It was supposed to happen two weeks ago, but for the Darlington Tigers cross country teams, it was definitely worth the wait.

Darlington swept the boys and girls team titles at the City-County Cross Country Championships at Ridge Ferry Park on Tuesday and also won both individual races.

For complete results, see 2B.

Jesse Baker ran the course in a time of (16:56) to take first in the boys’ race by more than a half a minute over second-place finisher Thomas Caldwell (17:37) of Rome. It was the first time Baker has broken the 17-minute mark.

“It was my first varsity win, so I’m pretty happy about that,” said Baker. “Our whole team has been looking forward to this meet all season because we haven’t beaten Rome in several years, and we thought it was our time to win.”

Ansley McDurmon won the girls race with a time (19:56). It was the first time McDurmon has ran under 20 minutes this season. Rome’s Sydney Champagne finished second at (20:08).

“Yesterday was my birthday, so I came out wanting to win my first race at 16,” said McDurmon. “Sydney is a great runner, and I enjoy running with her. I feel like it’s an accomplishment to beat her.

“My dad always makes sure that I set goals before I run because it’s all mental really. It’s just really about getting ready mentally for the race.”

The Darlington boys’ finished with an average time of (18:03) to finish ahead of Rome (18:18) at second. Pepperell rounded out the top three with an average time of (18:47).

The top three was the same in the girls’ race with Darlington at the top with an average time of (21:50). Rome (22:13) and Pepperell (23:42) came in behind the Tigers.

“The boys’ was a little closer than I expected, but we’re thrilled to win,” said Darlington coach Alan Parish. “We haven’t beaten Rome in about seven years, so it’s huge for us to beat them.

“On the girls’ side, I knew it would be close again, and our girls looked awesome,” said Parish. “I thought our girls had an incredible race. Our top six runners were in the top 12 in the race, and that was outstanding.”

In the girls’ race, Rome’s Sydney Waldrop (20:54), Darlington’s Lindsay Evans (21:33) and Pepperell’s Brittney Mathis (21:59) rounded out the top five behind McDurmon and Champagne.

CITY-COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

Tuesday,

at Ridge Ferry Park

Overall Team results

Boys Points Avg.

1. Darlington 32 18:03

2. Rome 35 18:18

3. Pepperell 61 18:47

4. Coosa 100 19:38

5. Model 149 21:03

6. Armuchee 168 22:44

Girls Points Avg.

1. Darlington 29 21:50

2. Rome 41 22:13

3. Pepperell 70 23:42

4. Armuchee 98 24:57

5. Coosa 105 25:43

6. Model No team score

Boys Individual results

Top 10

1. Jesse Baker-Darlington (16:56)

2. Thomas Caldwell-Rome (17:37)

3. Cam Collins-Darlington (17:47)

4. Aaron Shippey-Rome (18:15)

5. Lucas Jennings-Darlington (18:20)

6. Jordan Worthy-Pepperell (18:22)

7. Ben Woodard-Rome (18:24)

8. Hamzah Mansoura-Rome (18:25)

9. Nick Williams-Pepperell (18:26)

10. Hylton Hamilton-Coosa (18:30)

Girls Individual Results

Top 10

1. Ansley McDurmon-Darlington (19:56)

2. Sydney Champagne-Rome (20:08)

3. Sydney Waldrop-Rome (20:54)

4. Lindsay Evans-Darlington (21:33)

5. Brittney Mathis-Pepperell (21:59)

6. Taylor Phillips-Model (22:02)

7. Anna Shea-Darlington (22:12)

8. Megan Gaines-Rome (22:22)

9. Margaret Hjort-Darlington (22:40)

10. Anna Beth Leroy-Pepperell (22:42)