Allie Foster was third, and LaGrange’s Ivorie Smith, Alyssa Rhaney and A’dayshia Blakes were fourth through sixth, respectively.
Troup’s Kendal Cornett, Callaway’s Amani Askew, Troup’s Kellie Sprayberry and LaGrange’s Gabi Martinez rounded out the top 10. Thompson, who earlier in the season finished fifth in the LaGrange Invitational at Pyne Road Park, took the lead from the get-go, and she never gave it up, although Johnson stayed in her shadow the whole way. “When someone’s right behind you, it motivates you, because they’re really pushing you,” Thompson said. Thompson began running cross country in middle school, and after some initial hesitation, she embraced the sport. “This is my third year doing cross country,” said Thompson, whose older sister Caroline Thompson was a soccer standout at LaGrange High. “It’s hard, but I like it. I joined my seventh-grade year, and my dad made me do it. I didn’t want to do it. I was too scared, but I’m glad I did. I like it.”
times at Pyne Road Park during the season, and it’s a setting she enjoys. “It’s very difficult, but I like it,” Thompson said. “I like going in the woods. It’s really shady back there, and it’s kind of peaceful and quiet.” Thompson is a part of a LaGrange girls’ team that should be set up for success in the future. Of LaGrange’s top six runners this season, only Ivorie Smith is a senior, and some gifted runners from Gardner Newman, which won the middle-school championship, are on the way. Wilson’s hope is that the team will enter the 2022 season ready to roll. “We’ve got to hit it hard in the summer,” Wilson said. “We’re a little bit behind because we didn’t have anybody show up over the summer. Hopefully now that we’ve got them all together, we can get them out during the summer.”
Thompson ended up racing three
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