Atlanta Track Club Honors XC Runners At All Metro Banquet


McGarity & Latham Named Powerade All-Metro Runners of the Year

Harrison Junior, Marist Sophomore Win Top Honors at Atlanta Track Club's Annual Banquet

ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 17, 2022 - A junior from Harrison High School and a Marist School sophomore were named Runners of the Year at the Powerade All-Metro Cross Country awards Thursday evening. Samantha McGarity of Harrison, the GHSA 7A state champion and Tommy Latham, the GHSA 6A state champion received the year's top honors among the 42 high school runners named to the first, second and third teams at the annual banquet.

McGarity turned in a dominant performance at the state meet in Carrollton earlier this month where she won by 40 seconds and posted the fastest time of any girls' runner across the state's nine classifications. McGarity, whose award was announced via video by 2021 NCAA Cross Country Champion Whittni Orton, also won her regional title as well as the Cobb County Championship this season. 

"My coach prepares us really well. We train a lot for hills," said McGarity of her back to back titles at the Carrollton state meet course. "I'm really lucky to be in an area of Georgia that has hills that are available to us."

McGarity's state meet race was also named the 2022 Performance of the Year. It was one of five performances posted on 11Alive.com and open to a public vote. 

Also named to the girls' first team were Palmer Walstad (Westminster), Hannah Schemmel (St. Pius X), Ruby Little (Marist), Maddie Jones (Marietta)Carmel Yonas (South Forsyth) and Claire Shelton (Dunwoody).

Latham, the boys runner of the year, also capped off his year with a thrilling performance at the state meet where he was the only underclassman in the top 5, winning by 24 seconds. Latham also won the regional title this year and his second place finishing time of 14:56.81 at the Coach Wood Invitational last month was the second fastest time by any Georgia runner in 2022. His award was announced via video by 2021 NCAA Cross Country Champion Conner Mantz on Thursday night.

"The most important thing about Marist team culture is there is a group of 30 of us. It's not just seven or five, whatever it takes to get a team on the results," said Latham. "We all know what it means to have success and if any one of us has success it's a celebration."

The six other boys named to the first team were Joe Sapone (Holy Innocents' Episcopal School), Alex Arrambide (East Forsyth), Taylor Wade (Whitefield Academy), Diego Santiago (Chattahoochee Hills), Jared Fortenberry (Marietta) and Dru Moore (Etowah). 

Full first, second and third team lists are below. First teams are ranked as a traditional cross country team by performance while the second and third teams are ranked alphabetically.

Held annually since 1964, the Powerade All-Metro Cross Country and Track & Field banquets are Atlanta Track Club's longest standing tradition. Athletes are selected by their performance at the state meet, season overview and performances in major meets against other All-Metro contenders. This year's group of 21 boys and 21 girls includes runners from 26 different schools and eight counties. It also boasts eight runners who won state titles at the GHSA State Championship Meet. 

Girls 1st Team

Samantha McGarity

Harrison High School

11

Palmer Walstad

Westminster School

12

Hannah Schemmel

St. Pius X

12

Ruby Little

Marist School

11

Maddie Jones

Marietta High School

10

Carmel Yonas

South Forsyth High School

12

Claire Shelton

Dunwoody High School

12


Boys 1st Team

Tommy Latham

Marist School

10

Joe Sapone

Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

12

Alex Arrambide

East Forsyth High School

12

Taylor Wade

Whitefield Academy

12

Diego Santiago

Chattahoochee High School

12

Jared Fortenberry

Marietta High School

12

Dru Moore

Etowah High School

12

 

Girls 2nd Team

Shari Brown

Landmark Christian School

10

Bella Cammarota

Lambert High School

12

Katelynn Dollar

Creekview High School

11

Caroline Hood

Pace Academy

11

Gabriella Malerba

Decatur High School

12

Mary Nesmith

Marietta High School

9

London Ray

Blessed Trinity High School

10

 

Boys 2nd Team

Andrew Balogh

Etowah High School

12

Gabriel Best

Whitewater High School

12

Cory Chambers

Milton High School

12

Will Jennings

Carrollton High School

12

Luke Kalarickal

Mill Creek High School

12

Sumner Kirsch

North Atlanta High School

12

Jake Westing

Decatur High School

12

 

Girls 3rd Team

Zahara Bernal

Pace Academy

10

Lottie Chappell

North Springs High School

12

Grace Danser

Maynard H. Jackson High School

9

Isabelle Gaharan

Lambert High School

12

Nora Hart

Marietta High School

11

Clara Heppner

Johnson Ferry Christian Academy

12

Kristal McQueen

Marietta High School

12

 

Boys 3rd Team

William Carlton

Decatur High School

12

Esfan Daya

Westminster School

11

Diego Fernandes

West Forsyth High School

11

Jackson Hogsed

Lambert High School

10

Joseph Jacquot

Westminster School

11

Marc Petrucci

Collins Hill High School

12

Truman Thompson

North Atlanta High School

12


##

 

About Atlanta Track Club  

Atlanta Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates, inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

With more than 30,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org) - the largest 10K running event in the world, the Publix Atlanta Marathon, PNC Atlanta 10 Miler and Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through Atlanta Track Club's All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.