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. 3A had some interesting storylines this year.

3A Boys 

This team race ended up being just as close as I thought it would be, but I got the final outcome reversed in my prediction. It turns out that Oconee County had the experience necessary from their previous two state titles to take the team title here. This win wasn't quite as flashy as previous wins have been, but winning is winning. And they did it over a strong opponent in North Hall who was also hungry for a title. Nothing was perfect for Oconee on the day as I'm sure some individuals wanted to finish 1-2 places higher. But winning a state title doesn't require perfection. Carrollton is the great equalizer, and things are never perfect for any team on that course. Even if you have a kid with a breakthrough, it is often offset by another kid who had an off day. That appears to be the story of this race for both teams. And their runners were around each other early and often in this race. But at the end of the day Oconee was just a little too strong at the 2nd man position for North Hall to take them. It was a solid performance from both teams and a situation where they raced hard all the way to the line and one team ended up winning. Jefferson wasn't too far behind, but never really seemed like they were in it for the win. It was a strong race for them as well, they just couldn't quite hang with the top two teams. But it was a big breakthrough for Lumpkin Co. this season and was able to come away with a trophy for their efforts this season. They were led by their stud individuals who ran great races. But it takes 5 to win a trophy and Lumpkin got this trophy with a true team effort.

Individually this one gave us exactly what we came for. It was a heavyweight battle between some elite runners. And I have to hand it to Bryant Young because I didn't think he'd be able to hang, but he absolutely proved me wrong and ran a fantastic race. But ultimately I thought this race was going to come down to Wyatt Windham and Aaron Brodrick. Young proved me wrong by making this a 3 person race. I was a little surprised when it was a bit pack early and when we still had a pack of four at the halfway. I kind of thought somebody would get going a little earlier in this one, but they definitely all were running a smart race. Even with 1k to go it was still a 3 person race. But ultimately Windham proved to be a little too strong from Brodrick and Young as he pulled away in that final kilometer. When he came up Separation slope the last time he looked fully in control and he only continued to open up his lead over the final 400m as Brodrick and Young both faded slightly. But again, all 3 race great races and you love it when a race turns out to be as entertaining as it's supposed to be. Brock Brush was with the pack of 3 at the halfway, but I think he paid the price a little bit for flying too close to the sun. Instead Witt Windham sat back and ran a more patient race and ended up passing him in that last mile to take 4th while Brush held on for 5th. Also landing on the podium were CJ Jeffords in 6th, Jonah Ferguson in 7th, Demetrius Clavino in 8th, Jared Wade in 9th, and Sam Edwards in 10th. 

3A Girls 

Here's the thing about winning a state title. It's not easy to do. Especially when you've never done it before. The North Hall girls looked the part all season long. But I spoke with their coach after the race, and he knows all too well how things can go wrong at Carrollton. And you still have to run the race, you don't get any trophies until after the race is over and the results are in. And you know what? A healthy amount of fear is also a good thing in this sport. And what happened to North Hall's top runner is exactly why you should have a little bit of fear, as she struggled to make it to the finish line despite having what looked like an insurmountable lead. Nothing ever goes perfect at state, and you never know who will be affected the most by the hills, weather, or something else. State isn't perfect. but fortunately for North Hall, the rest of their team was nearly perfect. They finished the race 1-2 and still would have won even if those two didn't finish the race. This team was talented up front and deep, and were not going to be denied. The final 3 trophy spots came down to just a few places. Dawson County showed up and ran well as they usually do at state to take runner up while Oconee County continued to show their consistency in 3rd. The final trophy went to White County who held on enough to make sure they landed on the podium. 

The end of THIS VIDEO is worth watching. I can't tell you how many times I've seen something like this happen at state. It's devastating to see every time, but it's what can happen on this course. You usually see it from a few runners somewhere in the middle of the race. That final hill is just so hard after you're already exhausted from all of the other hills, among everything else that comes with racing a state championship. It's both what makes this course amazing and also what makes it brutal. But when it happens to the top runner in the field, it's much easier to notice. So with all of that said, Clodagh O'Bryant you are amazing. The sheer will power it takes to not only get up after falling, but to get across that finish line when you have literally no energy left is something to be admired. All season you've proven your abilities in races, but in this race you proved your toughness. Fortunately Clodagh had enough of a lead that she was able to hold on for the win. But that's always challenging to watch when it happens to anybody. Hats off to Clodagh. Her teammate Summer Muxlow must have been panicked when she started coming down the hill and wasn't sure if her teammate would finish. And Summer ran a great race to take runner up and do her part, as did Harleigh Smith who took 5th. Evie Robison and Julie Black did exactly what they knew they could do as this was the only race all weekend where my top 5 predictions were accurate. Rounding out the podium were Aydriana Jackson in 6th, Hayden Hand in 7th, Keli George in 8th, Hannah Schroeder in 9th, and Emmery Strickland in 10th.