Well here we are. It's finally state week! Don't forget to check out the state meet hub as it gets updated with results merges, rankings, meet previews, live results and full coverage of the 2024 GHSA state Cross Country Championships:

State Meet Hub

The 1A Division 1 classification will be run without private schools this year, which makes for some interesting storylines for sure. For years this race was a public versus private battle in this classification and we saw some epic races and plenty of surprises. But now we start a new era and it'll be interesting to see what new stories come out the other end.

Boys Individual

Whenever you have a defending individual state champion, they get to be the headliner. I had the privilege of meeting Caleb Darsey last year after I predicted his (minor) upset win. He was a very nice young man and ran a great race. And I would expect nothing less from a kid out of this program, one that has produced quite a bit of talented runners, especially in recent years. So he comes in as the favorite having run the fastest time of the year. But last year he was able to catch people a little more off guard, as I was kind of taking a chance on him. This year he's got the target on his back, and that changes the equation for sure. He will get all of the attention, and it takes a different kind of race to win it that way. We will see if he's up to the task. Ben Owens is likely his biggest competitor. And Owens hasn't done anything super flashy, but he's been consistent as usual this year and always shows up and runs well at state. If this turns into a two person game of cat and mouse between him and Darsey, don't be surprised to see Owens pull off the win. After these two I think this thing could be wide open and I don't really have a good pulse on exactly who is best positioned to get top 3. But, it doesn't matter what my prediction is anyway, that's why we actually run the race. Rush Hatcher, Sam Lindley, Alexander Tunnel, Logan Camp, Juan Luna, and Drake Ballard all have reason to believe they can crack the top 3. 

GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Darsey
2. Owens
3. Lindley
4. Camp
5. Hatcher

Boys Team

So I feel good about predicting Bleckley County to win at least 3 state titles this weekend. But this 4th one, the boys team title, I'm not as sure. There's certainly reason to believe they can win it. But I'm not ready to crown them quite yet. Armuchee pulled off a phenomenal win against much harder odds a couple of years ago, so I feel like they could do the same again this year. They're well coached and always show up ready to go at state. But so is Bleckley. I just think this is going to be a great battle from top to bottom between two evenly matched teams. Both teams have potential front runners and are strong enough at 4-5. This one is too early to call, so they say. Behind these two juggernauts are some teams who are maybe not used to battling for trophies as the private schools often blocked them. Bremen and Vidalia appear to be the next two capable teams, but don't count out Jasper County or Jeff Davis.

GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Armuchee
2. Bleckley
3. Bremen
4. Jeff Davis

Girls Individual

Well I think it's safe to say that Ella Gibbs is yet again the favorite to win this race. Her biggest competition comes from her own team as Lily Farrell is a darn good runner in her own right. I'm sure she benefits from getting to train behind Gibbs in practice every day, but she's very good. They'll likely go 1-2 in this race and can pretty much run it however they want. But we have some other girls who deserve recognition as well because they've put together some good seasons too. Lindsey Holloway has had to play 2nd fiddle to some really talented runners in her time, but she's a great runner in her own right. Ansley Moore has also put up some impressive times on both the cross country course and the track. Also competing for a top spot is Hannah Erickson, Gemma Baskin, Ellen Arnold, and Georgia Meredith. 

GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Gibbs
2. Farrell
3. Holloway
4. Moore
5. Arnold

Girls Team

The Girls team race is pretty much locked up for the win. Bleckley should run away with this thing. But the drama behind them should be fun to watch as you've got several teams all pretty close to each other. Bremen, Fannin County, and Jeff Davis are all very, very close. And they could finish in any order, it just depends on who has the better day when it counts. What's really exciting is that they all match up fairly well too. Their 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's are all close enough to each other in the race that they can be on the lookout for one another. They better check to make sure nobody got new singlets for state, because they'll definitely want to fund each other during the race. It will be a good one.

GA MileSplit Predictions
1. Bleckley
2. Fannin County
3. Bremen
4. Jeff Davis