Gaffney runner makes history at Northwestern

Austin Steagall made history Tuesday, becoming the first Gaffney runner to finish first overall at the Northwestern High School cross country course.

The Gaffney boys and girls teams both finished fourth in the team competition. But that was to be expected.

Myers Park and South Pointe also participated in the 4-way meet. The Myers Park boys team entered the meet ranked seventh in North Carolina. The South Pointe boys team is rated No. 7 in South Carolina, one notch ahead of Northwestern.

"Yesterday's competition was some of the best around," Gaffney coach Kevin Hammett said. "The best way to improve is to compete against top quality competition. We did that yesterday. Even though one of our boys won the meet, our team did not fare as well There is reason for optimism, the boys team finished one point behind the number 7 team in the state.

In the most recent rankings, the Gaffney boys team is ranked 23rd while the girls squad is 37th.

Gaffney will wrap up its regular season on Tuesday, hosting Nation Ford at 5:00 at Limestone College.