Thomas leads state effort

By Joe Crine (Contact) | Post-Searchlight

Published Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Bainbridge High School Lady Cats finished 20th in Saturday’s state Class AAAA cross country meet at Carrollton High School.

It marked the first time in school history that a BHS girls team finished in the top 20 at the state meet and highlighted the Lady Cats and Bearcats state meet efforts in Carrollton.

The Lady Cats were led by junior April Thomas, who was 43rd overall in a time of 21 minutes, 36.23 seconds. Her effort in Carrollton culminated an outstanding season.

She won the Region 1AAAA championship at Lee County High School in Leesburg, where the Lady Cats and Bearcats finished second to qualify for the state meet, with a 20:02.08 time over the 3.1-mile course.

Thomas set a new school record in winning the 10th annual Bearcats invitational girls championship in a time of 19:30. She also won the girls championship in the Northview High School Lady Cougars and Cougars Invitational in Dothan, Ala., in a time of 20:24.19.