Wingfoot XC Classic: Girls Preview
This Saturday, Atlanta Track Club will host the inaugural Wingfoot XC Classic. A total of 33 high school teams are expected to battle it out in Cartersville's Sam Smith Park on a never-before-seen, single-loop course.
Girls Team Spotlight
Marist Coach Eric Heintz realizes his team is facing a deep race after losing five of their seven top girls. "We rely heavily on our upperclassmen so the team looks and feels different than years past," said Coach Heintz. "It is exciting though, because young teams can improve markedly during a season while older teams are much more predictable. I kind of like the excitement of the unknown and it is fun to watch 9th and 10thgraders assume leadership roles in the top 7."
Coach Heintz predicts that Northview will prove themselves as one of the best teams in the Southeast if they run their true top 5. If not, he believes Marist, Milton or South Forsyth could top the podium. As far as what he expects for his team, "Josie Wirtz is poised for a breakthrough run and senior Myriam Alvarez is just starting to learn how to push herself. Our fifth runner is who I would watch though; she will determine how well our team does overall. To cheat a little bit and talk about our boys, Frank Pittman will be tough to beat in the boys race."
Girls Team Race:
Making an appearance will be five of the 10 All Class ranked teams in Georgia; Marist, Milton, South Forsyth, Lovett, and Northview. Eyeing a top 5 placing will be top squads from Blessed Trinity, Peachtree Ridge, and Signal Mountain High School, (4A Tennesee State Champions '14). Mill Creek girls will be resting their top 7.
Lovett, Marist, South Forsyth, and Northview were all last seen at Double Dip, where Marist came out on top while Northview was missing top runner Anna Barefield. Northview proved to be in top form defeating Milton this past weekend at the Fulton County Championships with a full squad. South Forsyth's strong 1-2 punch with Carnahan and DuPont leading a deep squad was only 6 points behind Marist at Double Dip. The race is going to come down to the 4th and 5th runners with all teams having a very strong front runner. Overall it is a toss-up for the podium spots as it could be anyone's day to shine on the rolling hills of Cartersville.
Girls Individual Race
In the individual race, we have 7 of the top 10 fastest girls this season. Lindsay Billings leads the charge with victories over South's Savannah Carnahan (5th), Lovett's Serena Tripodi (4th) and Fellowship Christian's Emma Grace Hurley (2nd) at the Marist Double Dip. Having run only run mostly hilly courses this season at Wesleyan, Marist and Fulton County, we are all eager to see Billings break into a top spot on the national rankings. She will not go unchallenged for the individual victory. Freshman Amaris Tyynismaa from Montgomery Cathlolic, who currently holds the record on the Alabama State Meet course, ran an impressive 16:56 as an 8th grader at Footlocker South Regionals last year. Not having run sub-19 yet this season, her coach is confident she will be sub-18 on Saturday. Emma Grace Hurley showed her wheels running a new Georgia #1 time this past weekend at Warpath. There will be a good fight for the top spot this weekend.
Other girls looking to break into the top 10 are Josie Wirtz (Marist), Helen Williams (AIS), Sue Anne Morales (East Jackson), Mary Claire Solomon (Blessed Trinity), Riley Burr (Milton), Kaylee DuPont (South Forsyth) and Anna Hayden (Riverwood).