A Private Girls Team Rank

Finished 7th in the Championship Race with a 21:21 Team Average with 2016 All-State Mary Kellison Thorne out (most likely ACT). This team only has 6 runners but currently the favorite to repeat as Single A Private Team Champions. Sophomore Erin Fegans and senior Sarah Foreman could both contend for the Single A Private individual championship in November.

Best place ever at the uber competitive Marist Meet with a 21:43 team average. Freshmen Hayden Puett (Team #3) also raced and won the Freshmen race. This is probably the best team ever at HIES. Jackie Addy was a star this past weekend almost PRing as she rolled to a 19:43 (4th) on the hills of Marist.

No one gets his girls to peak better recently then Coach Chad McDaniel of Wesleyan. This squad finished runner-ups to Landmark this year and have an incredible 26 second split between their 1-5 runners this year. They will have to find a front runner or two to compete with the top two teams but Freshmen Mary Ortwein may provide part of that spark. Had a strong team average of 22:12 in Roswell.

The Spartans had a strong 22:55 team average without former State Champion Anna Marian Block racing (most likely ACTs). Senior Emily Elder maybe the best runner that you have not heard of. She will contend for All-State honors this November in Carrollton. This team has the front runners to contend for a top three team finish at State but may lack the incredible depth of Wesleyan or Holy Innocents’.

They were 1rst in the 1A to 3A race Saturday at Carrollton with a team average of 22:48. They have a potential rising star in Freshmen Jennifer Woolery who rolled to a 20:36 Saturday. Their 5th runner raced to a 24:25 (while very solid) so Wesleyan would have 7 runners in before their 5th currently. They definitely could contend for the podium but they will need improvements from their 4-7 runners for that to happen in November.

They have had a strong start to their season led by All-State hopeful senior Sami Krinsky who ran 20:46 at the GA Meet of Champions course on Labor Day weekend. They had several miss this past weekend due to ACT’s but definitely could compete for the podium later this fall.

They averaged 24:57 at Double Dip this past Saturday but that was without their Freshmen Phenom Emily Raeside (who was sick). She is currently the best freshmen in Single A Private with her best time of 20:01 coming on the Georgia Meet of Champions course. Look for Woolery, Puett (HI), Ortwein and her to contend for top freshmen this fall in Single A Private. They could get the edge for this spot due to the front running capability of Raeside even though you can concede Mount Pisgah may have been better this week.

This is another team with a strong front-runner in Senior Samantha Posey. According to her Milesplit profile she has only raced twice in her career (maybe the coaches at Pisgah could get us more info). If this is true she would be every college coaches’ dream recruit. No matter what she can contend for All-State honors in November. Her time of 20:40 skews Mt Pisgah’s 23:58 Team Average. They will have to work on closing the 5:31 time gap between their 1-5 runners to crack the Elite 8 at State this November.

They raced a ton of people in the Freshmen/First year race at Marist and won the Girls Title there. Senior Sophia West leads Paideia once again and is an automatic State Championship contender. She placed 3rd at Double Dip in a strong time of 19:39. From results before this weekend they also have a top freshmen candidate (to add to the 4 above). Frosh Jordan Walter ran a 20:42 at the Georgia Meet of Champions course over Labor Day weekend. The future is bright for this team but if they hope to end West’s career battling for the podium they have some work to do. Note: This would be the 5th team from their Area (only 4 teams from each Area make the Single A State Meet field).

Junior Alexa Staudt leads this team out of Chatham County. She has raced to a season best time of 20:37 so far this year and should battle for Top 20 honors at State in November. Would love to see this team race in the Metro area but may have to wait until State to see how good they can be.