Riverwood's Bret McDaniel, one of the nation's top cross country runners, has some good family genes.
Her younger brother, freshman Connor McDaniel, is the team's No. 1 boys runner and posted a time of 16:41 at the Early Bird Invitational.
Bret, a senior, is considered to be one of the country's top 10 girls. She has won every race she has competed in this season, including the Milton Invitational, where she had a course record of 19:52 — overtaking Chattahoochee's Sydney Marshall during the final stretch.
More cross country
Grayson's Kirubel Erassa was the boys winner at the Gwinnett County championships, running a 16:24. Brookwood's Tommy George (16:42) and Parkview's Alec Klassen (16:59) rounded out the top three.
On the girls' side, Collin Hill's Nicky Akande finished first at 18:59, followed by North Gwinnett's Laura Serres (19:47) and Brookwood's Caroline Kissel (19:57). Brookwood swept the girls and boys team championships. The Gwinnett event was held in brutal weather conditions. Said North Gwinnett coach Mark Karen, "All races were run in a downpour, and it turned the [fields] into a mud-slick, river and lake-formed 'true' cross country course. It was actually very entertaining and fun for the runners.
"The turnout was tremendous, as far as spectators, and we had more than 1,100 runners on the course."
Mill Creek's most improved runner is sophomore Mitch Flammang, who has lowered his time by nearly a minute to 17:28. What was his secret? Flammang ran more than 500 miles during the summer.
Kathleen LaPorte of St. Pius won the Cross Country Festival, followed by Heritage's Stephanie Shipley.
The Mill Creek boys finished second at the Carrollton Invitational, led by Austin Boetje, who was sixth overall.
Softball
North Springs sophomore Kali Gray stuck out 14 and walked none in a 9-0 win over Lithonia. Gray surrendered only one hit, while leading the offense with three hits, including a triple.
Wesleyan's Brittany Mitchell was the winning pitcher in a 3-2 decision over Grayson after she knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
VOLLEYBALL
St. Pius had its 17-game winning streak snapped, but started another one with five wins in a row during the Lovett Block Invitational. The Golden Lions defeated Woodward in a rematch of last year's state championship match. St Pius' Brandi Tyson had 158 assists during the tournament, while Ellie Morrison finished with 54 kill shots.
Banneker's Megan Archie had a total of 45 assists in three matches, including wins over Mays and Douglas County.
It's a small world: Dacula coach Jessica Pucciano played volleyball as a student at Shiloh in 1998, the first year of the sport in Gwinnett County. Pucciano arrived at Dacula as an assistant before being promoted to the top spot, and now coaches head-to-head against her former Shiloh coach, Stan Carpenter, who now is at Mountain View.
St. Francis freshman Anna Williams had seven aces and five assists in a win over Mt. Paran, while Veronika Ferguson added six kills.
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