2023 GIAA State Championships Meet Preview

AAA Boys

Sprints/Hurdles

The favorite to take both the 100m and 200m is Destin Moore of Brookwood School. A football signee for Virginia Military Institute, Moore is the returning champion from last year's GISA Championship, and he comes into the meet having run strong at his region meet in the 100m and 200m with times of 10.80 and 22.30. Indeed, the three fastest times from all of the region meets in the 100m came from Region 3, with Moore's teammate TJ Thomas(11.09) and Deerfield-Windsor's Chance Bacon(11.10) rounding out the projected top 3. Bacon, an Alabama State track signee, is seeded 2nd in the 200m. In addition to those three, Jake Rogers(Pinewood Christian), Brayden Smith(Tattnall Square), and Harrison Houston(Strong Rock) will look to shake things up in the front in the short sprints. In the 400m, Westfield School's 8th grader Win Hoots has the fastest qualifying time with a quick 51.55. Following that precocious performance are three upper classmen who have broken 53 seconds: Jalen Freeman(Riverside Military), Jacob Leonard(Frederica Academy) and Thomas Ray(Deerfield-Windsor). 

The hurdles should make for an interesting race. In the 110m hurdles, the men with the two fastest times in the GIAA are Deerfield-Windsor's Boles Middleton - last year's GHSA A Private runner-up - and First Presbyterian Day School's newcomer Seth Davis. Both have consistently run under 16 seconds, but have yet to race head-to-head. The top two hurdlers in the 300m are Deerfield-Windsor's Mason Johnson and Middleton, but both ran uncharacteristically slow at their region meet despite finishing 1-2. Behind them, FPD's Davis and Stratford Academy's Nathan Haskell will run for the win.

In the sprint relays, Tattnall Square, Deerfield-Windsor, Strong Rock, and Pinewood all have strong 4x100m relays, and in an event with so little margin for error, each is capable of winning. In the 4x400m relay, Pinewood is the only squad to have broken 340, but Deerfield-Windsor, St. Ann Pacelli, Riveside Military, and Strong Rock will all look to race. The top 5 relays are separated by less than 6 seconds.

Distance

The best distance runner in AAA in the fall was Westminster Schools of Augusta's Adam Lippe, and with his 2:00 800m PR from last season and his fast 4:26 at the FSU Relays in March, he is favored to win those two events. Behind Lippe, Deerfield-Windsor's Garrison Slaughter is entered in all three distance races. He has the next fastest season bests 1600m - a 4:38, also at the FSU Relays - and 800m. Slaughter is also the fastest entrant in the 3200m. Behind those two, Valwood's breakout freshman Ethan Burnette, Westminster's Brooks and Lucas Johnson, Stratford Academy's Zane Harley, and Deerfield-Windsor School's Ethan Newsome - the state runner-up in cross country - should also challenge for points. 

This is the first year the GIAA will contest the 4x800m relay. The top time thus far for the boys is Deerfield-Windsor, who appears to have coasted at their region meet. Behind them, Westminster has a well-rounded team and a dangerous anchor in Lippe. Stratford appears to be on the verge of breaking 9 in spite of the fact that most of their cross country team demurs from running track. Finally, Bulloch Academy from Statesboro put up a surprising time to take the Region 2 title and should find its way into the top 4.

Jumps

The best jumper in the GIAA is Stratford Academy's Keondre Glover. The Kennesaw State signee leads the league in both the high jump and the triple jump and is projected to score in the long jump as well. A number of other athletes will look to challenge him. Bulloch Academy's Ian Ledbetter matched Glover's best jump in the regional round with his own 6-4 leap. In the triple jump, Deerfield-Windsor's Mason Johnson and Pinewood's Kaedan Arnold are both capable of approaching 43 feet on the right day. And in the long jump, Pinewood's Jake Rogers leads all qualifiers with a leap over 22 feet. In the pole vault, Deerfield-Windsor's Reid Martin has the best mark in AAA by over a foot. After him, there is a crowd for silver, as 6 athletes have jumped either 10-6 or 10-0.

Throws

The old GISA has a history of shot putters breaking the 50 foot mark, and Bethlehem Christian's  Nate Campbell is the latest to have done so, surpassing 50 feet twice this season. He will be favored in the shot, but will be pushed by Brookstone' Walter Blanchard - who, having cleared 6 feet in the high jump, thrown the shot 46 feet, and ran 11.30 in the 100m, is likely the best athlete in the meet - and Pinewood's Peyton William. In the discus, Williams has the best mark from the region round, but Arden Bunch from Fulton Science Academy has thrown over 150 feet. If both are on, the discus should make for a fun duel. 

Team

Taking the team title over the course of a three day track meet is no small task. The team that is able to take home top honors will likely have the least go wrong and get the most runners in the Saturday running finals. Based on the region qualifiers, Deerfield-Windsor seems to have a well-rounded team, with their only weakness being the throws. The virtual meet has them scoring 113 points. Pinewood Christian - last year's GISA AAA champion - is built like a classic GISA team: strong in the jumps, throws, and sprints, but none of their projected points are in the distance races. Stratford likely has the best collection of athletes with Glover leading its jumpers and its 4x100m a likely contender. The virtual meet projects 69 points for the Eagles, but with a new coaching staff in place after their successful run the past two years, it's unclear if the new staff can find the right combination of athletes to clear the 100 point threshold.

AAA Girls

Sprints/Hurdles

Mount de Sales comes into the meet with a deep squad of sprinters that are spread out among all three events: Jordan Kelly in the 100m, Katelyn Perazzola in the 100m and 200m, and Jai Dudley in the 200m and 400m. By sharing the workload, they should be able to put points on the board for the Lady Cavaliers. To do so, Kelly will have to beat Strong Rock Christian's Victoria Joy Johnson, who has run a GIAA lead of 12.80 in the 100m. In the 400m, Brookstone's Elizabeth Cowley has broken 57 seconds throughout the season. A final featuring her and Dudley should produce fast times for all.

Another Brookstone athlete appears poised to win both the 100m and 300m hurdles. Trinity Bledsoe has run 16.78 and 48.34 at the region qualifier. She'll be challenged by Pinewood Christian's Becky Edwards and Abi Scott, as well as Sydney Blythe and Sophie Strickland from Bulloch. On paper, the two sprint relays have clear favorites. Mount De Sales has consistently run 49 second in the 4x100m, and as long as they can get the stick around the track, they should win. In the 4x400m, Brookstone's speedy group has run 4:14. Nevertheless, anything can happen at the end of the meet, and George Walton Academy, Pacelli, and Bulloch will look to play spoiler.

Distance

In the AAA cross country championship, the St. Anne Pacelli girls pulled off a dominant win by sweeping the first three spots. They will not be able to replicate that feat on the track as the GIAA only allows two entries per event per team, but Georgy Helmers and Katie Casto are still ranked first and second in both the 800m and the 1600m. They will likely find company up front from a resurgent Kiley Murphy, a former GHSA champion who has returned to form this spring. Sophie and Isabel Liu of Fulton Science Academy and Azalea Snell of Loganville Christian will also factor into the girls' distance races. 

The 4x800m is unclear and could come down to who runs. If Brookstone enters Elizabeth Cowley and Kiley Murphy - both of whom have run under 2:20 - their team could be formidable. Pacelli is equally as talented with three strong legs. First Presbyterian Day School, Loganville Christian, Bulloch Academy, and Deerfield-Windsor are all well-rounded and could push for the front.

Jumps

The best horizontal jumpers are Jordan Kelly of Mount de Sales, Victoria Joy Johnson of Strong Rock Christian, Joi Hubbard of Deerfield-Windsor, an ShaRae Williams of St. Anne Pacelli. Hubbard and Kelly have traded wins in the past year and are favored to go 1-2 in the triple. Williams, Hubbard, and Johnson squaring off in the long jump could produce a number of marks that exceed 17 feet. In the vertical jumps, Catherine Atkinson of George Walton, Abi Scott of Pinewood, and Caroline Baird of Bulloch have all soared over 5 feet and will be favored. In the pole vault, William & Reed Academy's Addison Dempsey has cleared 11 feet and is the clear favorite.

Throws

Emmie Finley of Lakeview Academy, Jaeley MacGregor of Pinewood Christian, and Ashantay Noble of Bulloch lead the girls' shotputters. MacGregor, Destinee Lanham of First Presbyterian Day, and Ashley Hill of George Walton have all thrown over 100 feet in the discus.

Team

It looks to be a four team race for the AAA girls' title. Brookstone leads the virtual meet with 81 points. Their core group of Kiley Murphy, Elizabeth Cowley, and Trinity Bledsoe is capable of putting up big points and having that many athletes capable of bringing 20 or more points home will be difficult to match. Their crosstown rival St. Anne Pacelli is not quite as well-balanced, but with their distance runners and jumpers, they're equally as capable of scoring points in chunks. Mount de Sales is strong in the sprints and jumps, and if they all get solid starts and are clicking on all cylinders, they will be capable of shaking up the leaderboard during the Saturday running finals. Lastly, Bulloch Academy is projected to score 75 points, but they stand out as something of a wild card having not run at an invitational all year. 

AA Boys

Based on the results from the qualifying meets, several athletes are poised to make an impact at the state meet. In the 100-meter dash, junior Aaron Hankerson of Robert Toombs Christian recorded the top qualifying time of 11.05, followed by junior Evan Bennett of Gatewood Schools with a time of 11.21. The 200m should be competitive as well, with Hankerson, Bennett, and Jack Polhill of Trinity Christian School(Dublin) running fast times. Polhill also leads the 400m qualifiers by nearly two second with a time of 50.90

As he has for the past few years, Hayes Trapp of Augusta Prep should be able to impose his will in the distance races. Trapp's personal bests of 4:13.22 in the 1600-meter run and 9:14.39 in the 3200-meter run outpace the rest of the athletes in AA. Behind him, Trinity's duo of Nolan Lane and Jack Miller, as well as Aiden Keen of Highland Christian will look to close the gap 

The matchup between Hankerson and Polhill is not limited to the track, as both are also projected to score in the field events. With marks of 6-2 and 6-1, they are seeded first and second in the high jump. Elsewhere in the field events, Trinity's Hunter Lann(shot and discus), Gatewood's Noah Bennett and Dakota Davis(pole vault), and Jashaun Powell of Robert Toombs Christian Academy(triple jump and long jump) are favored to win.

The team competition appears to be Trinity Christian School's to lose, as their well-balanced squad is poised to score in nearly every event. A well-coached Gatewood team, however, is lurking behind them, as are Robert Toombs Christian Academy and top 4 mainstay Brentwood School.

AA Girls

Based on qualifying results, several athletes are positioned to make an impact at the state meet. In the 100-meter dash, the fastest qualifying time of 13.11 seconds was set by Mehkia Bell of Robert Toombs Christian Academy, while in the 200m Brentwood School's Jacey Clark leads with a 27.34. A duo of Gatewood athletes in Presley Moss and Lanie Nistler lead the 400m. 

In the distance events, the Augusta Prep duo of Aine Trapp and Ruby Dozier look to pace the 3200m, both having cruised in their region meet with times of 13:06. In the 1600m, Trapp, Aubrey Kate Johnson of Heritage Prep, and Abbie Forbus of Central Fellowship Christian Academy will set the pace. In the 800m, four athletes broke 2:40 at the region meets, led by Lois Tanner of Central Fellowship Christian.

In the field events, freshman Peyton Palmer of Edmund Burke Academy cleared a height of 5 feet, 1 inch in the high jump to secure her place as the top qualifier. Meanwhile, senior Sarah Sheffield of Westwood Schools threw a distance of 39 feet in the shot put to claim the top qualifying spot in that event. Fans can expect fierce competition in the long jump, where Madison Hevesy of Gatewood, Emerson Sheppard of Brentwood, and Leila Eastmead of Edmund Burke Academy are separated by only a few inches.

In the team competition, perennial power Brentwood School leads the virtual meet with 124 points. Behind them, Robert Toombs Christian and Gatewood are separated by just 1 point in the meet projections. Edmund Burke Academy, Trinity Christian School, and Augusta Prep are also capable of finding their way into the top 3.