Shelby Green Reminded everybody she's still here with her two wins at the state track meet last spring. Photo by Marc Logan
Girls Individual
Well there's no shying away from what is probably the biggest splash in Georgia High School running in a very long time: the long awaited GHSA debut of Ella Gibbs. Gibbs shocked everyone when she ran 10:42 as a 7th grader at the middle school state meet and then followed it up with a 5:09 the very next day. Surely this is the biggest distance talent we've ever seen and she would take the whole state by storm right? Well, maybe. But let's not put all of that pressure on her just yet. What has impressed me the most about Ms. Gibbs is that she just goes out and does her thing and doesn't care about what others have to say. That's the kind of attitude that could make her great one day. She owns the fastest 5K PR of any returners in 1A-I and also has the fastest 3200 and 1600 PR's. Her most impressive moment last XC season came when she stepped up and raced the high school kids on the track for a 3200 at Hillgrove and beat at least 4 state champions in the process. But that also might highlight her one weakness. Her track performances have always been better than her XC performances. Maybe that's because she hasn't been as challenged on the XC course, we will find out this fall. But we can't hand her the title yet as there are at least 3 other girls who will have something to say about it.
Marissa Kimple appears to be the most likely candidate to be able to hold off the youngster. Her PR is actually the same as Gibbs' but on a different course. She also just knows how to win. She won two titles last year and was runner up in the 1600 as well. Her sophomore year was a very big jump for her and now that she's tasted success I'm sure she won't let it go too easily. Sophia Cook on the other hand is a much more low key threat, but the Floyd County Rival of Kimple will definitely be in the mix. She was in 2A last year so her results are a little more under the radar with no titles to her name, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have the fast times to back up her attempt to get a win this year. She was 4th at state last year and the only runner in 1A-I who has rune under 20:00 at Carrollton. She was only a few spots back from Kimple at RunningLane and then ran a 5:16 this spring to show she can hang with the big girls. And last, but certainly not least, is Shelby Green. She won state in 2020 in a very solid 20:01 at Carrollton and then followed it up with a 19:01 at RunningLane. She had some setbacks after that but came roaring back this spring with her state titles in the 800 and the 1600 running times of 2:24 and 5:11. She's going to be in the mix for sure.
Bleckley County girls looked poised to return to their winning ways. They won four straight titles from 2016-2019 before coming up a little short in 3rd place these last two years. It's still a very impressive 6 year run that proves they are more than capable of putting it all together. Having a stud in Gibbs coming up to join Crosby near the front of the race will definitely make them tough to beat up front. But they also appear to have the best depth as well. That's all of the pieces necessary to make a run at the top and their coach is more than capable of guiding them on that path.
Whitefield Academy is probably the team in the best position to challenge if they can find a little more or if Bleckley stumbles at all. They've got a solid front runner of their own in Gordon and they can almost match Bleckley in depth. If they put together a big offseason and find themselves as one of the most improved teams in the state, they'll have a shot. Paideia and Armuchee are two other teams to watch out for in the podium push. Paideia might have their best team ever. They've got some talent up front and in the middle. So if they find a little more depth this offseason and close the gap at 4 and/or 5 they can be dangerous. Armuchee has been here before and should be ready for the challenge. They've got a fantastic 1-2 punch and a very strong 3rd runner. Where they're hurting is at 4-5 for now. But with Green and Kimple paving the way and serving as motivation, all they really need is two more runners to step up or come out for the team and they'll be a huge threat. You only need 5 and they're over halfway there.
Shelby Green Reminded everybody she's still here with her two wins at the state track meet last spring. Photo by Marc Logan