CAIRO – Cairo’s most recent cross country meet was a “breakthrough performance” for many of its runners, according to head coach Alex Papinicolopolous.

“We had seven runners that either tied or broke their PRs (personal records). Some of those PRs were pretty good ones,” said Cairo head coach Alex Papinicolopolous, whose team participated in the Deerfield-Windsor Invitational in Albany, Georgia, last Saturday.

“We’re really proud of that. It was an especially important day for sophomore Ava McGarrah. She’s our top girls runner. She tied her PR from last season. It currently places her third in Region 1-4A. There are only two girls running faster than her currently, and they’re over at Westover.”

McGarrah’s personal best is 24:42, still almost a minute behind the region leader from Westover at 23:47. But the potential is there for her to catch up to her region counterparts.

“One of those runners from Westover, she was running about the same time as Ava was last season. She made that move up to almost tie her teammate. I think if she can make that move, Ava can make that move, if she gets enough training in before we go to region,” Papinicolopolous said. “It’s definitely within reach.

“If she can catch up to them, she could potentially be region champion.”

Papinicolopolous also complimented his boys team and the progress it has shown this year.

“The boys team did well. Some of our mid-tier runners had the biggest day. They’ve been showing the most improvement currently,” Papinicolopolous said. “We’re really proud of them.

“All in all, it’s just a really great effort. Kids are showing a lot of maturity, perseverance, mental toughness, the things you want to see. We’re seeing that a lot in practice and are excited about how the rest of this season is going to go.”

Cairo will next compete at the Tift Invitational in Tifton, Georgia, on Sept. 30.