The Huntington girls and the Trinity boys cross country teams both placed fourth out of 11 teams Monday in the MPSA State meet held at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.

In the girls division, Simpson Academy and Presbyterian Christian Academy, both 2A schools, finished first and second, respectively, and Strider Academy placed third.

&uot;I thought we did real well,&uot; said Huntington coach Penny Moak. &uot;They put the 2A schools and the 1A schools together. If you separate the schools, we finished second.&uot;

&uot;That’s pretty good,&uot; Moak said. &uot;This is only the second year we’ve run cross country.&uot;

Sophomore Emily Hazlip ran the fastest time for the Lady Hounds, with a mark of 14.41.

Katie Cole had a time of 15.11, Rachel Anders finished in 15.51 and Emily Anders had the fourth-best time with 16.04.

Marie Miller, Jessie Moak and Tessa Taunton also ran for Huntington.

Rob Hefley led the Saints with a time of 21.44. Dunbar Flinn placed 23rd overall at 22.26, and Richard Burke, Marcus Archer and Mike Lickliter finished at 25-27.

Stewart Mophett finished 46th with a time of 27.45.

&uot;They hung in there tough,&uot; Trinity coach Earl Hefley said. &uot;I’m proud of them. This was our best finish of the year.&uot;

Trinity did not field a girls team, but Krista Mophett ran by herself for a time of 24.38.

Injuries to his runners have hurt the Trinity team all year, Hefley said. &uot;This was the first time we all ran together,&uot; he said.