Anna Hayden led the chase group in pursuit of the leaders.
Jenna Gearing was racing well in the middle of the pack.
Alyssa LeClaire ran aggressively and had another fine performance taking third.
The race went out quickly with Hurley taking the lead, followed by Burr, Brookover, and LeClaire. The four girls cruised through the first lap in 1:12. The leaders put a gap on LeClaire and the chase pack behind her, led by Anna Hayden and Mary Claire Solomon. Through 600 meters, Hurley continued to push the pace, with Burr and Brookover sitting on her shoulder. The top three ladies crossed the 800 in 2:24-5, followed closely by LeClaire who was closing the gap. With 600 to go, Riley Burr charged ahead of Hurley, and Brookover followed. Hurley then surged to cover the move and to take the lead back through 1200. Next, LeClaire closed the gap and was then in the lead pack coming into the bell lap.
Florida's Hannah Brookover held off GA. 800 & 1600 State Champion Riley Burr in the sprint for the win.
On the final lap, Burr and Brookover surged with 300 meters to go and dropped Emma Grace. Alyssa LeClaire moved up into third, passing Hurley with 200 to go. Brookover surged with 150 to go to take the lead on Burr going down the home stretch. Burr made a last ditch effort to pass Brookover, but she was unable to gain any ground. Hannah Brookover of Calvary Christian won in a time of 4:53.67. Alyssa LeClaire broke 5 minutes, her 4:55 good enough for 3rd, followed by Hurley and Sue Anne Morales of East Jackson in 5:05.25.
Boys Race
The boys race was set to be a fast one from the start, with the top 5 guys all under 4:15, led by Sam Ellis of Decatur, fresh off a 1:51 800 at the Meet of Champions. In the top seeds were Sam Ellis, Chase Kennedy, Zach Israel, Jack Bluth, and Thomas Moore. Grant O'Callaghan of Flowery Branch was the rabbit for this race going out in 2:05-6.
GA. 800 & 1600 State Champ Sam Ellis did a lion's share of the work with Hunter Jarvis on his shoulder.
The boys race was off with O'Callaghan leading through the first 400, in 1:03, right on pace. The first 400 saw a tight pack led by Ellis and Hunter Jarvis of Thomas Sumter Academy in South Carolina.Through 800 meters, no one was shaking anything up. As our rabbit pulled off the track, our top 5 were Ellis, Jarvis, Chase Kennedy, Braeden Collins, Chandler Kennedy.
Hunter Jarvis dropped the hammer on Ellis in the final meters, taking the win. "My legs were shot after that 1:51 (800m) I ran on Saturday" said Ellis.
On the third lap, Jarvis pushed the pace with 600 to go, trying to pass Ellis, who immediately surged back up front. Next, Zach Israel made a strong move, following the leaders into 4th as he rounded into the final lap. With 300 to go, Ellis and Jarvis began to break away as Ellis started to show his1:51 speed. With 200 to go, the leaders Ellis and Jarvis were neck and neck and at full sprint coming down the home stretch. With 50 meters to go, Jarvis pulled ahead as Ellis struggled to keep pace, winning the race in 4:16.31 over Ellis. Zach Israel also made a strong move on the last lap, passing Chase Kennedy for 3rd at 300 meters. Kennedy dropped back to 6th behind Benson of Marrietta 4th, and Jack Bluth of Milton was 5th.
Zach Israel closed well and moved up to third by the finish.
1A Private 3200m State Champion Sam Shaylor out battled 800 & 1600 State Champ Mark Stein.
Boys Video -
Unfortunately we had technical difficulties during the girls race and were unable to capture it