Sports Editor

The Pickens boys' cross country did what they set out to do at the Upperstate Qualifying Meet at Dorman High School over the weekend when Jonathan Dryman led a solid effort that saw the Blue Flame qualify sixth out of 12 team that will compete in this weekend's state meet in Columbia.

Meanwhile, the Blue Flame girls managed to qualify 12th out of 12 teams and will also make the trek to the Sandhills Research Park course Saturday to compete for the state title.

"Whenever you go into a qualifying meet, that's just what you try to do - qualify," Pickens Coach Bryan Clevenger said of the effort. "That's what the guys did.

"The girls were a big surprise," he added. "We were hoping to get in (to the state meet) and we did. They did what the needed to do."

Daniel will also be well-represented in the state meet, with the boys team having qualified 11th among 12 teams and the Lady Lions finishing second.

For Pickens, Dryman broke into the 16s range for the first time in his career, turning in a 16:51 at the Dorman course to earn an eight-place overall finish. That time was within shouting distance of the overall winner, Matthew Scanlon of J.L. Mann, who turned in a 16:27 and remains one of the favorites to win the individual state title this weekend.

Chris Morgan backed up Dryman's run with a 17:23, good for 20th place overall,l while Jason Wallace finished 50th in a time of 18:29. Luke Whitworth was 61st at 18:50, and Tony Butler was the fifth scorer for the Blue Flame with a time of 18:54 that earned him a 62nd-place finish.

"That was Jonathan's best ever, and all the boys improved," Clevenger said. "That's whast we want going into the meet - to get a little better and a little better each time out."

In the girls' qualifier, Kate Borowicz of J.L. Mann finished first with a time of 18:46 after waging a spirited battle with Sinead Haughey of Daniel (18:48), and the two remain favorites to compete for the state individual title.

For the Lady Blue Flame, Haley Gale managed to turn in a 23:14 that was good enough for 64th place overall, just ahead of teammate Caitlyn Miller, who was 65th at 23:19. Keri Moore was the third Lady Flame finisher and 72nd overall with a 23:34, followed by Sarah Underwood (20:06, 80th) and Erica Handly (27:00, 97th.)

Clevenger says the performances by the two Pickens teams put them on schedule to reach their goals for the season.

"The boys' goal is to finish in the top five in the state," Clevenger said, "and that's what they'll be fighting to do this weekend. The girls' goal was to make it to the state meet and see what happens. I think both did very well.

"The boys have a legitimate chance to finish in the top five in the state meet," he added. "The girls have achieved their goal, and now we'll see if they can take it a little bit further."

Saturday's schedule in Columbia has the Class AA, including a Liberty High School team led by Jonathan Stephens and Jake Goodnough, competing at 11 a.m., with the Class AAA girls set to race at 11 a.m. and the AAA boys at 11:30 a.m.