Girls Team
Returning 1600m Metric: 1st
Returning 5000m Metric: 1st
You know what's nice? Like, REALLY nice? When you return your entire top 5 from your State Championship team. Yeah... that's what Marietta has done. The 2x defending champs are back and loaded as ever and are the on-paper favorites to repeat. The 3-headed monster of Maddie Jones, Kristal McQueen, and Nora Hart will lead this charge and have plenty of company on their squad to back them up in Gabi Comsudes, Colette DePasquale, and Brooklyn McVicker. There is a bit of a drop off after their 6th, but it still gives "one to spare" barring an issue in their top 5. This disciplined team will be hungry to not only repeat but threepeat.
1600m Metric: 3rd
5000m Metric: 2nd
Really? Harrison returns their entire top 5, too? Yup - they do. The runners-up last year only lost to Marietta by 9 points and will try to even the score in 2022. Defending individual champion Samantha McGarity isn't just one of the best runners in GA but in the southeast, so look for her to continue stamping her legacy as an "all-timer" for Harrison. Ellary Hackworth, Kate Curtis, and Lidia Longo provide quite a bit of depth for the Hoyas and also had strong Track seasons. Everyone knows what these ladies are trying to accomplish, and it would come down to another fun duel at State.
1600m Metric: 2nd
5000m Metric: 3rd
As mentioned earlier with Coach Gambrell, Hillgrove will have a new look at the helm this year, but these ladies will look to insert themselves into the conversation and make this a true 3 team race (just like it was last year). They had 2 top 10 runners in Reese Terza and Gabriela Osornio, and both return. Actually, Hillgrove only loses 1 scorer from last year's 3rd place squad, so they come back loaded, too. Meghan Flanagan and Yolanda Brooks both had strong track seasons and will easily support Terza and Osornio at the top. With multiple options to fill in at 5, on paper, it's a 3 team race, and we could see the exact same top 3 teams in November. Literally 14 of the 15 scorers among these 3 teams from last year are back; how cool is that?
1600m Metric: 4th
5000m Metric: 6th
Walton is another school with a pretty strong tradition that had a little hiccup recently; however, they are poised to make a run at the podium, and while the top 3 may be too far away, this 4th place spot appears open for grabs. Daniela Delgado, Ava Ryan, and Ella Bailey will lead this charge. Delgado's 5:09 in Track features as 5th best among returners, and Bailey and Ryan will offer plenty of support, especially Ryan who was Walton's #2 last year at State and the 4th fastest freshman at that event.
1600m Metric: 6th
5000m Metric: 5th
Lambert was only 12 points off the podium last year, and they return a pretty impressive top 3 in Isabelle Gaharan, Amanda Feeney, and Bella Cammarota - all of whom finished in the top 25 at Carrollton last year and were all within 6 seconds of each other. Cammarota has emerged as the stud among the 3 though, showing that perhaps she has more to give this year at State XC. I see her as a top 10 individual threat. Depth could be an issue for the Longhorns though barring a couple freshmen coming in that I don't know about though; based on PR, their #6 returner on paper is only 21:45. Some development and a "freshman lottery" winning ticket though could fix this problem.
1600m Metric: 5th
5000m Metric: 8th
Very similar to their male counterparts, the ladies were a team who, last year, appeared to be just a year away from being a true threat. This year, while they have the unfortunate draw of what appears to be a fairly deep 7A field, they still return a ton of talent from last year and should absolutely be considered a top 4 threat. The duo of Macy Felton and Allie Wardle will headline this crew, and it should be noted that Brookwood's 5000m metric isn't reflective of the massive jump Felton made during her off season. If that same Felton shows up on the XC course, she's an easy top 10 threat which gives them 2 as Wardle was 6th as a sophomore and would like nothing more than to get in there. Look for Trinity Thurman and Jillian Rovie for support as we all know that you need more than 2.
1600m Metric: 7th
5000m Metric: 7th
Milton ran a monster race at State last year to grab the final podium spot. Only 27 points separated 4th from 9th last year in a wild podium chase, and Milton was the team who prevailed. This was largely thanks to a lifetime-best performance by Farrah Frith who took 4th individually. She kept the momentum going into Track, posting a 5:08 mile which is 4th best among returners. Ella Grace Malcom and Calista Cacciatore give this squad a pretty strong 1-2-3 punch, but they will need to find some help at 4 and 5 as no other returners have broken 6:00 for the mile nor 21:00 for the 5K entering this season.
1600m Metric: 8th
5000m Metric: 9th
Norcross's Kyra Andrews will lead the way for the Blue Devils, returning after a strong 8th place individual finish at State. She will be supported by Kylie Dommert, Emily Rodriguez, and Alexa Foster. It remains unclear how high up Norcross can go as their on-paper talent isn't quite to the overall level of those above them, but this is a well-coached team, and intangibles like Andrews's leadership ability could give this team an edge. Watch for them to be a bit of a dark horse.
1600m Metric: 11th
5000m Metric: 10th
Newcomer to 7A Carrollton enters with a top 10 opportunity on their home course. The trio of Jaylyn Rooks, MaryPayton Rogers, and Emily Whipple will be relied heavily upon to help the Trojans get the job done. In a pretty deep year for 7A, they may have a little bit of difficulty in moving up this list without some help from freshmen and a huge summer from the returners, but they should still be taken seriously and will be a mainstay among the upper echelon of GA's largest class.
1600m Metric: 13th
5000m Metric: 4th
The Yonas sisters are back again, and returning State runner-up Carmel enters her senior year trying to lead an SF charge that does lack depth but offers potentially the best 1-2 punch (alongside Isabel) in all of 7A. They appear far stronger at the 5000m vs. the 1600m, possibly due to faster courses than the majority of the rest of the field, but they're still a team that should be taken seriously as you just can't ignore having 2 low sticks. Caroline Turner and Janisha Patil will need to offer big helping hands to ensure SF can be in the top 10; after that, it's just a question of how close the 3-5 scorers can be to SF. Last year, 27th place and 63rd place were separated by only a minute, so getting scorers on the upper end of that mass will assist not only South Forsyth but anyone with similar issues in the field.
Girls Individual
Only 2 of the top 10 and 5 of the top 23 at State XC last year graduated, so we could see many familiar faces on the podium this year. I'm not sure anyone can hang with Samantha McGarity (Harrison) this year as she won State by over 40 seconds last year and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. She routed the field, so it could be a race for 2nd provided she's healthy. Carmel Yonas (South Forsyth) ran an excellent race last year and seems to excel on hillier courses, so she could definitely prove to be a problem for anyone. It should be noted that she was the 2020 State Champion, so she knows what it's like to win. Farrah Frith of Milton was the big surprise last year; can she follow up with more magic this year? Isabel Yonas (South Forsyth) was 6th last year and was followed closely by Reese Terza (Hillgrove), Kyra Andrews (Norcross), Kristal McQueen (Marietta), Gabriela Osornio (Hillgrove), Maddie Jones (Marietta), and Haley Primm (Parkview) - ALL of whom were sub-20:00 at State last year. You have to assume they're all going to be factors again this year, too. If Track is any indication, be on the lookout for Walton's Daniela Delgado, Lambert's Bella Cammarota, and Cherokee's Lexi Pavese whose season ended in September last year but nearly broke 5:00 for the 1600m in the Spring.
Always fun to dig through the numbers leading into each season! I'll see everyone out there.