By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
There will be a good representation of the Purple and Gold in the state cross country meet next week.
Union City’s Ainsley Sadler, Ainsley Beard, and the entire Tornado boys team qualified for the Class 1A event at Shelby Farms in Memphis with strong showings in Tuesday’s Section 3 Meet at Dresden.
Sadler, who made the state field a year ago as a freshman, finished seventh overall in a field of 93 girls on Tuesday with a time of 22:23. Beard (22:41) placed 11th in the 3.1-mile race and also medaled for the Twister girls.
Hadlee Duncan finished 28th.
The Union City boys – coming off a stellar regular season – qualified for the state meet as a team for the first time since 2020 with a third-place finish in Tuesday’s regional. Just three points separated the top three finishers, with Dresden taking first place and Madison Academic finishing second.
Woodrow McKinnis, who ran in the state meet last year as a sophomore and finished 30th in a field of more than 200 participants, led a quartet of medalists for UC with a sixth-place individual finish Tuesday. Rushdon Howell was eighth, Madix Turner 10th, and Miloh Turner 13th in the Tornado line-up that competed in a group of 123 runners.
McKinnis was clocked at 17:16, while Howell came in at 17:45. Madix Turner was timed at 17:59, and Miloh Turner finished at 18:16.
Also competing for Union City were Owen Waggoner (34th), Camden Watts (55th), and Bryce Daniels (59th).
The boys’ state race will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, with the girls’ event to follow at 12:20 p.m.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Trenton 25, UC 22 (G)
Trenton 46, UC 21 (B)
Slow starts again hampered Union City in a doubleheader home loss to Trenton.
The Lady Tornadoes trailed 7-1 at the end of the first period in the opener, while the UC boys failed to score in the opening frame of the nightcap and fell behind 15-0.
Union City’s girls (1-2) got eight points from Aryannah Huff, six from Charlie Belle Cruce, and four from Amanda McPhearson. They trailed 9-7 at halftime and 18-14 after three periods.
The Twister boys (0-3) were down 31-8 at the intermission. Brayson Smith was the only UC player with more than one field goal, finishing with six points.
The Tornadoes play at Murray on Thursday, with the girls’ game set to begin at 5:30 p.m.