The Wesleyan girls packed it up early
The 2024 GHSA State championships are unfortunately over. But since we just can't get enough of amazing XC races, let's take the week to recap what happened at the meet. Also, don't forget to check out the state meet hub for full coverage of the meet including results, photos, and videos. Or go back to the preview articles to see just how accurate (or inaccurate) the predictions were:
State Meet Hub
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:
Ok. On to the recaps. I know I said that the 5A race had the worst weather, but these kids got brutal weather too. My main takeaway after watching this one was that I've never seen kids so drenched in sweat after a race, at least not after a race in November. It was HUMID out there and they had to fight through that.
1A-3A Private Girls
This race ended up being decided much earlier than I thought it would. But that's not because Lovett ran poorly, they had a good race. But the Wesleyan girls just showed up and took control of this thing. Early on it was obvious there were multiple teams who thought they had a chance to win this thing. But I think if you'd told any of them how strong of a race Wesleyan was going to run, they would have been content to resign themselves to racing for runner up. Any team who puts four runners in the top 10 is going to be very tough to beat. They ran as a unit for much of the first loop and just took control of the race from the very beginning. It was an impressive showing from a strong team who was clearly determined to defend their title against worthy contenders. And Lovett ran a strong race too. They were in the mix the whole way and and actually put their 5th runner in front of Wesleyan's 5th. But overall Wesleyan was just a little too much to handle, and there's no shame in losing to a team who runs a green race. Athens Academy took 3rd as the other juggernaut in this field while Paideia actually surprised a little bit in stepping up and dominating the race for 4th. It's not so much the fact that they took 4th that was surprising, but by how much distance they put between themselves and 5th place. They had their trophy secured by the start of the 3rd mile it seems.
Individually it was no surprise what Maya Davis did in this race. She ran with confidence and took care of business. She got out quick and controlled the race from the gun, with no real challengers even trying to go with her. It was a strong showing from one of the more talented runners in the state who is off to the postseason where I'm sure she'll chase something more. The next group of runners formed a pack for most of the way and it was full of Wesleyan runners. In the end, Weezie Moore was just a little too strong for Mary Parrish Green as Moore held on for 2nd and Green took 3rd. Eva Murphy showed some real senior leadership and some guts to fight hard for her team and take 4th while Lauren Thomas was able to hold off Margaret Moore for 5th as Moore took 6th. Round out the podium were Ruby Gordon in 7th, Cora Fannin in 8th, Sisi Elkinson in 9th, and Kyra Brubaker in 10th.
1A-3A Private Boys
This boys race was probably the race of the weekend. It was just too teams throwing punches at each other the whole way and fighting tooth and nail to the very end. I loved every minute of watching this thing and was genuinely surprised when I saw the final outcome. Early on it was obvious that both Lovett and Whitefield Academy knew they were going head to head in this thing. They found each other early and were clearly racing each other the whole way. you could just tell that every single Lovett runner was focused more on beating their Whitefield counterpart the whole race and vice versa. We saw so much back and forth it was crazy. When they came by at the halfway, it looked like Whitefield might run away with this thing as they had 3 with Lovett's 1-2 and their 4-5 were with Lovett's 3-4. It was looking really good for them with 1000 to go as well because even though Lovett had two up, Whitefield was ahead at 3-4-5. But it's not a 4k race, it's a 5k race, and the last kilometer counts. And Lovett was the stronger team for that final k. Honestly, looking at the video and the pictures, I think it's entirely possible that Lovett didn't take the lead until the last 200m of that race, which is wild. I'm so glad this race turned out to be just as exciting as I thought it would be. It was highly entertaining, so kudos to these two great teams. Thanks for putting on a show for the crowd. Wesleyan was able to take 3rd as expected with a very strong 2-3-4 and Paideia was able to show they had the talent and experience on this stage to take the final podium spot.
Individually this one came with a lot of twists and turns. On the one hand you have to feel for Wood Moore who was clearly not himself coming off an injury. But on the other hand you have to admire the guts he had to just go out there and go for it anyway. He took the early lead and had a gap at the mile. He was determined to win this thing even if he wasn't 100%. You gotta admire it from a senior. But it only took about half of the race for the pack to catch and pass him. And then as they headed out n the second loop Anderson Mathias decided to take his shot at the win as he passed Moore and opened up a gap on the field as well. In the end Moore would fade to 16th and the pack caught Mathias shortly after the 2 mile and he would fade to 8th. But the race for the win was on and this is when Haris Flynn decided it was his turn to take his shot. He opened up a small gap early in the 3rd mile and never looked back. The pack kept the race close enough that Flynn wasn't;t able to cruise, but the results was never really in doubt over the final kilometer. Flynn looked strong and knew that he probably had the best kick in the field too as he looked to be holding back just a touch in case he had to use it. Instead he got to enjoy his first cross country title to go with his track title. In 2nd pace though I have to tip my cap to Hall Wildman. I would hate for such a phenomenal race and season to not get recognized with the accolades he deserves. He was just a man on a mission in that final mile and looked strong and determined. What a race from a kid that quietly put together and elite season. Riley Hugues had a monster last 400 coming off separation slope and was able to end up kicking his way to 3rd place while William Porter did enough to hold on to 4th after another great race to give Lovett the early advantage in the team race. Landon Jonas was probably overlooked a little bit and must have used that as motivation as he powered his way into the top 5, finishing off his season in 5th place. the rest of the podium included Javier Silva in 6th, Bo Mitchell in 7th, Gavin Quinn in 9th and really important team points from Chase Elsas in 10th.