Or you can go check out some of our other coverage like the most Improved Athletes from State or vote on the best performance from the state meet:

Most Improved Boys | Most Improved Girls

Boys Best Performance Vote | Girls Best Performance Vote

Ok. On to the recaps. The 5A races got the worst weather of the weekend, I think. It was HOT for these races.

5A Girls 

The Pope girls looked invincible all season long and that's exactly how they looked during this race. the only thing I was wondering the second half of this race was if Pope was going to beat the rest of 5A if they ran as a team. Not quite as that scored would have been 25-33 in favor of the rest of 5A. But still, that's closer than anybody else and much closer than teams usually come to beating a field. And they went 1-2 while putting four runners in the top 10, both tough accomplishments, especially against a strong field. These girls deserve more praise than I'm going to give them here because we just don't have the space for it. They looked calm and in control not only this whole race, but this whole season. They were well coached and the word that comes to mind when I think about their season overall is poised. And you can tell the girls have fun together too. They sat back a little early but never questioned that they would be ok. they moved up very smoothly and never panicked while just running as a unit. From top to bottom it was a great race and they took care of business, hopefully with bigger fish to fry next weekend. The race for 2nd place was anybody's guess but it should come as no surprise to those of us who have been around for a while that McIntosh got the job done. McIntosh is one of those programs that you can always count on at state. They're quietly good every single year, so it was no surprise when they took runner up. They probably made their coaches sweat it out a little more than normal as they only beat out Decatur by 3 points, but they got the job done in the end with a solid 1-4 pack and a 5th that held on just enough. Decatur is also not a surprise as they've had experience on the podium the last couple of years. Their top runner had a tough day, unfortunately, but they still had enough experience and depth to bring hoe a trophy. And the final podium spot was a tight race between Johns Creek, Roswell, and Gainesville. And when it's that close, it just comes down to whoever has the better day. John's Creek had a strong 5th runner which proved to be the difference as they took home the last trophy. 

The individual race kind of mirrored the team race. Josie Hutchinson claimed her first state title by running calmly with the pack and then just slowly pulling away in the end. I genuinely went into this race thinking it would be a wild one with lots of surprises. I did think Hutchinson was a slight favorite, but I felt like it was close enough that anything could happen. Instead she just slowly took care of business and it ended up being a pretty tame finish. She looked so smooth in her win that you would be forgiven for thinking nobody had a chance at beating her. Sometimes you're just on and there's nothing anybody else can do about it. I wasn't a huge shock she won considering she's run well at state every time she races, but I really expected more fireworks from this one. Instead everybody just kind of fell in line once she made her move. the biggest surprise probably came from her teammate. No offense to Aislynn Dunn as I did pick her for top 5, but I was not expecting runner up from her. And she looked so good doing it, it must have been all of those practices with Hutchinson that gave her the confidence to run right behind her in the race. It was a big start for the Pope girls. Elise Wooddell continued in 3rd with her consistent season and ran about the race you'd expect from her. Alexis Wingenbach capped off her most improved season with a strong 4th place finish and Elizabeth Stamey ran the best race of her season at the right time to take the 5th place spot. Rounding out the top 10 were Talley Pendleton in 6th, Ella Williams in 7th, Kate Rytlewski in 8th, Louise Delgado in 9th, and Emily McDonald in 10th. 

5A Boys 

I overheard the most heartbreaking thing about half an hour or an hour after this race. I just happened to walk by as the Clarke Central boys were cooling down. There were 5 of them and I heard one of them say "3 years in a row...it just hurts." Sports are often described as an activity that has the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. And I could hear the agony in his voice as he said it. To the Clarke Central team, I know that coming up just short of the win for 3 straight years is painful, but don't let it distract from all you've accomplished. You shocked me in 2022 with your runner up finish when you almost scored a huge upset and you impressed me both last year and this year with your races throughout the year and at state. Keep your heads up fellas, you did a great job. Sometimes things just don't work out your way. And one can assume that a loss to a Milton team that had their best race of the year is nothing to be ashamed of. this was a great race and I know the final score doesn't do it justice. It was intense watching this thing live. And it was much closer for the bulk of the race. Both teams got out quick and looked dead even early on. At the halfway point it was definitely too close to call. But Milton's top two runners seemed to be outperforming their projections on the 2nd loop while their 4-5th runners moved well enough to have their best race of the season. It ultimately ended up being too much for Clarke Central who ran a strong race from four of their runners. Unfortunately something happened to one of their top 3 as it looked like their 2nd best runner didn't finish the race. It wouldn't have been enough in the end, but it would have been closer. And I can't help but wonder if something happened to him that first loop as I did see a Clarke Central runner go down on separation slope. Either way, you hate to see it as this race was one I had circled as one of the stories of the meet. Instead Milton looked great and took control that final mile and never looked back. Hats off to both teams on this one though, you definitely kept my interest. Pope ended up taking 3rd after sitting back early on. They ran their own race and looked strong doing it. It was a mild upset that shows that experience can make a difference. And the final podium spot went to an underrated Veterans squad who didn't do anything flashy but just did all of the right things all race to secure a trophy for themselves. Any of the top 6-7 teams could have wound up on the podium, so it was interesting to watch the dust all settle when it was over. And while I'm thinking about it this feels like a good time to mention the Perfect Timing had maybe their best state meet ever. I thought the results were delivered quickly and accurately with only a couple of minor exceptions which were corrected very quickly. 

Individually we kind of knew who was going to win this one as Malachi Burnett took the lead immediately and never had any doubt that he would be victorious here. But he had to do it the hard way. I think this race went out faster than any other race last weekend. Burnett torched that first mile and it dragged people out much faster than they probably wanted to go. I believe I counted over 25 guys who were under 5:00 at the mile. And then you saw the carnage ensue as only 11 of them ended up breaking 17:00. Even Burnett was clearly hurting that final mile from both the heat and the fast early pace. And he had a strong pack behind him too. There were 3-4 guys you felt all had a shot at runner up in this one, but in the end it was Jackson Hunter who emerged as the last man standing, a truly impressive race from a sophomore who might be on his way to being the next star in this state. Alex Loffredio also ran well and looked like a seasoned veteran out there taking 3rd place in a deep field while James Daniel went for it early and faded a little bit late. He clearly was motivated to do his best, but you could see the pain on his face. He still held on to 4th in a strong performance overall. And rounding out the top 5 was Dermot Maloney who did well by sitting back early and moving up well through the field. He had a job to do for his team and he did it well. Rounding out the podium were Waylon Vaughn in 6th, Justin Sevel and Everett Lawder in 7th and 8th for Milton, Mitchell Westlund in 9th, and Samuel Segrist in 10th.