Aug 28, 2026

The first big invitational of the year is here. The Bob Blastow Invitational is kind of the unofficial kickoff to our season in some ways. It kind of fits into the same category that the old Clara Bowl meet used to fit into. While not everybody chooses to go, as the meet does fill up quickly, the vibes we get from this meet definitely signal that XC season is here.

I'm no foolish enough to think I can make any real predictions for a meet this big and this early in the season. There are countless kids who will be missing for a variety of reasons, so that alone makes the team prediction useless. I will say that anybody who goes home with a team trophy from this meet should be considered a contender in their classification, but I have no way of knowing everybody who will be at full strength.

Individuals are slightly easier to preview so that's where I'll put my focus. This will still come with all of the caveats above, but I this still at least has a little bit of a clearer picture in terms of what might happen. Especially on the girls side, because Averi Lowen is entered. And at this point if she's entered, there's a least a decent chance she is racing. And if she is racing, she is the clear favorite. Lowen is without question the best girl distance runner in Georgia history. But she also might be the best overall distance runner in state history. Georgia has insanely talented sprinters, so saying she's the best of any type of runner is a little bit much, but she's up there. That's just how good she is. I don't know if she will be going for it all out, but that is typically her way of racing. So I'd expect something pretty fast here. But it's still August and I assume she will be saving her peak for December. Either way, I'd be surprised if she doesn't go sub 17, and that's always just a special type of performance to watch. Behind Lowen I'd expect Aislynn Dunn to be the favorite. But I could see her challenged by Ella Alberici, Morgan, Huggins, and Olivia Martin. There are several other big names in the field so I expect it to be a very crowded top 10.

On the boys side things are much more open and I don't think there is a true favorite. Levi Howard does have the fastest PR, so we have to give him his due. He will almost certainly be with the leaders. But if I were to put my money somewhere, I would think it would come down to a final sprint with one of the Lakeside or Carrollton runners. Both teams have 2-3 guys who could contend here with Khoi Nguyen, Isaac Moore, and Cillian Moore being legit threats for Lakeside. And Carrollton will have Camp Jennings, Drew Woznicki, and Stephen Woznicki up front. Will Chambers and Vincent Ramsey are definitely threats for the win as well, and that just shows you how big this lead pack is likely to be tomorrow. Pope has a couple of guys who will throw their names in the hat as well with Rowen Maloney and Jay Throckmorton battling for top 10 or top 5 spots. So we will see what happens when the dust settles, but it's going to be an exciting race no matter what.