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Last year's 3A state champions on the boys and girls side return, and they have both been competing very well all year. On the boys side, you have Oconee County who is looking to repeat and build a dynasty. As for the girls, Wesleyan has established themselves as a dynasty. They are looking to win four in a row and their ninth state championship in school history. WOW! Now, while these teams have been leading the way in 3A all season, they still have their fair share of competition.

Boys Individual

He was the epitome of "freshman phenom." He arguably had the best cross country season of any Georgia freshman in history. He now returns as a "sophomore sensation" and has been showing the state why he is the real deal. Of course I am talking about Mr. Aaron Brodrick of Oconee County. Brodrick had some major wins this season. His victories at the OrthoWest Invitational and the Warpath Invitational showed that he is one of the best runners in the state. His OrthoWest victory was a tremendous showing as he showed that he can handle the state course with ease. Brodrick ran a very quick time of 15:43.59 on the challenging Carrollton course, and had enough energy left to leap across the finish line in celebration. Oh, and he is also the defending state champion, which he won as a freshman. While Brodrick has had himself quite the season, his teammate Cooper Timberman has also been on the rise. In their last two races, Timberman has led Brodrick. He had an excellent showing at the Coach Wood Invitational where he earned a third place finish and ran his personal best. It is especially interesting that Timberman has been running so well on the grass because in track he is more of a speed based middle distance runner with specialties in the 800 and 1600. His personal best in the 5K is now only a few seconds off of Brodrick's best. 

It is going to be interesting to watch these two push each other; however, they are going to have some other names joining them. The main two to watch out for are Wyatt Windham of Lumpkin County and Wood Moore of Wesleyan. Windham is the 3A leader with a time of 15:27.46 from the ASICS Invitational. He has been racing well since early August, and the long season does not seem to be deterring him too much. He has even gotten a few wins along the way. Most recently though, he got second at his region meet to Wesleyan's Moore. The Wesleyan athlete has also been competing since August and has shown steady improvement. His most impressive performances so far include a 15:33.40 personal best at North Carolina's Great American Invitational and a top ten showing at the Coach Wood Invitational. Another name to keep an eye on is Tucker Henderson of Lafayette High School. He has mostly run in low-key races where he has either gotten first or second; however, he does have a 15:50.02 personal best from ASICS and a region win. Some other names who are looking to be in podium contention include Patterson Graham, Will Gispon, Landon Jonas, Sam Edwards, Braydon Lane, Ben Sherrill, and Luke Moody. 

GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Timberman
2. Brodrick
3. Moore
4. Windham
5. Henderson

Boys Team

Oconee County's "Warrior Nation" is looking to be the kings of 3A once again. This team went into last year's state championship with complete confidence and swagger. They had one of the enthusiastic fan bases of the weekend and even had their own videographer named Spencer documenting all of the festivities. The team has been looking fantastic and it helps having one of the best 1-2 combos in the state. OC also benefits from having a legit third man as well, Patterson Graham, who is currently ranked the 6th fastest boy in 3A. Their fourth and fifth men are also ranked in the top twenty. If everyone races well, this race is a lock for the Warriors.

"We want to get out to Carrollton, and make the other teams really have to work if they want to beat us," Brodrick said. "We want to try to stay in control and focused so that the race plays out how we want, and also not do anything stupid that could cost us the race." 

A team that is not going out without a fight though is Lumpkin Co. They are based out of Dahlonega, the home of Georgia's famous gold rush, and they are looking to strike gold this Saturday. They are currently ranked second in the virtual meet and have four athletes in the top fifteen. They have a strong team and most recently, they were top five at the Pickens & Grinnin' Invitational and got a win at their region meet. Who was only one point off of them at their region meet though? Wesleyan. The Wolves were almost EXACTLY evenly matched with Lumpkin County. Ultimately, Wesleyan's fifth man was only two seconds off of Lumpkin County's fifth man. Expect another close battle between these two region rivals as they try their best to catch the Warriors. Bremen High School is also in the hunt. They won their region meet with ease and put five boys in the top ten. They are very close to Carrollton so they definitely have a travel advantage. Other teams to watch out for are Dawson County, Hebron Christian, and Hart County. 

GA MileSplit Prediction:
1. Oconee
2. Wesleyan
3. Lumpkin
4. Bremen

Girls Individual 

I seriously have no idea who is going to be winning the girls 3A individual state title. This is really anyone's race, and last year's 3A race was an absolute nail biter that saw Nealeigh Broadwell as the victor. Broadwell has graduated though so we are inevitably going to see a new champion. 

Hayden Hand is currently the fastest girl going into this classification's state championship. The sophomore has a personal best of 19:23.60 which she set this year at the Wingfoot Invitational. This was in the Varsity Girls A race where she placed an impressive 6th. Besides that, she also ran an impressive 19:35.50 at the Warpath Invitational where she was top five amongst a talented group. She most recently finished 10th though at her region meet in what looks to have been a "tempo" effort. In front of her was an entire contingent of Wesleyan athletes who are either vying for the win or podium finishes this Saturday. Wesleyan's current leader is freshman, Weezie Moore. She has made some major improvements throughout the season. She opened her season with a 21:25.90 and was the sixth woman for her team that day. Now, she has a personal best of 19:40.43 which ranks her third in 3A. This was from the prestigious Coach Wood Invitational where she almost got a top thirty finish. She finished first at her region meet. Wesleyan does return two podium finishers from last year's meet. Eva Murphy (4th last year) and Ansley Voss (5th last year) are going to be in the hunt for a title with Moore. Abigail Glover, Kyra Brubacker, and Ali Di Lenardo are among other Wolves to watch out for, and all are ranked in top ten in the virtual meet. Columbus High School duo, Alyna Gilbert and Layla Albright, are expected to be in the front pack as well. They are currently ranked 2nd and 5th individually. Columbus had two finishers who earned podium finishes last year. They clearly know what it takes to race well at Carrollton. Let's not forget Gabriella Hoover who recently set a 19:45.50 personal best at her region meet. This time puts her at 4th in the rankings. Other names to keep an eye on are Haley Heard (6th last year), Kolbi McBrayer, Layla Melton, Emma Windham, Anne McSweeney, and Ellen Patterson. 

Ga MileSplit Prediction:
1. Hand
2. Moore
3. Murphy
4. Glover
5. Heard

Girls Team

More than likely, it is going to be the "Wesleyan Show" at the state meet. This is all about dynasty runs for them, and the Lady Wolves have been on a tear! At Coach Wood, they earned a top five finish and most recently put seven (Yes, all seven) girls in the top ten at their region meet. One of Wesleyan's major strengths is their pack running. They have had impressive 1-5 splits of 16 seconds at Great American and 59 seconds at both Coach Wood and their region meet. Their 1-5 split off of season best is 25.37 seconds. That is a legit wolfpack if you ask me. Watch out for "The Pack" at the state meet as there are more than likely going to be a few girls who earn podium finishes. 

Next closest team is Columbus High School. They returned some key talent from last year where they finished 4th in 3A. They are looking to improve upon that result, and are ranked second in the virtual meet. After them, three through five is extremely with only five points of separation between Oconee County, Dawson County, and Mary Persons. All of these teams have front runners who are going to try to score as low as possible. It is going to be a dramatic event to see the fight for who earns podium finishes. Other teams to look out for are Pickens County and Bremen High School.