Northview’s Billings Sets Course Record as Milton teams Reign Supreme at Fulton County Cross Country
The 2014 edition of the Fulton County Public Schools Championships for high school cross country teams was once again held at Milton High School and the highlights included a big new course record & a school winning 3 of the 4 team titles and the Overall Title that were awarded. A new course record & multiple team titles highlight county meet
Varsity Girls
Junior Lindsay Billings of Northview left no doubt on who the best runner in the county was and maybe even the best runner in the state as she obliterated the existing course record (19:42, Allie Buchalski, Johns Creek) by running a uncontested 18:43 to defend her county championship. Her winning margin of 1:46 was the individual performance of the meet! Riverwood’s Elizabeth Graves followed (2nd-20:27) followed by the surprising finish of Milton senior co-captain Amy Ruiz (3rd-20:46).
In the team competition, the Lady Titans of Northview (ranked 1st All-Class) also showed they are the top girls team in the state with their victory (1st-28 pts). Host Milton (3rd-All-Class, 2nd ranked in 6A) was a solid runner-up (2nd-66 pts) and Centennial (3rd-96 pts) followed.
Varsity Boys
After a conservative start, Milton junior Jack Bluth moved through the field (20th early-on) to win the title (1st-17:36) and run the 4th-fastest time ever on the Milton course. Bluth laid the groundwork for his fellow Eagle teammates as senior co-captain Connor Cole (2nd-17:43) and freshman Sam Bowers (3rd-17:47) made it a sweep for the individual trophies. Milton (ranked 2nd in 6A & 3rd-All-Class) easily took the title (1st-21 pts) outdistancing runner-up Roswell (2nd-83 pts) & Northview (3rd-89 pts)
Left to right: Clay Marshall, Matt McGorrey, Preston Meade, Sam Bowers (freshman, 3rd overall & 7th fastest time ever on the Milton course), Connor Cole, Jack Bluth, John Fravel.
JV Girls
The Lady Eagles of Milton started off their team title hunt with a convincing team victory. Milton (1st-32 pts) easily outpaced runner-up Northview (2nd-56 pts) and Cambridge (3rd-73 pts). Sophie Kopec of Northview was the run-away winner (1st-22:37) and junior Emily Velez of Milton (2nd-23:21) led the Lady Eagles to the team title with Samantha Hardy (3rd-23:21) of Cambridge rounding out the top finishers.
JV Boys
Just as their varsity ran, host Milton was very strong and duplicated their teammates with a 1, 2, 3 finish to lead the Eagles to the team title. Milton (1st-17 pts) was never headed as Northview (2nd-51 pts) & Johns Creek (3rd-89 pts) followed. The Eagles were led by the overall win of senior co-captain Mikey Newell (1st-18:41) as his teammates junior Brock Schutt (2nd-18:50) & sophomore Valera Stettner (3rd-18:56) followed to claim the team title.
Best Overall Program Award
Team scores & places from all four races help determine this award and the host Eagles of Milton claimed their 5th-straight title (1st-14 pts)! Northview (2nd-10 pts) was a strong runner-up with both Cambridge (3 pts) & Roswell (3 pts) tied for 3rd.