Cross country siblings shine as Bishops dominate

The Bishop England High School cross country teams are competing at the Class AAAA level for the first time in the program’s proud history, and one thing is for certain: The Bishops still have a first-class program, despite competing against some AAAA schools that have almost double the enrollment.

 

Enrollment size didn’t matter on Nov. 15, when the Class AAAA state qualifiers were held at Fort Jackson in Columbia.

 

The Bishop girls, who are seeking their third straight state title, finished in the top spot of the “Even Division” which is based on the team’s state ranking at the time of the qualifier.

 

The BE girls, ranked No. 2 in the state, finished first with 30 points to easily outdistance May River and Hilton Head, which scored 81 and 90 points, respectively. 

 

The BE boys were edged by Hilton Head, which posted a 45-51 win over the Bishops. Aiken was third with 76 points. 

 

The common thread of the BE teams? The Brahims: Nora and Marc. 

 

The siblings won gold medals. Marc covered the 5K course in 15:51.01 while Nora won in 18:53.08. The Brahims will be front-and-center at the state meet, which will be held at The Farm at Newberry College. 

 

Jackson Muller finished in sixth place for the boys’ team while Ben Huntington was 11th, Andrew Curl was 14th and Brandy Sawyer held down the 19th spot. 

 

Grace Buss was right behind Brahim with a second-place finish and Siena D’Agostino was fourth. Kate Tomas and Caroline Wilson both placed in the top 12.