The Jeff Davis Middle School cross country program made history this week, turning in a dominant performance at the Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic League Championship and sweeping all four races.
Jeff Davis won the Top 7 Boys, Top 7 Girls, JV Boys and JV Girls team championships — marking the first time in program history that the JDMS boys and girls have captured their league championships in the same season.
The achievement came in Jeff Davis’ first year competing in the Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic League, which includes middle schools from Jeff Davis, Toombs, Vidalia, Tattnall, Metter and Swainsboro.
The JDMS boys won the championship with 33 points, comfortably ahead of runner-up Vidalia with 57. Tattnall County finished third with 71.
Cason Roberson led Jeff Davis with a runner-up finish, completing the two-mile course in 11:57.50. Rhett Wilkerson followed immediately in third at 12:11.90.
Jeff Davis placed all seven of its runners among the top 13 overall:
- Cason Roberson — 2nd, 11:57.50
- Rhett Wilkerson — 3rd, 12:11.90
- Alejandro Gonzalez — 7th, 12:22.30
- Nathan Rayo — 10th, 12:32.90
- Abel Cabrera — 11th, 12:41.70
- Derek Fitzwater — 12th, 12:42.10
- Yobani Cruz Santos — 13th, 12:48.80
The Jackets’ five scoring runners averaged 12:21 over the two-mile course.
The JDMS girls were equally impressive, winning their championship with 27 points. Vidalia finished second with 42, followed by Metter with 102.
Dakota Mincey led the Jackets with a second-place finish in 13:51.40.
Jeff Davis placed five runners in the top nine and six in the top 11:
- Dakota Mincey — 2nd, 13:51.40
- Valerie Porras — 4th, 14:01.20
- Rayleigh Pierce — 5th, 14:31.50
- Zoe Odum — 7th, 14:58.80
- Amy Miller — 9th, 15:10.80
- Winry Clark — 11th, 15:30.40
- Zaylee Dukes — 27th, 17:44.40
The five scoring runners averaged 14:30.
The JDMS JV boys didn’t just win — they swept the first seven places.
Malaki Quinilla claimed the individual victory in 13:16.30, followed by six consecutive Jeff Davis teammates.
The Jackets finished with a perfect team score of 15 points:
- Malaki Quinilla — 1st, 13:16.30
- Ivan Ortiz — 2nd, 13:48.10
- Fausto Espino-Flores — 3rd, 14:08.20
- Anyel Lucas-Morales — 4th, 14:08.80
- Jai’Anthony Benton — 5th, 14:42.60
- Nolan Worth — 6th, 14:46.90
- Jacob Wilkerson — 7th, 15:10.60
Austin Ellis, Aiden Puckett, Gabriel Turner and Joshua Edwards also represented Jeff Davis in the JV race.
The JV girls completed the sweep with another perfect 15-point team score, taking the first four positions and placing all five scoring runners in the top six overall.
Jacqueline Lara captured the individual championship in 17:43.50.
- Jacqueline Lara — 1st, 17:43.50
- Brooklyn Andrews — 2nd, 18:27.60
- Breyzi Trejo — 3rd, 18:51.40
- Kamila Barragan — 4th, 19:59.00
- Maria Aleman — 6th, 21:29.00
A Historic Championship for JDMS
The sweep adds another chapter to a Jeff Davis middle school cross country program that began in 2015.
The boys previously won back-to-back conference championships in 2019 and 2020 while competing in the Middle Georgia Middle School Athletic Conference. The girls won consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017 as members of the Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic Conference.
But until this season, the boys and girls had never won their conference or league championships in the same year. Even more impressive, according to the program’s history, neither the JDMS boys nor girls has ever finished lower than third at a conference or league championship meet.
In their first season in a new league, the Jackets didn’t just bring home both championships — they swept every team race on the course.
Four races. Four Jeff Davis championships. One historic day for JDMS Cross Country.
Next up, the Middle School teams will travel Saturday, October 10th to Bleckley County for the Georgia Middle School State Cross Country Championship. The JD squads will compete in the Division 1 races which are for schools that have 700 or fewer students enrolled. Each year over 60 MS teams travel to Bleckley County for the MS State Championship, making it one of the largest meets in the state. Good Luck!
When you’re wearing navy, you’re as good as gold!
