Randolph Cross Country traveled to Pulaski, Tennessee, Saturday for the Firehawk Invitational at the University of Tennessee Southern, coming home with a Varsity Boys championship, two runner-up team finishes, and nine individual top-10 performances.

The Raiders competed under overcast and humid conditions on a demanding UT Southern course featuring numerous steep climbs and descents.

But the reason Randolph chose Firehawk for this point in the season went beyond times and trophies. The coaching staff intentionally wanted a smaller, manageable mid-September meet where Randolph's athletes could identify their competition and truly race head-to-head. At the season's larger "super invitationals," runners can easily find themselves surrounded by a mass of athletes and lose sight of whom they are actually competing against.

Firehawk provided something different: race the people around you, compete for every position, and learn how individual battles affect the team score. The Raiders did exactly that.

Full Meet Results: Xpress Timing — Firehawk Invitational Results

VARSITY BOYS — FIREHAWK INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Randolph's Varsity Boys produced the performance of the morning, capturing the Firehawk Invitational championship with 26 points, edging North Alabama homeschool club team Endurance XC by just three points, 26–29.

And every place mattered. Junior Wick Pfitzer led Randolph with a runner-up finish in 17:02, followed by sophomore Brooks Johnson, who finished 3rd in 17:10. Senior Lucas Israel crossed the line 6th in 17:25, senior Andrew Walker followed 7th in 17:29, and junior Josh Berkholtz completed the scoring with an 8th-place finish in 18:03. That gave Randolph an outstanding 2-3-6-7-8 finish — placing its entire scoring five in the top eight overall.

Varsity Boys — 1st Place | 26 points

Athlete Grade Time Place
Wick Pfitzer 11 17:02 2nd
Brooks Johnson 10 17:10 3rd
Lucas Israel 12 17:25 6th
Andrew Walker 12 17:29 7th
Josh Berkholtz 11 18:03 8th
Landon Lee 12 19:06 15th
Bryce Marion de Oliveira 11 19:15 17th
Tucker Lee 10 19:21 19th
Harper Guasti 11 19:56 25th
Michael Zhang 10 20:40 33rd
Nate Smalley 9 21:34 45th
Henry Carter 9 22:15 53rd
Charlie Clark 9 22:37 57th

Photo: Randolph's Varsity Boys on the hills of UT Southern after capturing the Firehawk Invitational championship.

Photo — Awards: Randolph's scoring five — Wick Pfitzer, Brooks Johnson, Lucas Israel, Andrew Walker and Josh Berkholtz — all earned Firehawk Invitational award shirts with top-10 finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th.

VARSITY GIRLS — RUNNER-UP

The Varsity Girls added another trophy-worthy performance, finishing runner-up with 66 points. Junior Meredith Walker led Randolph with a 3rd-place finish in 20:51 on the challenging 5K course. Junior Miriam Tidwell followed in 23:38 for 15th, with sophomore Katie Cofield running 24:10 for 21st. Freshmen Haley Israel (24:30, 24th) and Kate Berkholtz (24:38, 26th) completed Randolph's scoring five. Endurance XC won the girls competition with 33 points.

Varsity Girls — 2nd Place | 66 points

Athlete Grade Time Place
Meredith Walker 11 20:51 3rd
Miriam Tidwell 11 23:38 15th
Katie Cofield 10 24:10 21st
Haley Israel 9 24:30 24th
Kate Berkholtz 9 24:38 26th
Sophia Dooley 12 25:20 32nd
Livvy Segrest 9 29:43 62nd

Photo: Randolph's Varsity Girls celebrate a runner-up team finish at the Firehawk Invitational.

Photo — Award: Junior Meredith Walker earned a Firehawk Invitational award shirt after finishing 3rd overall in 20:51.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS — RUNNER-UP

The Middle School Boys continued Randolph's successful morning by placing 2nd out of 11 scoring teams with 62 points. Seventh grader Miles Coley led the Raiders with a 4th-place finish in 12:20 over the two-mile course. Eighth grader William Deaver joined Coley in the top 10, finishing 8th in 12:48. Seventh grader Ethan McDaniel added a strong 12th-place finish in 13:10. With 12 Randolph runners completing the race, the Raiders also showed excellent depth throughout the field.

Middle School Boys — 2nd of 11 | 62 points

Athlete Grade Time Place
Miles Coley 7 12:20 4th
William Deaver 8 12:48 8th
Ethan McDaniel 7 13:10 12th
Henry Walker 8 13:28 20th
Conner Parks 7 13:37 25th
Bradley Sabatini 8 13:43 27th
Dax Gradl 7 13:58 31st
Erik Decker 8 15:59 63rd
John Taylor 8 16:03 65th
Parker Klein 8 16:23 66th
Harold Orton 7 16:27 68th
Mac Hughey 7 18:55 101st

Photo: Randolph's Middle School Boys finished runner-up among 11 scoring teams at Firehawk.

Photo — Awards: Miles Coley and William Deaver show off their Firehawk Invitational award shirts after finishing 4th and 8th overall, respectively.

MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS — THREE RUNNERS, THREE TOP-11 FINISHES

Randolph didn't have the five runners necessary to record a Middle School Girls team score, but the three Raiders who raced made their presence felt. Seventh grader Meg Brigance led Randolph with a 6th-place finish in 14:10. Eighth grader Lillian Orton finished 10th in 14:26, with seventh grader Olivia Landers immediately behind her in 11th at 14:34. All three Randolph Middle School Girls finished among the top 11.

Athlete Grade Time Place
Meg Brigance 7 14:10 6th
Lillian Orton 8 14:26 10th
Olivia Landers 7 14:34 11th

Photo — Team: Meg Brigance, Lillian Orton and Olivia Landers — Randolph's three Middle School Girls competitors — all finished among the top 11.

Photo — Awards: Meg Brigance and Lillian Orton earned Firehawk Invitational award shirts with 6th- and 10th-place finishes.

LEARNING TO RACE

Saturday's results were encouraging, but perhaps more important was how the Raiders achieved them.

Cross country isn't always about chasing a time on the clock. Athletes have to learn how to race — recognize the competition around them, respond when someone makes a move, work with teammates, fight for one more position, and understand that every place can affect the final team score.

The Varsity Boys championship was the perfect example. Randolph defeated Endurance XC by only three points. When the final margin is 26–29, passing one runner or refusing to give up one position can change the outcome of the entire meet.

That's exactly the experience the coaching staff hoped Firehawk would provide. Saturday wasn't necessarily designed to produce the fastest times of the season on a steep, hilly course in humid conditions. It was designed to teach the Raiders to compete. And they did.

UP NEXT: SOUTHERN SHOWCASE

Now the challenge changes. After deliberately racing in a smaller, more manageable field at Firehawk, Randolph returns to the large-invitational environment next Saturday, September 19, at the Southern Showcase at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.

The goal will be to take the lessons learned at Firehawk — identifying competitors, fighting for position and racing with purpose — and apply them when the Raiders once again find themselves surrounded by much larger fields.

Randolph Southern Showcase Schedule

8:20 AM — Blue Boys 5K
9:30 AM — Crimson Girls 5K
10:40 AM — Junior High Boys 2 Mile (rolling start)
~11:00 AM — Junior High Girls 2 Mile (scheduled 15 minutes after the boys)