Can Ellie Glenn of St. Pius X repeat as Individual champ? (photo by Daniel McCauley)
AAAA Girls-
1. Marist- The War Eagles should add another state title to their resume as they return 5 of their top 7 including individual AAAA runnerup Josie Wirtz. Marist girls had a solid summer of training, but are young and untested. No significant freshman thus far.
2. St. Pius X- The Golden Lions come off a another 2nd place finish in AAAA. St. Pius X girls have had some significant transfers (Jane Tullis of Darlington) and discovered from studly soccer girls. 5 of the top 7 should be back including defending AAAA champ Ellie Glenn and Jessica Tardy. Pius got stuck in 8-AAAA with North Oconee which could be interesting.
3. North Oconee- The Lady Titans had a great 3rd place Podium finish in 2015. A trio of seniors will lead the girls: Mackenzie Morse, Hollis Brown, and Malanie Bowden. The deepest class will be the juniors: Gabby Huff-Streiter, Kate Mattison, Courtney Jones, Sophie Brown, and Anna Cobb all return with impressive resumes. Amy Gater cracked the top ten at times last season.
4. Blessed Trinity- Blessed Trinity moves up a class waving goodbye to nemesis Westminster, but now have to contend with AAAA powerhouses like Marist and St. Pius X. Although Mary Claire Solomon is gone, the Titans return 5 of their top 7 including Lauren Maresca, Maddie Heller and Emma Rose Bagwell.
5. Heritage-Catoosa- Ever since Heritage opened a few years ago they have been very competitive in their class. It seems all the runners at Lakeview Ft.Oglethorpe's came out off what became Heritage's school zone. The Patriots may have had a disapointing finish last Fall placing 9th, but 5 of their top 7 are back including top runner Alex Gass.
6. Woodward- Woodward had a strong 5th place finish in 2015 finishing 23 points off the Podium. The Cards have alot of Podium potential as 6 of the top 7 seem to be back including what could be a tight pack from 1-4. Top returners are Cece Ng, Garnett Brown, Mary Grace Lesene and Katie Dorton.
7. Columbus- The program at this large magnet school has been very consistent over the past decade which includes state titles in 2008 and 2010. The Devils dropped a class in the new alignment which should bode well for them after a 26th place finish in AAAAA. Columbus returns 5 of their top 7, including top runners Hope Skypek and Harper Fine.
8. Perry- Perry may be one of the top squads out of middle Georgia this Fall. The Panthers placed 12th in AAAA in 2015 and return their top 5 including the Mountin sisters, Alyssa and Tiffany.
9. Chestatee- Chestatee did not get out of tough 8-AAAA in 2015 and will have a much better shot this Fall in REgion 7, though Marist, Blessed Trinity and White County inhabit that 5 team region. Their 2-5 will be back to do battle led by Sr. Megan Dew.
10. White County- The Warriors were set to place as high as 6th in 2015 until Jenna Gearing snapped a bone coming down the final hill costing 4 places. The girls graduated Jenna Gearing, but return sophomore Jaelen Alexander (4th in XC and 3200 as freshman) and get Rachel Gearing back from last year's ACL year. Ellie Gearing will now be a freshman.
Watch: NS Columbus, NW Whitfield