Averi Lowen Places 6th at Nationals, Ties Top GA Finish Ever

This weekend, Averi Lowen from Bowdon made history. She placed 6th at the Nike Cross Nationals Meet. This ties her as the highest finisher in Georgia history at nationals, but her time is the fastest ever achieved by a Georgia girl at nationals. Perhaps even more impressively, she was able to compose herself after getting accidentally tripped up about 1 kilometer into the race. She was leading at the time and lost several precious seconds when she had to get back up and start running again. But as anybody who has taken a fall in a race before knows, it takes more out of you in terms of mental and emotional energy than just the time you lose. And it takes a very composed runner to rebound from something like that. 

Lowen will conclude her season at the Brooks National Championship, becoming the first Georgia runner to ever compete at both Nike and Brooks. She is already arguably the best runner in state history, but she could certainly make an even stronger case if she were to place higher than 6th.

For reference, here is how Georgia girls have done at both national meets historically: