Can Will Gipson win his first state title?
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:
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The 2A races are interesting because so many of these schools are racing without having to worry about private schools for the first time. So I'm definitely curious to see how that changes the dynamic of everything.
Boys Individual
The boys individual race has a lot of questions surrounding it and honestly might be kind of wide open here. I could give you a good reason to crown about 4-5 different boys, depending on how you look at it. The top seed is Hayden Hodges, but he hasn't always performed the best against his fellow competitors. The actual favorite might be Will Gipson, but he just got beat last week by Nate Harris. I'm guessing the winner will be one of these 3, but I don't know for sure. Evan Osias can certainly make a case as being capable of pulling off the win while Aven Cameron and Warren Trawick have both looked good lately. And finally you have Sawyer McGinnis who has the experience of running well at state meets over the years. It could be any of these guys who get the win this weekend.
GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Gipson
2. Harris
3. Hodges
4. McGinnis
5. Osias
Boys Team
I see this one as a two team race. And between the two teams they have a combined 1 state title, the one East Jackson won in 2016. So no matter what I think we will see some excited kids when the dust settles. But I actually think that Crisp County is the slight favorite in this one. Call it a hunch, but they seem like they might just be a little bit better, and are almost certain hungrier to win the first one ever. It should come down to the 3rd mile so let's just wait until hen and sort this one out. Behind them are four teams whoa re all capable of landing on the podium. Some have been there before and others haven't. But it should come down to Columbus, Kipp, Rockmart, and Savannah Arts.
GA Milesplit Prediction
1. Crisp County
2. East Jackson
3. Kipp
4. Savannah Arts
Girls Individual
I think we've got an obvious favorite here in freshman Olivia Diquattro. She's run faster than anybody and has performed well in big meets all season long. She checks all of the boxes of a favorite. The only potential problem is that she's running in her first ever state meet. And I know coaches like to pretend like it's just another meet, but it's not. It carries weight, from seniors to freshman, and those nerves can get to the best of them. So it wouldn't be a total shock if someone could challenge her for the win. The two most obvious candidates to knock her off are Frances Tedder and Lola Hunter, who both come from programs that historically run well at Carrollton. But you've also got runners like Leah Nyce and Gabby Ware who have the experience to pull something like this off.
GA MileSplit Prediction
1. Diquattro
2. Ware
3. Tedder
4. Nyce
5. Hunter
Girls Team
The girls team battle is going to be a good one between Savannah Arts and Columbus. Here are two schools that have experience on this stage getting wins, but who also haven't always been able to pull through against the private schools. Here's their chance to take home another win. I expect the top 15 to be full of runners from these two schools, so anything can happen in that situation. Coin flip this one, that's how close I expect it to be. Rounding out the podium are probably Union County and East Jackson with Coahulla Creek taking a shot at one of the trophies.
Ga MileSplit prediction
1. Savannah Arts
2. Columbus
3. Union County
4. East Jackson