Cross Country | 11/5/2025 6:26:00 AM
The Clinton High School Men's Cross Country team capped its 2025 season with a seventh-place finish at the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 7A State Championship held at Choctaw Trails on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The Arrows posted a team score of 178 points for the top-10 finish, climbing three spots from their 2024 finish, in the season-ending 5000-meter race. It marked the second straight year Clinton improved its placement at the state meet and, even more impressively, the team trimmed nearly a full minute off its total time from a year ago.
Improvement on the cross-country course was not a secret formula, according to Clinton Head Men's Cross Country Coach Eric Solis. Rather it was about consistency, accountability, and dedication.
"This year really showed that there's no big secret," Solis said. "You just have to put in the work. Everybody knows that, but what helped us a lot this year was our summer training and preseason work."
Godwin Onyia led the Arrows with time of 17:03, finishing 22nd-place overall, while
Logan Moore was the second Arrow across the finish line with a time of 17:20, taking 29th place.
Daniel Dolson and
Ezra Connelly kept tight with each other, finishing in 36th and 37th, respectively. Dolson ran a 17:30.25, and Connelly completed the course in 17:30.57.
Noah Duncan rounded out the scoring with his 55th-place finish, running the course in 17:56.
Bobby Guillory and
Matthew Harrison finished 59th and 74th, respectively, for the Arrows.
A strong showing during the 2025 season was supported by the results at the state meet. Clinton ran a 17:28 team average this year, a significant drop from the team average of 18:41 last season.
"That's a lot for one year," Solis said. "At every meet, we were about 58 seconds faster this year. We're young and, with the right work ethic, we should continue to improve."
Solis also emphasized the value of team cohesion in the Arrows' improvement this season.
"We have set a standard that everyone runs together -- about a four-mile route -- in the morning. They push each other, and it's a part of the teambuilding and consistent effort," Solis said.
With a mixture of talented underclassmen and dedicated upperclassmen along with a rising crop of state-champion eighth-graders, Clinton looks poised for continued success into the 2026 season.
"It's nothing drastic," Solis said. "Just run hard, work hard, no days off. That's what wins races."
