Girls Team
After this week's Region Meets I still believe this is anyone's race and whoever is feeling great on Saturday and "has it" will emerge as the State Champions. The State meet can also be a numbers game when you look at a specific region meet don't believe the same outcome when you have individuals from other regions who are top 25 who will muddy the waters and wreak havoc on teams that do not have tight packs of runners. 7AAA will bring 4 strong teams to the line and Flowery Branch and Creekview were only separated by 3 points in Gainesville and both had nice pack running. The Lady Falcons 5th runner actually sealed the deal when she finished 4 positions ahead of Creekviews's 5th. The Lady Lions from St. Pius will be right in the mix and have a formidable trio leading them in Kathleen LaPorte, Devon Dabney and Taylor Glenn to put them in a good position early and their depth will be a factor. Woodward Academy has really came on strong in October and could have what it takes to win it all, especially after a very impressive 4-AAA showing. There are several teams that are equally matched with a top 4 finish in their sights including Lambert who was ranked #1 only 2 weeks ago, John's Creek who placed 2nd in 5AAA, Heritage-Catoosa whose region performance is a mystery thus far and a recharged North Hall squad who brought it at region.
Girls Individual Race
The battle for the Individual title should be no less exciting and a strong lead pack of contenders should keep our attention. Bret McDaniel of Riverwood has owned AAA since Emily Reese graduated and will be looking to repeat as champion. John's Creek's Allie Buchalski has improved throughout the season and finished only about :06 behind McDaniel in the 5AAA meet. Allie Schaich has led Lambert in their inaugural season of competition and did defeat Bret at Reebok Coach Wood by :23 so she has to be considered as a threat to win on Saturday. Kiara Woods of Flowery Branch finished :18 behind Schaich in 7AAA and has ran very well on the Carrollton course. Oconee's Anne Center is an experienced competitor and should be right in the mix also. Other top Ladies to watch are Stephanie Shipley of Heritage-Catoosa, LaPorte of St.Pius, Cori Dulmage of Creekview and Brittany Akins of Jackson County.
Boys Team
With the departure of Westminster to AA, this class has been owned by 7AAA's Flowery Branch and North Hall. This region has become a hotbed for Georgia XC. Is it the water they are drinking? The nice variety of terrain to workout on? Or, that these schools have great coaching and inspired athletes....Nonetheless, North Hall's "Freight Train of Pain 2" came back with a vengeance at Region and rather easily defeated Flowery Branch. The question arises however, were the Falcons actually saving their best for Carrollton? I foresee a closer race come Saturday although I have been known to err in my observations. The race within a race will be for the 3rd and 4th Podium positions and there are several teams capable of ascending the pinnacle of AAA. Dunwoody's depth at the 3-5 spots was the margin of victory over St. Pius in 5AAA and this can serve them even better at Carrollton. St. Pius is also very capable of rising up and supplanting Dunwoody and it could be as simple of "who's got it" in that 18 plus minute period....Woodward Academy ran a smart race in 4AAA overcoming higher ranked Eagle's Landing. It remains to be seen if the Golden Eagles will learn from a mistake and run to their full potential and grab a Podium spot. Other squads looking to contend for glory will be Creekview, Riverwood, Lambert and Oconee County.
Boys Individual
Charlie Sparks has ran well all season and barring injury seems to be the favorite going into Saturday. Another factor to consider if you checked out the 2-AAA results is he didn't have to run very hard and may have alot in reserve. Sparks though, has not ran head to head against North Hall's Ty McCormack this season and this could make for a very interesting race as McCormack seems to thrive on challenges. Woodward Academy's Nathan Vassey has competed against both these guys icluding twice against Sparks and he could make this work in his favor. 3200.meter champ Cody Barger can't be discounted as he runs well on the "Big Stage" and will be motivated to help propel the Trojans to another team title. Other top runners to watch out for are Trevor Grant of Lambert, Brendan Hoban of St. Pius, Zack Sims of Eagle's Landing, David Farist of Flowery Branch and Andrew Ely of Oconee County.