Diamond in the Rough Week 2

The Freshmen Girls Have Arrived: Diamonds in the Rough Week 2

We had another great week of racing around Georgia this weekend! Blessed Trinity boys and girls swept the varsity races against some very strong competition at the Bob Blastow Invitational, there was an exciting 4-way duel among boys' teams at the Cherokee County Classic, and there were some great times set this weekend (12 girls under 19:00 and 15 boys under 16:00 this weekend alone). However, if we dig a little deeper, there were some great performances across the state that should not be overlooked. From Americus to Jefferson, Georgia runners and teams stamped themselves as early contenders for the state meet and drastically improved their personal bests. It was difficult to narrow down the list to only six winners and 10 honorable mentions, but the winning performances were really special. Without further ado, here's week 2 of the Diamonds in the Rough.

Boys Winners

Taylor Wade, Whitefield Academy (1A Private) - 17:27 at Wesleyan School Invitational, 1st in varsity race

What a start to the season this Whitefield junior has had! After an under-the-radar track season in which Wade ran 9:44 in the 3200 at the state meet that was only good for ninth during a very strong season for 1A Private, Wade has won two straight races to begin his 2021 XC campaign. Both wins, at the Kosh Klassic and the Wesleyan Invitational, came at notably tough courses, which bodes well for Wade's ability to handle the hills of Carrollton in November. 

Harris County boys (5A) - 9:52 team average at Smiths Station Panther Stages, 2nd in Stage 2 race

Harris County drove just across the state border to Alabama this weekend to compete at the Panther Stages, which was a 3K cross country race. This team looks like they have put in work during the off-season as they finished second against some strong Alabama teams. Their team average of 9:52 is about a 16:25 5K pace and proves that this school in Hamilton could surprise later in the season.

Marshall Bray, Brookwood (7A) - 16:47 at North Georgia Championships at Lamar Murphy, 8th place in championship race

Brookwood, with their historically good XC program, finished 11th at the 7A state meet last year but lost their top 3 runners to graduation. Who would step up to lead them this season? Well, in their first race of the year, the answer was Marshall Bray, who was the 7th Brookwood finisher last year at region-for the JV team! Bray smashed his personal best by about 40 seconds to finish 8th in a very strong field in Jefferson this weekend, leading his team to a close second-place finish to Roswell.

Boys Honorable Mention

Jacob Carruthers, Barrow Arts & Sciences Academy (1A Public) - 19:33 at North GA Champs, 35th in varsity race

Eyan Zupko, Worth County (2A) - 18:12 at Southland Raider Run, 2nd in varsity race

Colton Harsh, Greater Atlanta Christian (3A) - 17:08 at North GA Champs, 17th in championship race

Landon Watts, Bainbridge (4A) - 18:53 at Dueling Summits (in Florida), 10th in varsity race

Davis Drake, Pope (6A) - 17:44 at Cherokee County Classic, 1st in JV race

Girls Winners

Clodagh O'Bryant and Harleigh Smith, North Hall (3A) - 19:04 and 19:56 at North GA Champs, 3rd and 9th places in championship race

Last week, the Fayette County duo of Sulton and Bohles won the honorable mention spot for 4A. This week, though, I had to place a duo into the winners' category. North Hall had to replace Caylee Wagner due to graduation. Wagner was a girl so fast she could have given the field an 80-second head start at the state meet and still win (no, seriously). Somehow, the Trojans have found a more than adequate replacement: two freshmen who both broke 20 minutes and finished in the top 10 at one of the most competitive meets of the weekend. Kudos to O'Bryant and Smith for outstanding performances, and it will be interesting to see how much they push each other throughout the season and their running careers.

Chestatee girls (4A) - 24:49 team average at War Eagle Invitational, 1st in varsity race

Last year, the Chestatee boys received most of the attention in Gainesville as they romped to a surprisingly dominant 4A state title. The girls, however, finished fifth in their region and lost 5 of their top 7 due to graduation. Who could have predicted that in 2021, the Chestatee girls would suddenly have 5 freshmen in their top 6 and win their first race of the season? With such a young team, there could be a lot of improvement throughout the season for the War Eagles, and before anyone knows it they might even be competing for a top 10 spot at state!

Elizabeth Stamey, Roswell (7A) - 20:13 at North GA Champs, 1st in varsity race

I might as well round out the girls' winners with another impressive freshman. Stamey from Roswell did what only Wade could do among this week's winners: win a race individually. Just ahead of teammate Claire Hartigan, Stamey topped a large field that included runners from Brookwood, North Gwinett, and Pace Academy. It will be interesting to see how fast she can go when Roswell inevitably runs against stiffer competition.

Girls Honorable Mention

Smita Carroll, Barrow Arts & Sciences (1A Public) - 22:30 at North GA Champs, 11th in varsity race

Megan Walter, Paideia (1A Private) - 19:37 at Bob Blastow, 2nd in varsity race 2

Alexia Sokolowski, Worth County (2A) - 24:05 at Southland Raider Run, 2nd in varsity race

Midtown girls (5A) - 23:54 team average at APS Meet 1, 1st in varsity race AND 20:58 team average at Bob Blastow, 1st in varsity race 2