The 2022 AMHS Cross Country Season comes to a close. As a Captain and a Senior myself, this is definitely an emotional and sentimental ending for me. I will be reflecting on some of the greatest performances, best courses, and unique moments, along with a recap of the State Meet and some thoughts about the team moving forward.

Unique Moments

1. Griffin Stiegman (12) was a menace out on the course this season, racing aggressively in hopes to gain spots and maintain his position in the field of runners. Pictured here is one of his many great aggressive moves in hopes to pass the competition.
2. PR Chain pictures were phenomenal this year. Some great photos were taken from after the races when donning the chain. The chain can only be worn after the race by those who have.
3. Random race interviews were suddenly forced upon many of us, including myself at the Iron Horse Derby by members of the girls team. I still do not have an understanding of why this happened, but after having the tiny microphone shoved into my face, I wonder where that interview went…

Best Race Performances

1. 2022 SCHSL State Meet: While not being the best times of the season, the Raptors were able to hold their position and take 3rd and 4th in the state by the boys and girls, respectively. Being able to still hold performances on par with the rest of the season was crucial for the Raptors, as many teams had challenges doing this at the State Meet.
2. Timberland AA-Region 8 Meet: Even though the Raptors were not able to take home the W at this meet, the times were stellar. Almost every runner was able to PR either all-time or for the season at this meet. The conditions were perfect and the team was fully able to capitalize, putting out most of the best times of the season.
3. Pinewood Invitational: Yet again, the Raptors came up short of a meet win but notched solid performances in the first race of the season. Quinn Swanton (10) won the boys varsity race individually. Anna Hollister (11) took 2nd in the girls varsity race. This meet set the tone for the season and jump-started the campaign for a state title.

Best Courses

This section will rank the courses of the meets where the Raptors raced this year. These rankings were voted upon by the team. The list is in order of best to worst, top to bottom.

1. Eye Opener (Milliken Arboretum) – An all around perfect course and favorite of many on the team, Eye Opener is one of the most hyped meets of the season. The present challenge of a few hills paired with wide, well lined paths create a fantastic environment to race in. This course has been run for years by both high school and college teams, considered one of the best in the state.
2. Low Country Invitational (Mullet Hall) – One of the best courses in the Charleston area, Mullet Hall consistently delivers a good race on a very solid course layout. A very flat course made of mostly compacted dirt and trail
3. Iron Horse Derby (Phillips Simmons) – The favorite out of all the school courses (meets taking place around a school’s campus), this course is great even with the limited space. The flat running on the fields and trails make this course produce some very solid times. It also has longevity and many members of the team have experience here, making it a favorite.
4. Timberland (Wolf Run + Region) – A course new to many of the Raptors this year after only having been run once before back in 2020. This course provided a solid setting for the region meet and dished out PRs for many of the runners. This course is high quality for being a school course.
5. North Charleston Meet (Riverfront Park) – The closest meet of the year, just up the road from Magnet’s campus, the Riverfront park course always makes for an interesting race. Typically having a poorly marked course, it also comes into question if this is really a legitimate cross country course as it has about 70% road. With the course’s inconsistent marking, Griffin Stiegman (12) got lost and conveniently ended up at the finish a few minutes early.
6. Newberry College Course (Coaches Classic + State Qualifier) – This course is very solid but the very difficult hills do not make it a team favorite. Typically, the Raptors do not put out great times at Newberry. This likely lowers its ranking as it leaves a poor sentiment in many of our minds.
7. Pinewood Invitational – This course received lots of hate most likely due to its inconsistency in design and distance. While it typically produces a solid early season meet, the Pinewood course has many awkward turns and includes running through lots of giant dewy fields.
8. Sandhills Research Center (State Championships) – Sandhills is the infamous site of the SCHSL state meet. This course is sometimes at the top of the list at the end of the season, but this year it is not. Poor weather conditions out on the course and unwanted race performances left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.

State Meet Recap

Girls: Grabbing a 4th place finish, a 3 spot improvement from last year the Raptors finished off a solid 2022 campaign. Anna Hollister (11) placed 8th with a time of 20:17, good enough to earn all-state honors. The other Raptors included Makenna Turner (9), Sophia Benich (10), Abby Poole (11), Burton McCulley (11), and Molly George (10). The team also included Jamie Gladu (8) from SOA.

Boys: Finishing in 3rd place, jumping up 4 spots from last season, the boys had a very solid race and while unable to place higher than expected, closed a good portion of a large gap to 2nd place Bishop England. Quinn Swanton (10) finished 3rd and Calvin Volkman (14) had a standout race, earning both of them spots on the all-state team. In order of finishing the rest of the Raptors were, Brayden Bunt (9), Colin George (11), Hunter Khunell (10), Everett Landrith (10), and Peyton Johnson (10).

Included at the end of the article are some more pictures from the 2022 SCHSL State Meet.

Reflections

Leaving this team will definitely be difficult for me, but I know it will be in great hands. Having coach Brian Johnson back for the boys teams will be a great leader for the team moving forward into the coming seasons. The boys team is also still very young, with varsity consisting of all underclassmen and just 1 Junior. The Raptors are now very experienced even with younger runners that will only grow and improve, making the outlook for the next few seasons very promising.