With 62 teams and over 3,700 runners this year, the Coach Wood Invitational looks to be super competitive as always. It has turned into the unofficial All Class State Meet over the years and this year appears to be no exception.
The meet is named after Coach Rick Wood, who coached at South Gwinnett from 1985 to 2000. While he no longer coaches, he still teaches at Grayson High School. During his coaching career, Coach Wood influenced scores of young men to great heights, and some even followed in his footsteps into the teaching/coaching world (former South Gwinnett/Mill Creek Coach Daniel Monroe, former Parkview Coach Josh Crowfoot, current Mill Creek Coach Andy Christie, current Grayson Coach Mac Bradbury). Under his leadership , South Gwinnett won the 1992 State Championship; they also had individual Track/XC State Champions in Art Cantu and Josh Crowfoot. Crowfoot was also a Foot Locker Finalist in 1996. In addition to other teams and individuals that made the podium at State, Coach Wood served and continues to serve as a father figure and positive influence to all the runners he coached and students he taught.
Boys Championship Race
Teams:
The Boys Championship race is stacked, with teams from multiple classes competing for supremacy. Leading the charge is annual power Brookwood, who won Gwinnett County with 3 runners in the top 5. St. Pius was 12th at Great American in the Race of Champions, just ahead of Lambert and Marietta. Lambert has a very strong pack this year, and has run well even when they weren't full strength (they would have been in the mix for the win at Wingfoot if they'd had their 5th man). Milton won Fulton County, and was 3rd at Wingfoot behind the strength of their top 2. Blessed Trinity was 2nd at Berry and 1st at Wingfoot and has proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with the last few years, with multiple State titles. Marietta, who was 2nd at Cobb County, Mill Creek (2nd at Gwinnett), Collins Hill (1st at Westover), Walton (1st in Great American Seeded race), and South Forsyth (3rd at Warpath, 6th at Wingfoot) in the field, as well as many other ranked teams, the intrigue extends far beyond just the trophy spots (top 3).
Individuals:
With so many strong teams in the race, there of course are several runners that have a shot at the individual crown. Add in Jacob McCleod of Trinity Christian and you have what looks to be a fast race up front. The lead group features a pack of sub 16 runners that will have the challenging task of trying to break away from each other on the trails/grass of the North Georgia at Gainesville course.
Jacob McCleod (Trinity Christian)-15:22 at Aubrae Gunderson, 15:24 at Asics
Sam Bowers (Milton)-Fulton Champ, 2nd at Wingfoot in 15:40, 2nd at Furman
Hayden Tullos (Marietta)-15:24 at Great American, 15:47 at Cobb, 15:56 at Wingfoot
Ben Patterson (Marietta)-15:31 at Great American, 15:47 at Wingfoot, 15:54 at Cobb
Zunair Manzoor (Brookwood)-15:50 at Memphis Twilight, 15:51 at Gwinnett
Ben McCoy (Blessed Trinity)-15:48 at Wingfoot
Girls Championship Race
Teams:
The Girls Championship race features many teams that believe they can win, so it will be interesting to see who ends up on top. Brookwood comes in as the Gwinnett County Champions, led by Lauren Flynt. They were also 8th at Great American. Milton won Fulton County and placed 2nd at Wingfoot, but South Forsyth was only 5 points back in 3rd place. West Forsyth was 6th at Wingfoot and 3rd at Warpath and should be very competitive. Other teams hoping to be in the mix are Mill Creek (1st at Berry, 2nd at Gwinnett), Woodland (7th at Wingfoot, 1st at Run at the Rock, 1st at Westover), and Lovett (8th at Wingfoot, 2nd at Westover). The fight for the right to be king of the hill at Coach Wood might go a long way towards deciding who ends up on the podium at Carrollton in 3 weeks.
Individuals:
This should be a tremendous showdown between Forsyth, Gwinnett, and Fulton runners, as well as some other runners looking to spoil the party for the favorites. Some of them battled at Wingfoot, but others teams weren't there, making this the first time they duke it out. These runners are mostly 7A, but regardless of classification, this intense of an individual race will make them battle tested going into Region/Area and then State competition.
Kaylee Dupont (South Forsyth)-17:55 at Warpath, 18:16 at Wingfoot
Liz Galarza (West Forsyth)-17:57 at Warpth, 18:16 at Wingfoot
Lauren Flynt (Brookwood)-Gwinnett County Champion, 18:37 at Great American, 18:42 at Memphis Twilight
Serena Tripodi (Lovett)-18:19 at Wingfoot, NXN qualifier last year
Camryn Pettit (Mill Creek)-19:08 at Berry
Audrey Honiotes (Hart County)-18:23 at Hounds and Hares
Marie Repasy (Milton)-18:57 at Wingfoot, 3rd at Furman
Boys Varsity Gold
Teams:
Etowah hopes to challenge for a trophy-they placed 10th at Warpath with a 17:19 average. Chestatee is coming off a 9 point victory for the Hall County Championship, but North Hall hopes to avenge that loss. North Oconee was 6th at the Battle of Atlanta with a 17:58 average, and won the Athens Academy meet with a 17:59 average.
Individuals:
The lead pack of this race should be fierce and competitive. With some top runners from Gwinnett, Cobb, and Hall Counties, as well as runners from Chestatee and Hiram, it is bound to be a battle that comes down to the last mile. Many of these runners have not raced each other, which could lead to some different strategies being employed.
Devan Crow (North Hall), 2nd at Hall County in 15:42, 16:22 at West Hall
Axel Avalos (Central Gwinnett), 16:11 at Gwinnett
Nick Cooke (Etowah), 15:53 at Starrs Mill
Adrian Hernandez (Allatoona), 16:22 at Cobb
Tommy Johnston (North Hall), 15:53 at Hall County, 16:04 at West Hall
Ivan Martin (Chestatee), 15:51 at Hall County, 16:26 at West Hall
Audrick Pyronneau (Hiram), 16:19 at Wingfoot
Per Ellingson (Etowah), 16:34 at Starrs Mill
Girls Varsity Gold
Teams:
The show down for the 3 Varsity Gold trophies involves teams from varying areas of the state. With the top teams on paper having raced on courses of differing difficulty, it remains to be seen who has the advantage. Cherokee and Etowah both ran at Warpath, with 20:44 and 21:19 team averages respectively. Lakeside Dekalb won Aubrae Gunderson in 21:13. North Oconee won the Athens Academy meet in 21:40, and Cambridge was 5th in the Varsity race of Wingfoot in 22:08. 3 of these contenders or perhaps an underdog will depart with hardware!
Individuals:
Much like the team race, the individual race seems to be up for grabs, with it hard to predict just how close it will be because of the varying courses. Any of the girls below could end up in the top spots, as well as many others who want a coveted Coach Wood medal around their neck.
Elizabeth Graves (Riverwood)-18:18 at Warpath
Morgan Mihalis (Lakeside Dekalb)-19:08 at Aubrae Gunderson
Macki Walsh (Etowah)-19:06 at Starrs Mill, 18:31 at Asics
Elizabeth Rice (Kennesaw Mountain)-19:29 at Wingfoot
Sydney Runyan (Etowah)-19:21 at Warpath
Boys Varsity Cardinal Race
Teams:
Dunwoody averaged 17:58 at Hounds and Hares on the Footlocker course and looks to be in the hunt for a trophy. Johnson was 4th at Hall County, with a 17:27 average. Cherokee averaged 18:15 at Warpath, and Chattahoochee was 3 spots ahead of them in the team scoring with a 17:50 average. Duluth averaged 18:28 at Gwinnett County and hopes to lower that even more in this field. Which teams will be the ones to walk away with the 3 team trophies?
Individuals:
The Varsity Cardinal lead pack will include several runners that have run sub 17 and hope to walk away from this race with the 1st place medal. As they head into Region/Area meets, these runners hope this race prepares them as they hope to make it to Carrollton.
Issac Hernandez (Johnson), Henry County Champion in 15:38, 16:39 at Aubrae Gunderson
Max Mowrer (Dunwoody), 17:11 at Berry
Brian Pelland (Duluth), 17:04 at Starrs Mill
Owen Schuliger (Chattahoochee), 17:16 at Warpath
Nicholas Wootton (Cherokee), 17:19 at Warpath
Girls Varsity Cardinal
Teams:
Chamblee comes in with the fastest team average, with a 22:39 at Aubrae Gunderson. Collins Hill ran 23:01 at Gwinnett. Johnson averaged 23:12 at the Hall County Championships, and North Cobb was 23:21 at Wingfoot. Jefferson averaged a 23:50 at West Hall. All of these teams should be near the front of the team race, which could be very tight and come down to the all-important 5th runner.
Individuals:
The contenders have run a gamut of courses, from the speedways of War Eagle and Starrs Mill, to the more challenging Aubrae Gunderson course, and also the moderate but hot Wingfoot. Much like the Varsity Gold race, it is hard to judge what might actually go down, but on paper the girls below seem to be ready to challenge for 1st.
Maggie Dyer (Jefferson)-19:06 at the Eagle Invitational, 19:49 at War Eagle
Beining Xiao (Chamblee)-19:48 at Aubrae Gunderson
Emily Little (Whitefield Academy)-19:43 at Wingfoot
Madison Allie (Locust Grove)-19:12 at Starrs Mill