Saturday is going to be an awesome day for XC in state of Georgia! The first year of the meet of champions had very strong fields for boys and girls. This year will be even better. So many teams and individuals are running really well in 2017. The selection Committee had its work cut for them to pick the top 20 teams and individuals.
The boys race is First up at 8:45am
Individuals
The boys field is loaded with 12 of the top 15 fastest runners in Georgia racing including 5 individual state champions and most the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place individuals from the 8 different classifications.
The top 5 to watch will be: Jacob McLeod-Trinity, Nick Nyman-Starr's Mill, Audrick Pyrroneau-Hiram, Kyle Harkabus-East Coweta, Chase Condra-Peachtree Ridge and Devon Crow-North Hall. Given the depth we could see James Cragin-Archer, Knox Pittman-Marist, Will Wallace-Westminster, Calan Gizelbach-Forsyth Central, Griffin McCauley-Paideia or Koi Williams-Alexander move into the top 5.
Teams
The team race is just as deep as the individual race. 20 of the top 25 teams are here to race. Marist, St Pius X, Westminster, Richmond Hill, Pope, Walton and Starr's Mill all look strong. I would have to give the nod to Marist based on total season performance. It is so hard to pick a likely team winner, but that is what makes XC so interesting and fun. Note: We will miss Milton, who is preparing for Nike Regionals, as well as Lambert and Cambridge, who are not racing.
The girls race is up at 9:15am
Individuals
7 of the 8 individual State champions from last weekend's state meet and most of the 2nd and 3rd place finishers will be in the race to go toe to toe. Whether it is the top 10 fastest times from the state meet of the top 10 fastest times from his season, all of them will be here.
Elizabeth Funderburk- Colquitt Co., Erin Leonard- Jones-Co, Makena Gates-Creekview, Nicole Pachuta-Oconee Co, Grace Clements-Bremen, Mary Kellison Thorne-Landmark, Gracie O'Neal-Gordon Lee, Mary Kathryn Knot-Peachtree Ridge, Kathleen Maley-Marist, Skylar English-Dacula, Morgan Vaden-St Pius X, Megan Uszynski-McIntosh, Erin Fegans-Landmark and Naima Turbes- Westminster
The top 2 should be Elizabeth Funderburk and Erin Leonard who have run at the front in every race this season.
Teams
The top 5 teams in Georgia and 16 of the top 24 teams will be competing in the meet. With McIntosh, Marist, Marietta, Woodland Cartersville, and Oconee County will be separate by seconds. It is too close to call which one will win, but if McIntosh runs like last weekend and their top 5 are all racing and healthy, they should win.
The full list of teams competing is below.
Boys Teams Competing
Marist
McIntosh
St Pius X
Westminster
Richmond Hill
Pope
Starr's Mill
Archer
Alexander
Collins Hill
Lakeside Dekalb
Peachtree Ridge
Walton
Harrison
Blessed Trinity
North Oconee
Alpharetta
Mill Creek
Hillgrove
Hebron Christian
Creekview
Girls Teams
McIntosh
Marist
Marietta
Woodland Cartersville
Oconee County
Westminster
Creekview
Landmark
Starr's Mill
Harrison
Blessed Trinity
St. Pius X
Alexander
North Gwinnett
White County
Hillgrove
Holy Innocents
Alpharetta
Once these 2 races are over, the USATF- GA Junior Olympic XC state championships starts. Youth compete by age group for GA state championships and to advance onto regionals and nationals. Age Groups are: 7-8 year old, 9-10 year old, 11-12 year old, 13-14 year old and 15-18 year old