5,164 total athletes entered. That's how big this meet has gotten. That's crazy. Kudos to anybody who can manage that many kids. The Alexander/Asics Invitational is by far the biggest meet in Georgia this year and this might be the biggest it's ever been. Before we get into the preview, check out these links for entries, the history of this meet, and the live results:
Entries | Top 500 Historic Times | Live Results
So let's take a look at what's in store here for this meet. Like I said this is the biggest invitational in the state in terms of entries. And it's also become one of the most competitive in the state too. There are several teams who have decided to make this their out of state trip to come and race in Georgia, much like Georgia athletes who travel for other big out of state meets in the surrounding area. Note - For these previews I ran the virtual meets based on the PR's from the entries, and keep in mind that the races are divided into multiple varsity races, so those two things will skew things a little bit.
Boys Team
I could not be more excited about this boys team race. For the first time this year we are going to see West Forsyth square off against Denmark. These are two of the top 3 teams in class 6A and I could definitely see either of them winning a state title in 5 weeks. But what's really fun about this particular matchup is that we will get to see the classic battle of front runners versus a deep pack. West Forsyth has maybe the most ridiculous 1-7 split I've ever seen for an elite team. And they're 1-12 split of only 68 seconds is probably the best this state has ever seen. Some teams just hope to have a 1-5 split that small! Crazy. But. The knock against them is that they don't have a front runner. And it's really hard to win a state title in the largest classification without somebody in the top 10. Denmark on the other hand has a front runner with Ethan Bridge. He could put 40+ points on West Forsyth all by himself. And that could be enough to win the meet for them. So I love that this battle features two teams with two different styles. It's kind of a 6A state preview for them, but on steroids because the rest of this meet is absolutely loaded. Looking to spoil the 6A party will be Pace Academy. They also have a very strong 1-5 split when they're at their best. And in a race like this where it's borderline impossible to know what place you're in, being able to find your teammates could be the real difference maker. Don't count them out here as they could come away with a trophy or even 1st place on Saturday. Clarke Central on the other hand is more like Denmark with the front runners in a 3 headed monster led by James Daniel who could contend for the individual win. But they need to find a 5th. And in a field like this, their 5th man could score so many points that it won't matter what their top four do. Don't count them out as it's far more likely to see a 5th man make a big jump than a 1st man, but I think a deep field like this will make it hard for them to win. Those are the big Georgia contenders. There are some out of state teams who could come away with the win, but I think it's most likely a Georgia team will win. If not it will probably be Chiles, Cleveland, or Christ school. Predicting any top ten is basically impossible, but other Georgia teams who could sneak into a top 5 spot with a big day include Mill Creek, Blessed Trinity, and Whitefield Academy.
Boys Individual
Individually we've got ourselves a barn burner. We have 3 boys in this race who have already broken 15:00 and the top 10 entries are all sub 15:25. This is the race of the weekend in the southeast, folks. And this boys field is just as strong as any other race. I think Jackson Hogsed is the favorite here. But he's by no means a lock. He's had a stellar season and he seems like he's dialed in. I expect him to run a smart race and have a nice finish. He won't try to to gap the field early or anything, he will pick his spot. I predict he makes his bid at about 1k to go in this race, as I'm sure he's a big avengers fan and will be motivated by the sight of the Tony Stark cabin. But really, I do expect him to sit back early and make a long push from farther out and still save something for that final kick. Just my two cents. Challenging him will be Wyatt Windham and Mason Haynes who are both also sub 15 runners. I have no idea how Haynes likes to race, but I expect Windham likes to control a race. And I could see him setting a fast pace early. And that might be enough to make the others hurt too much to try to stay with him. We will see. But I think there will still be a pack together at two miles, and if there is, then I think Hogsed will come away with the win. But the wild card in this race is Owen Clemons. He must have been hurt during the cross country season last year, but this kid was a stud as a sophomore. If he's back into top form, he could be your champion on Saturday. Malachi Burnett is another kid who has had a big season so far and will be looking to stay undefeated. He seems to be measuring himself well and running what he needs to run in order to have the best season possible. He aced his first test at Ortho, so let's see how he does in his second big meet. And finally we have Jameson Pifer. This guy has been a star in the making for a while now. He's been here before as a youngster and he's ready to show he's a little older and a little wiser. I know he will be with the leaders immediately and could try to make a move of his own. He's also got a very strong kick. Don't be surprised to see him take somebody else's race strategy and improve on it. You just never know what will happen with a field like this. Really any of these six could come away with the win tomorrow. And your prediction is as good as mine, but I'll take Hogsed on this one.
Other contenders who should not be overlooked for top spots are James Daniel, Ben Winn, Michael Haskin, Davis Drake, Walker Elrod, and Wood Moore.
Girls Team
Ok. Let's get this out of the way. An out of state school will probably take the win here. And they might sweep the podium too. Lexington looks like a strong favorite here. And Buchholz, Bishop Kenny, and Pensacola Christian are all good enough to bring home trophies. But this is a Georgia site so we're going to focus on those teams. And I absolutely love how wide open this thing is on the Georgia girls side of things. In a race this deep, anything can happen. Sure Walton and West Forsyth are the favorites in terms of Georgia teams. Both have front runners and a strong pack. But they are by no means guarantees here. All it takes is one bad race from one of their scorers and they drop from 5th to 15th. Or all it takes is one big race from somebody else's 4th or 5th and they'll move up fro 8th to 4th. I make no predictions here. And you know what the best thing about our sport is? I don't have to. This meet is just about running fast and racing good teams. There is no team strategy. It's just...GO. Let's sort it out later. Northview and Decatur are similar to Walton and West Forsyth so don't be surprised to see either of them as the top Georgia team. And let's not count out Wesleyan, Pace Academy, St. Pius X, and Blessed Trinity. Some of those teams are showing improvement as the season goes on and could easily be the top Georgia squad. Like I said, this thing is wide open.
Girls Individual
Individually this thing is round 3 of Zahara Bernal versus Averi Lowen. In the previous two matchups you saw Lowen take it out hard and Bernal sit back and bide her time and make a move late. Most likely that is what will happen again. But who knows, maybe Lowen will just sit on Bernal this time. Both girls are likely to win state titles this fall and are heavy favorites in their own classification. But the back and forth battles they've had so far make it pretty exciting. Expect another good one tomorrow. Annie Miller is the other sub 18 girl in the field so I think she will find a way to make her presence known. After that you have soooooooo many girls who have been under 19:00 already. Some of them will be looking for their first sub 18 while others will be trying to get back under 19. And many others will be eying sub 19 for the first time. Trying to predict the rest of this race is an impossible task. But some other top Georgia girls include Elise Wooddell, London Ray, Audrey Hotard, Effie Ward, Evelyn Schlitz, Julia Betton, Olivia Resnick, and Liliana Beemer.