Roundup: Middle School Cross Country, Girls Tennis, Girls Golf

St. Joseph's hosted the Carolina Middle School Conference cross country preseason meet on Tuesday, September 6.

The SJCS girls -- led by a trio of 6th graders -- placed first. Payton Picciuto was runner-up, Eva Cifuni came in third and Zoe Theodore was the third finisher for the Knights.

For the SJCS boys, 8th grader Elliott Thompson was the top finisher. Thomas Potter (8th grade) and Will Hand (7th grade) also placed in the top 10.

PHOTO GALLERY

Girls Golf

The SJCS girls golf team had one match last week, losing to Christ Church by a slim margin -- 220-223 -- at The Preserve at Verdae. Julia Conroy had the low round of the day with a 43. The Knights' other leading scorers were Greycen Baker, Leina Mosness and Madison Laguerre. Gabby Bucci lowered her score by 2 strokes from her previous round at Verdae.

The previous week, the Knights won a pair of matches at Verdae, defeating Brashier Middle College (202-239) and Southside Christian (206-216).

Against BMC, Baker was low scorer with a 44. Other leading scorers were Meghan Noonan, Conroy and Mosness, Baker had low round again against Southside Christian, with Conroy, Noonan and Mosness the other top scorers for the Knights. Mosness and Laguerre lowered their scores from the previous day by 4 strokes each. 

"More than scoring, I am super proud of our team," first-year SJCS Coach Brenda Rutledge said. "I got complements from each of our opponent’s coaches that our girls showed good sportsmanship and were helpful to newer players when they needed support. We also got complements from the Verdae staff on the respect we showed for the course and the courtesy players showed to the staff."

Varsity Girls Tennis

The SJCS Varsity played at home on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week without losing a singles or a doubles match. The Knights defeated Powdersville 7-0 and then beat High Point Academy 6-0, improving to 5-1 on the season.

SJCS 7, Powdersville 0
Singles
No. 1-Grace Eilers (SJ) d. Regan Stump, 6-0, 6-3
No. 2-Sydney Conroy (SJ) d. Kimberly Ellis, 6-0, 6-0
No. 3-Charlotte Papps (SJ) d. Darla Burrows, 6-2, 7-5
No. 4-Caroline Clayton (SJ) d. Lilly Harris, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5-Kayce Charlton (SJ) d. Rylee Poole, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1-Eilers/Papps (SJ) d. Stump/Ellis, 8-1
No. 2-Evania Ayala/Bridget Houck (SJ) d. Emily Lachey/Peyton Roth, 6-0, 6-0

JV Girls Tennis

The SJCS Junior Varsity team, which did not win a match last season, is off to a 2-3 start, including a 4-3 upset of J.L. Mann on the Patriots' home courts Wednesday.

Dayton King, Lyla Cate Frye, Anna Catherine Parker and Sara Gutierrez won singles matches to clinch the victory for the Knights.

"We are so excited about our success this season, especially knowing we aren't even halfway,"  said Knights Coach Chandler Consonery.

SJCS 4, J.L. Mann 3
Singles
No. 1-Dayton King (SJ) d. Addie T, 7-5, 7-5
No. 2-Lyla Cate Frye (SJ) d. Kathryn Sims, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3-Havelyn Lucas (JLM) d. Lillie Mendelson, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4-Anna Catherine Parker (SJ) d. Nora Walker, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5-Sara Gutierrez (SJ) d. Alera Holland, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1-Frye/Gutierrez (SJ) lost, 1-6, 7-5, 10-6
No. 2-Baker/Meredith Charlton (SJ) lost, 6-1, 2-6, 2-10