The Region 8-AAAAAA Cross Country Championships were held on Saturday at Winder-Barrow High School in Winder.  The top four teams at the region championships qualified for the state meet that will take place on Nov. 6 at Carrollton High School.

The Buford girls team placed first with a total of 42 points.  Buford’s top-performing runner on Saturday was Hayden Bailey who came in third with a time of 21:43.  The other Buford girls that placed in the top 15 were Addison Steinbrecher, 4th place (21:43); Cayden Boyer, 8th place (22:08); Abby Wood, 13th place (22:35) and Madeline Matos, 14th place (22:38).

Coming in fourth in the girls’ competition was Lanier with a total of 82 points.  The top two finishers for the Lady Longhorns were Emely Carbajal who came in 7th place (22:05) and Alyssa Willis who finished in 10th place (22:12).

Buford’s boys’ cross country team finished in fourth place with a total of 101 points which was enough to earn them a spot at the state meet coming up.  The top two finishers for the Wolves were Carter Hales, 17th place (17:32) and Colby Polhemus, 18th place (17:43).

Lanier’s boys’ cross country team failed to make the state meet as they placed sixth.

Featured photo above:  The Buford girls cross country team placed first at the Region 8-AAAAAA Championships on Saturday in Winder.  Photo courtesy of Jennifer Wood