Ripley’s Massengill 14th at 4A State Cross Country Meet
Ripley High School senior Jenna-Lynne Massengill finished 14th out of 119 runners at the 4A state cross country championship on Saturday, Oct. 31, leading the Ripley girls to a 13th-place team finish at Choctaw Trails in Clinton. The Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) posted the official Class 4A results on Sunday afternoon.
Massengill Leads Ripley at 4A State Cross Country Meet
Massengill covered the 5,000-meter course in 21:51.83, placing her among the top 15 girls in the classification. She was Ripley’s first runner across the line by a wide margin and scored 14 points for the team, the lowest individual score of any Ripley runner.
Senatobia’s Carmen Garcia-Escamilla, a senior, won the individual 4A girls title in 20:16.81. Choctaw Central’s Lacy Alex was second in 20:31.35.
Ripley Girls Place 13th as a Team
Seventeen full teams were scored in the Class 4A girls race. Ripley finished 13th with 350 points, just ahead of Tishomingo County (367) and Poplarville (382). In cross country, the lowest score wins, and each team’s top five finishers count toward the total, with the sixth and seventh runners serving as displacers.
Ripley’s results, according to MHSAA:
- Jenna-Lynne Massengill (Sr.): 14th, 21:51.83
- Kailyn Shead (So.): 80th, 26:58.31
- Dasha Rowland (Sr.): 82nd, 27:05.09
- Averlee Bryowsky (Jr.): 98th, 29:00.28
- Mia Ward (Sr.): 113th, 32:20.02
- Sophia Perez (Fr.): 114th, 32:29.02
- Amberlyn Wallace (So.): 115th, 32:48.07
Senatobia swept both 4A team titles. The Senatobia girls won with 41 points, ahead of Choctaw Central (51) and West Lauderdale (62). New Albany, a fellow north Mississippi program, finished fourth with 92 points.
Boys Race and the Rest of the 4A Field
In the Class 4A boys race, Senatobia edged New Albany 42-44 for the team championship, and Corinth placed third with 112 points. Corinth junior Silvestre Lopez won the individual boys title in 16:24.22. Ripley did not have a boys team or individual runners listed in the official 4A boys results.
The Class 4A races were held Oct. 31 at Choctaw Trails, the same Clinton course where the 1A, 2A and 3A championships were run on Oct. 29. In those earlier races, the Hickory Flat and Walnut boys each finished second in their classes.
Looking Ahead for Ripley Runners
Ripley will lose seniors Massengill, Rowland and Ward to graduation, but four of the seven state qualifiers are underclassmen: sophomores Kailyn Shead and Amberlyn Wallace, junior Averlee Bryowsky and freshman Sophia Perez. Ripley is also set to move from Class 4A to Class 3A when the MHSAA’s new classification cycle begins in the 2027-28 school year.
Congratulations to the Ripley girls cross country team on a strong season and a trip to the state meet.
Related: Hickory Flat, Walnut 2nd at State Cross Country Championships | Ripley Moves to Class 3A in MHSAA 2027-29 Reclassification
Source: Mississippi High School Activities Association
