by: Coach Andy Carr
Webb Bridge Park in Alpharetta will again be the host for the Fulton County Public Schools Cross Country Championships this Saturday afternoon. The action starts at 2:15pm with the open race followed by the JV races and concluding with the varsity races at 4:25pm (girls) and 5:05pm (boys). The14 public high schools that will be represented include: Alpharetta, Roswell, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Creekside, Milton, Northview, Westlake, Banneker, Tri-Cities, North Springs, Riverwood and newly opened schools Langston Hughes and John’s Creek. The field includes many ranked and recently ranked teams in both AAAAA (Centennial, Alpharetta, Roswell, Chattahoochee, Milton) and AAA (John’s Creek & Riverwood) which should make for a very close and spirited team battle. Unique to this meet is the Best Overall Program award going to the team that scores the most points from top-finishes in both the JV & Varsity races. This is the 10th year of this award with Milton winning the award in 2004, 2005 & 2008 with Northview (2006) and Centennial (2007) the other champions in the last 5 years. With dominate victories at the Mercer Run-Fit Invite last weekend, Centennial looks to be the favorite in the varsity races but after that it should be close in both the boy’s and girl’s races.
The girl’s varsity team race should be a 5-team battle with the Knights of Centennial (ranked 7th All-Class and 6th in AAAAA) followed by any of these teams: Alpharetta (9th in AAAAA, Roswell (10th in AAAAA), Milton or Chattahoochee as any of them have a shot at either winning or battling for a top-spot. Northview should be in the mix along with Riverwood (3rd in AAA) & John’s Creek (6th in AAA).
The boy’s varsity team race looks to be in Centennial’s hands but the Knights (10th in AAAAA) should be challenged by both Chattahoochee & Milton with Riverwood (3rd in AAA) in the mix.
Girl’s Varsity Individual Race
This race features Fulton County rivals Bret McDaniel of Riverwood and Sydney Marshall of Chattahoochee. Brett is fresh off of 2 course record races the last 3 weeks with wins at Double-Dip and Milton Invite (where she defeated Sydney). Sydney is the defending champion and course record-holder in the event. Allie Buchalski of John’s Creek should also challenge after her win last weekend at the Mill Run. Other top contenders include Dylan Hassett of Alpharetta, Katie June of Centennial and Sally Kirklewski of Roswell.
Boy’s Varsity Individual Race
The boy’s race should feature a 3-man battle between Ryan Knobbe of Centennial, Austin Ulich of Chattahoochee and Tyler Tomy of Milton. Ryan is coming off a strong performance and dominating win at Mercer Run-Fit Invite. Austin has shown he is fit with his course record win at the Milton Invite 2 weeks ago breaking the course record that had stood since 2007. Tyler Tomy has been runner-up at this race the past 2 years and is hungry for the title. The Black brothers from Centennial should also challenge along with Riverwood’s Connor McDaniel.