Oct 03, 2025

The Alexander/Asics Invitational is the big meet in Georgia this weekend. And it's probably the biggest meet in the country this weekend. Heck, it's one of the biggest meets in the country all season. Truthfully I don't know how Coach Sorrells does it. And to give credit to his predecessor, I don't know how Coach Robinson did it before that. There are 5,532 total athletes entered in this meet. That's so many for one cross country meet. My hats off to the meet organizers on this one. You have something special, at an awesome venue I might add, where so many kids just line up and RACE each other on a fast course.

This is frequently one of the faster courses in the state, and if the weather is good one it's one of the faster courses in the nation. There have been a variety of courses over the years that have varied slightly in difficulty, but I find the biggest factor in how big the PR's are is the weather. And this year, the weather looks GREAT for Asics. It should be a big PR day for so many kids if they show up with the right mindset. Check out how fast this meet historically runs:

Top 500 Historic Asics Performances

So...how do you do a preview for a meet like this? Like I said before Wingfoot, when things are this dense doing a team preview is near impossible. I mean, seriously, looking at the middle of the championship field, there are over 20 teams all within 15s of each other on the boys side and over 15 teams within 30s of each other on the girls side. And with there being enough variations in courses leading into this meet, those orders could easily be flipped around significantly. Not to mention it's an SAT weekend so you just don't know who will be at full strength and who won't be. And when you've got a situation where you've got potentially over 100 kids separated by less than a minute in the 3-4-5 scorers range of the field, literally anything can happen. So does the team race even matter? Yes, absolutely. You can gain serious momentum with a good performance here. And while a poor performance doesn't sink anybody's ship, it's not nearly as preferable as the alternative. It's just very tough to predict. There's always a favorite who has a bad day and tumbles down the standings and always an underdog who has an unexpected day and shoots up the standings. Like I said, it's kind of a college style cross country race, which is cool, but makes it wildly unpredictable. I think that the Pope girls and Huntsville boys will win, but I'm definitely not putting any money on it. There's no sure thing in a field like this, so if you really want to dive deep into the team situation, feel free to check out the virtual meet, just keep in mind that some teams listed are only running a JV squad and others are in the red or black race.

Asics Virtual Meet

Fortunately individuals are a little easier to figure out. Not necessarily the exact order, and we've definitely seen some top individuals struggle in a field like this before, but the virtual meet usually gives us a good idea of the contenders coming in. On the boys side I really can't wait to see what happens here as we've got potentially 4 of the 5 best runners in the state facing off. You gotta peg Malachi Burnett as a slight favorite here, but I think Lucas Johnson will give him a heck of a race, not to mention a few out of state runners who will almost certainly be with the lead pack. I also expect Jameson Pifer to be fighting for the win, and if he's in shape right now, he might be the best runner in the field. Usually this race is determined in the 3rd mile and whoever comes out of the woods first will get the win. It's tough to close a gap going up that final hill before the kick. But if they're together coming out of the woods, all bets are off. Cameron Collier and Eric Robinson will also challenge for a top 5 spot, and on the right day could challenge for the win as well. Others who could find themselves with the leaders on the right day include Riley Comstock, James Daniel, Witt Windham, and Jacob Jacquot. I'm sure there are few others who are in the top 25 of the virtual meet that feel slighted here, but the reality is that there's just so much talent in this field that it's impossible to mention everybody. This thing should be a barn burner and I can't wait to see what happens.

On the girls side, I heard a rumor that Averi Lowen is saving herself for the post season. So I'm not sure whether she will line up and race or not. But if she does race, keep an eye on the clock. It would not shock me to see her under the 16:00 barrier. She's been on a tear lately and with the right weather, could get very close. I would be surprised if anybody went with her, and while there's a contingent of out of state girls who show potential, it's likely none of them can challenge Bowen. But I'm much more interested in the race after that. Josie Hutchinson, Aislynn Dunn, and Ella Alberici already had a fantastic duel on a tough course at Milton, so now it'll be fun to see what they do on a fast course here. Throw in Effie Ward, Paige Comstock, Harriet Blaha, and Liliana Beemer and we've got a great race on our hands among girls who are all looking to get a leg up on the competition in pursuit of a state title. After that...who knows. We will see who feels the best on the day.