J.D. Bengston runs for Eighth Street in 2013, a season where he won the middle school cross country championship.

TIFTON — The Tift County High cross country team has announced its 2017 schedule.

The year starts Aug. 5 with the annual Run for Love at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural college tennis courts. That will be one of three meets to take place in Tifton.

Tift County will run its annual invitational at ABAC Sept. 30 and the region meet will also be at ABAC, scheduled to take place Oct. 21.

The Blue Devils were tremendously successful last year, with the Lady Devils winning the region championship. Five runners finished in the top eight, including a second place overall finish by Emily Golden.

Golden was later third overall at the area championship and was 30th at the state tournament, helping Tift’s girls to a 19th place finish as a team.

At the middle school level, J.D. Bengston took home Eighth Street’s first ever individual championship in the sport last October. Eighth Street’s boys were fifth overall in a field of 25 teams.

Other meets this year will take place in Florida and Georgia.

After the regular season starts Aug. 19 in Valdosta at the Winnersville Cross Country Meet, the Blue Devils will take part in the Cougar Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., Aug. 26.

The squads will go to Lee County Sept. 9 and Bainbridge Sept. 16. Tift will be at Albany’s Hugh Mills Stadium Sept. 23 for a meet hosted by Deerfield-Windsor.

Tift has another meet in Albany Oct. 7, hosted by Westover. The final regular season meet will be Oct. 14 at Thomas County Central.

Eighth Street Middle will participate with the high school at nearly every meet in 2017. Their season will wrap Oct. 14 in Cochran at the middle school state meet. State for high school teams takes place Nov. 3-4 in Carrollton.

Tift’s cross country runners have been working out all summer at ABAC, training on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.