The Randolph Raiders turned in an outstanding team performance Saturday at the Southern Showcase, hosted by Huntsville High School at John Hunt Park.

With more than 100 schools from across the Southeast competing, Southern Showcase provided Randolph with one of its largest and most competitive tests of the season. Add in extreme September heat, with "feels like" temperatures expected to climb above 105°F, and Saturday became a test of much more than just racing.

The Raiders answered that challenge.

Randolph entered three complete scoring teams and came away with three runner-up finishes:

?? Varsity Boys — 2nd of 50 scoring teams, Blue Division ?? Varsity Girls — 2nd of 22 scoring teams, Crimson Division ?? Junior High Boys — 2nd of 15 scoring teams

Junior Meredith Walker added an individual championship by winning the Varsity Girls Crimson Division, while 11 Randolph runners finished inside the Top 25 of their respective divisions to earn Southern Showcase award T-shirts. The Raiders also continued to show individual progress, with several athletes recording new season-best performances despite increasingly difficult weather conditions.

It was a big morning for Randolph against competition from throughout the Southeast.

?? VARSITY BOYS — BLUE DIVISION RUNNER-UP

Full results: Xpress Timing

The Randolph varsity boys competed in the Blue Division, the second competitive level behind the Southern Showcase Championship Division, and nearly came away with the team championship.

In a massive field of 50 scoring teams, Randolph finished 2nd with 148 points — just one point behind Blue Division champion Brother Martin's 147. Chattanooga Christian School finished third with 168 points, followed by St. Xavier with 192.

Sophomore Brooks Johnson led the Raiders with another outstanding performance, covering the 5K course in 16:37 to finish 5th overall. Junior Wick Pfitzer followed in 17:12 for 21st, with senior Andrew Walker only three seconds behind him in 17:15 for 24th — a new season best, improving upon his previous 17:20 mark. Johnson, Pfitzer and Walker all finished inside the Top 25 and earned Southern Showcase award T-shirts.

Senior Lucas Israel gave Randolph four runners under 17:30 with his 17:28, and senior Landon Lee completed the Raiders' five-man scoring group in 17:58. That meant all five Randolph scorers broke 18:00, with only 1:21 separating the Raiders' first through fifth runners.

Randolph Varsity Boys

Athlete Time Place
?? Brooks Johnson 16:37 5th
?? Wick Pfitzer 17:12 21st
?? Andrew Walker 17:15 24th — Season Best
Lucas Israel 17:28 39th
Landon Lee 17:58 74th
Josh Berkholtz 18:10 94th
Tucker Lee 19:03 201st
Harper Guasti 19:53 285th
Michael Zhang 21:02 358th

After runners from incomplete teams were removed for team scoring, Randolph's five scorers recorded positions of 5-20-23-33-67, producing the Raiders' 148-point total. One point — in a field of 50 complete teams, that was all that separated Randolph from the Southern Showcase Blue Division championship.

?? RANDOLPH — BLUE DIVISION RUNNER-UP

?? VARSITY GIRLS — CRIMSON DIVISION RUNNER-UP

Full results: Xpress Timing

Randolph's varsity girls competed in the Crimson Division, two competitive levels below the Championship Division, and added another team trophy to the Raiders' morning.

Randolph scored 127 points to finish 2nd out of 22 scoring teams. Bartram Trail won the division with 37 points, while the Raiders held off third-place Roswell High School, which scored 142.

Leading the way was junior Meredith Walker, who didn't just lead Randolph — she led the entire race. Walker won the Southern Showcase Crimson Division, running 21:44 to finish 1st overall.

Sophomore Katie Cofield gave Randolph a second Top-25 performance, finishing 20th in 24:36. Junior Miriam Tidwell followed in 25:22 for 33rd, freshman Kate Berkholtz ran 25:47 for 43rd, and freshman Haley Israel completed Randolph's scoring five in 27:22. Senior Sophia Dooley finished only five seconds behind Israel in 27:27.

Randolph Varsity Girls

Athlete Time Place
???? Meredith Walker 21:44 1st
?? Katie Cofield 24:36 20th
Miriam Tidwell 25:22 33rd
Kate Berkholtz 25:47 43rd
Haley Israel 27:22 73rd
Sophia Dooley 27:27 76th

Randolph's five scorers recorded adjusted team-scoring positions of 1-15-25-33-53, giving the Raiders their 127-point total and runner-up finish.

?? RANDOLPH — CRIMSON DIVISION RUNNER-UP

?? JUNIOR HIGH RACES COMBINED AS HEAT BUILDS

By the time the Junior High athletes prepared to race, the rapidly building heat had become an even greater concern. Meet management had already adjusted the Southern Showcase schedule because of the extreme temperatures expected throughout the Huntsville area. With "feels like" temperatures expected to climb above 105°F, officials made a final change and combined the Junior High boys and girls into one 2-mile race at approximately 10:10 AM. That allowed all of the meet's youngest athletes to get on and off the course sooner rather than running two separate races as temperatures continued to rise. The boys and girls raced together on the course, but results and team scoring remained separated by division.

JUNIOR HIGH BOYS — TEAM RUNNER-UP

Full results: Xpress Timing

Randolph's Junior High boys made it three runner-up team finishes for the Raiders. The JH boys scored 99 points to finish 2nd out of 15 scoring teams. Host Huntsville won the division with 31 points, but the race for second was extremely close — Randolph's 99 points edged Berry Middle School's 103 by only four points.

Seventh grader Miles Coley led the Raiders, running 12:28 for 16th overall. Freshman Charlie Clark was only four seconds behind, finishing 18th in 12:32 — a significant season-best 2-mile performance. Eighth grader William Deaver followed in 12:45 for 22nd, also recording a new season best, improving from his 12:48 at the Firehawk Invitational. All three finished inside the Top 25 and earned Southern Showcase award T-shirts.

The improvements continued through Randolph's scoring group. Seventh grader Ethan McDaniel ran a season-best 13:03, improving from 13:10 at Firehawk, while eighth grader Ben Brigance completed Randolph's scoring five in 13:07. Just behind the scorers, eighth grader Henry Walker lowered his season best from 13:28 to 13:24, and seventh grader Conner Parks improved from 13:37 to 13:26 — improvements that proved particularly important in a close team battle for second place.

Randolph JH Boys

Athlete Time Place
?? Miles Coley 12:28 16th
?? Charlie Clark 12:32 18th — Season Best
?? William Deaver 12:45 22nd — Season Best
Ethan McDaniel 13:03 34th — Season Best
Ben Brigance 13:07 35th
Henry Walker 13:24 46th — Season Best
Conner Parks 13:26 47th — Season Best
Bradley Sabatini 13:27 48th
Pierson Tucker 13:27 49th
Nate Smalley 13:38 58th
Henry Carter 13:43 61st
Dax Gradl 16:08 131st
John Taylor 16:35 142nd
Erik Decker 16:38 144th
Parker Klein 17:00 149th
Harold Orton 17:57 160th

Randolph's five scorers recorded adjusted scoring positions of 12-14-18-27-28, producing the Raiders' 99 points. The JH boys showed both front-end strength and tremendous depth, with nine Raiders finishing within 59 seconds of one another from Miles Coley at 12:28 through Pierson Tucker at 13:27.

RANDOLPH — JUNIOR HIGH BOYS RUNNER-UP

JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS — THREE INSIDE THE TOP 20

Full results: Xpress Timing

Randolph entered four Junior High girls, leaving the Raiders one runner short of the five required to record a team score. Individually, however, this young group put together an excellent race.

Seventh grader Meg Brigance led Randolph with a 14:10, finishing 13th overall — matching the 14:10 she ran previously this season. Just one second later came eighth grader Lillian Orton, who ran 14:11 to finish 15th. Seventh grader Olivia Landers wasn't far behind, crossing in 14:36 for 19th. That put three of Randolph's four JH girls inside the Top 20, with all three earning Southern Showcase Top-25 award T-shirts. Seventh grader Tessa Manion completed Randolph's group in 17:39 for 60th.

Randolph JH Girls

Athlete Time Place
?? Meg Brigance 14:10 13th
?? Lillian Orton 14:11 15th
?? Olivia Landers 14:36 19th
Tessa Manion 17:39 60th

There was no team score with only four Randolph runners, but three Top-20 finishes from a group consisting entirely of seventh- and eighth-graders made for an impressive showing.

11 RAIDERS EARN SOUTHERN SHOWCASE AWARD SHIRTS

The Top 25 individual finishers in each Southern Showcase division received an award T-shirt, and Randolph had 11 athletes earn one:

Varsity Boys — Blue Division: Brooks Johnson (5th), Wick Pfitzer (21st), Andrew Walker (24th)
Varsity Girls — Crimson Division: Meredith Walker (1st), Katie Cofield (20th)
Junior High Boys: Miles Coley (16th), Charlie Clark (18th), William Deaver (22nd)
Junior High Girls: Meg Brigance (13th), Lillian Orton (15th), Olivia Landers (19th)

THREE TEAMS. THREE RUNNER-UP FINISHES.

Southern Showcase presented Randolph with a very different challenge than the Raiders faced one week earlier. More than 100 schools from throughout the Southeast, huge starting fields, multiple levels of competition, an altered race schedule and oppressive heat all required Randolph's athletes to adapt.

They did.

The three Randolph divisions with enough runners to record a team score all finished second:

?? Varsity Boys — 2nd of 50 teams | 148 points ?? Varsity Girls — 2nd of 22 teams | 127 points ?? Junior High Boys — 2nd of 15 teams | 99 points

Add an individual Southern Showcase division championship from Meredith Walker, 11 Top-25 award-shirt performances, and multiple new season-best performances, and the Raiders leave Southern Showcase with another important step forward in their 2026 season.

The conditions weren't ideal. The schedule wasn't normal. The fields were enormous. But Randolph competed.

Three scoring teams. Three runner-up finishes.

Up Next: The Randolph Raiders are back in action next Saturday, September 26, down in Bremen, AL for the Kudzu Hills Invitational, hosted by Cold Springs High School.