GHSA AAAAAAA Girls State Meet Preview

Saving the best for last, the 'Super 44' of AAAAAAA as they've been referred to, boasts the very best of Georgia's multi-event athletes that will ring up serious points for their respective schools. For the past several years, Georgia has become an absolute hotbed for HS Girls Collegiate recruiting, not to mention what Pro sprinter Candace Hill of Rockdale County has ascended to. McEachern will be trying to defend their 2016 title, but lost All-American Mackenzie Dunmore to the Ducks' up in Tracktown USA. But, the Indians just reloaded and are looking very strong in the sprints, horizontal jumps, relays and can score in the hurdles and throws. Top athletes are: Nilaja Florence, Royce Johnson, Victoria Agyin and Tamiya Roberts.

Westlake would like to improve upon their runnerup team finish of 2016 and turn the tables on McEachern. The Lady Lions strengths mirror their primary opponent's, but may have a slight edge in the Relays and a distance scoring chance. Kennedy Simon is arguably the top female athlete in Georgia, and could triple in the 200/400/LJ. Other top girls for Westlake are Trinity Williams, Trinity Flagler and Jada Watson. Campbell is not unlike the 2 teams above except they are weak in throws/distance. The Spartans are led by Alexis Jones, who's a triple threat in both hurdles and the LJ. Brookwood is a a strong Podium contender that can score big in the distance events, and has some opps in the sprints, jumps and relays. 

Almost every event is stacked in 7A as one can imagine with schools with 3000-4000 students that can pull and develop talent, compare it to every other class... Just look at the parity in the 800, 1600 and 3200 events alone. Those events promise to not be boring at all. Elizabeth Funderburk from Colquitt County has the top times in the 1600/3200 this season, but she will have a horde of Metro runners pushing the pace, or perhaps slowing it down to a kicker's race. We shall see..

Top Athletes to Watch:

Caitlan Tate of Brookwood- 100, 200, Relays

Chala Carey of Camden- 100, LJ

Sterling Lester of Marietta- 200, 400, HJ, Relays

Kennedy Simon of Westlake- 200, 400, LJ, Relays

Ashton Lindley of Campbell- (MS file photo) 400, 300h (file photo by Daniel McCauley)

Mackenzie Ellison of Brookwood- 800, 1600

Abigail Robertson of Walton- 800, 1600

Brynne Sumner of Woodstock- 800, 1600

Elizabeth Funderburk of Colquitt- 3200, 1600

Lauren Flynt of Brookwood- 3200, 1600

Kaylee Dupont of South Forsyth- 1600, 3200 (photo by Daniel McCauley)

Alexis Jones of Campbell- 100h, 300h, Relays

Trinity Williams of Westlake- 100h, Relays

Nilaja Florence of McEachern- 100, 300h, Relays

Jalia Bryant of Discovery- HJ

Royce Johnson of McEachern- TJ, LJ

Victoria Agyin of McEachern- TJ, LJ, Relays

Natasha Stamp of Grayson- Shot, Discus

Taliyah Manning of Forsyth Central- Discus

Siddequa Abdurrahman of Meadowcreek- Discus

Grace Artis of Roswell- Shot, Discus