Racing will be hot Saturday afternoon, but temperatures will be cool and the course could be wet and sloppy. Spectators, you may need to be bussed over from nearby schools. Information will be sent out as soon as possible. Either way it will be a fun day of racing.
Varsity Girls Team:
This year looks like a dual between the Harrison Lady Hoyas and the Pope Lady Greyhounds. The Lady Hoyas come in ranked 9th in 6A while the Lady Greyhounds are 10th as the calendar switches to October. Last year Harrison finished 2nd, 1 point behind Marietta. Both Harrison and Pope have a deep team and this race will most likely come down to a team's 4th and 5th runners and possibly their 6th! Walton and Marietta look to be next in line for a podium finish, neither team has raced much this fall and both replaced most of their teams' scorers from last season. Hillgrove, Campbell, and Kennesaw Mountain all look to be teams trying to assert themselves this fall and mix it up with the traditional county powers.
Varsity Girls Individual:
This one is wide open. Defending champion Ashley Kehoe of Pope is back, but injuries have held her back since late in the 2014 XC season. She appears to be rounding back into form with a recent victory at the Ridge Ferry Invitational. Marielle Lewis of Campbell and Olivia Terwilliger of Kell look to be top contenders with the two fastest times this fall. The former teammates have raced each other twice with each one gaining a victory over the other. Harrison is led by sophomore triathlete Kira Stanley who has a couple of top finishes in big meets this fall, including a 5th place finish last weekend at Alligator Lakes in Florida. Walton is led by Kate Richards and Marietta's top Lady Blue Devil is Kayla Dawson. Neither has raced much this fall. Harrison's Kayli Moody and Bailey Peak, Pope's Heather Thornton and Brittany Powell, and Walton's Stephanie L'Estrange all look like athletes that could be top 10 finishers.
Varsity Boys Team:
Marietta is the defending champion and the clear favorite again this year. The Blue Devils have looked great since getting the full team back together and are a clear #1 All-Class team in Georgia. The only thing that could derail the Blue Devils would appear to be if any of their top 5 are not able to go Saturday, even that may not be enough. Attempting to run down the Blue Devils will be Pope (9th in 6A), Harrison (watch list) and Walton (watch list). It will be a tight battle to earn a trophy with Kennesaw Mountain also trying to sneak into the top 3.
Varsity Boys Individual:
The top returner from last season is Colton Page (Allatoona) who also won the prestigious Berry Invitational. Any one of Marietta's 5-headed monster could be their number one with Carlos Torres, Ben Patterson, David Savic, Hayden Tullos, and Khayvonn Benson all capable of a top finish. Hoping to break-up the Marietta group will be Geoffrey McCullough (Campbell), Andrew Singh (Walton), Ben Dahlgren (Walton), Jacob Brenneman (Pope) and Josef Schuster (Pope).