Alyssa Weaver

Check out the top 1000 girls historic performances from the big meet this weekend

Check out the top 500 boys and girls historic performances from the Pickens Preview

Check out the top all time Georgia performances from the Brooks XC South Regional

Check out the top historic performances from the various big out of state courses

Alyssa Weaver of Pickens High School signed her NLI to run Cross Country and Track with Texas Tech University this morning.  Alyssa finished 7th in the 2011 AAA XC State Championship and 2nd in the 2012 AAAA XC State Championships.  She also finished 8th in the 3200 in the AAA Track State Championship in 2012.

The Marist girls are undoubtedly the best team in the state of Georgia. They displayed their depth at Region, as their 6-12 girls 'perfect scored' the field thru the top 7 places!  However, the ladies from Heritage-Catoosa have done their best to close the gap this past 3 weeks, and if they come within 15-20 points of the War Eagles, Heritage-Catoosa should be in the top 5 'End of Season' All Class Rankings. Its going to a free for all for the next 5-6 team places. Morgan Ilse of Marist should run away unchallenged from the field with a flock of teamates behind her in the top 10.

This Saturday, the course known as Boling Park in Canton, GA or aka “that fast 3-looper” will play host to many of the top cross country programs in the state. Speed will be of essence as the top teams and individual runners from the metro Atlanta area take on the historic course adjacent to the Etowah River & Cherokee HS.

This week's All Class ROWs are Jenna Gearing from White County with the top female performance of the week in the 1A-4A Girls race at Berry.  Kevin Mills of Peachtree Ridge garnered top honors on the Boys side winning the 5A-6A Boys race also at Berry.  Woodward was announced the Boys All-Class #1 slot without having ran this past weekend and the Peachtree Ridge Girls top the chart after their performance at Berry. Congrats to all the deserving teams and individuals.  

The Berry College Clara Bowl Invite was again a great event highlighted by the hotly contested, super competitive 'Big Boys' race..Coming into the race there was a lot of hype on the boys side, with Mill Creek and St. Pius X rematch from the Stage Races, and Peachtree Ridge who did not run last week. Berry was the coming out party for not only the boys of The Ridge, but also the highly anticipated girls’ team. Peachtree Ridge and Mill Creek took to the front of the race early to establish themselves and avoid the traffic. The oppressive heat and humidity began to take its toll in the 1A-4A races and throughout the JV races (pics by S.Weaver)

The Clara Bowl gets its name from the field where the race starts and finishes. For years this race has been one of the biggest meets to kick off the season. Teams do many different things before the Clara Bowl weekend, but usually most teams have raced their full squad all out by the end of this racing weekend, and many of them choose to do this at Berry. The meet was moved up a week earlier this year, likely because of the school having their first ever football game the following weekend, so it will be interesting to see if teams show up the same way they have in the past. Either way, we all know that this is a going to be a big field. Sometimes the younger and less experienced runners can get lost in the pack and add big points to their team score. And for this reason the first 200 meters of the race is usually a mad dash to get a good position....

Class AAAA Scouting Report Marist's Boys, barring injury will repeat as 4A Champs. It will be interesting to watch how they will stack up against the Mill Creek's and St.Pius and other top caliber teams during the season at meets like Great American and Coach Wood, but the goal for the War Eagles every year is to peak at State, and dominate....Marist's Girls are just as dominant as their counterparts and have won 13 state titles in 17 seasons. They had a much closer call at State as Heritage-Catoosa (a relatively new school) was clearly em good competition and could again. Pickens County, Grady (yes, Grady), Alexander, Carrollton, Veterans, River Ridge and Columbus should all be competitive for a Podium run.    

Will this weekend be a repeat of Boys State in AAAA, where the balance of Marist overcomes the strengths of other teams? Morgan Ilse is the favorite in the 16 and 32. Her teammates Kamryn Brinson (throws) Catie Faust (800m) Kate Northrup (1600/800), Bailey Weiland (HJ) and their 4x400m relay team should garner enough points to put them in great position to win the team title and sweep 4A for the War Eagles. Carrollton, Fayette, Redan, Rutland and Shaw bring a stable full of athletes as well. Of this group, defending State Champ Redan, Rutland and Shaw seem to be the most equipped to join Marist on the Podium. However, no state meet preview is complete without mentioning Monroe-Albany. Never count them out...While their superstar has graduated, they bring a lot of talent and state meet experience to their home track with a raocous crowd urging them on.  

What an outstanding day for Georgia Harriers as Josh Brickell roared around McAlpine Park in 14:49 placing 2nd in the Boys Seeded race and Brad Hort earned his first trip to San Diego placing 6th cracking sub 15: as 2 of the best pure athletes in all of Georgia will make the trip to Foot Locker Nationals. It was a Great day for TEAM GEORGIA as the boys "team" won, scoring 67 points defeating mighty Virginia and the girls were 2nd scoring 78 points, Georgia's best showing in years...This TEAM GEORGIA thing has really improved our post season results in that when it started we had few kids run and now we are WINNING the meet! .Also of note is a strong showing from the up and coming 13/14 year olds. The ATC and Team Georgia committee are to be comended for their choices and need to take a bow as well! Pictured are the 5 Top Boys Medalists from Georgia.

CONGRATULATIONS Georgia on another outstanding year of Cross Country.  For the 10th year in a row the Atlanta Track Club has continued its generosity with youth athletics and has agreed to sponsor TEAM GEORGIA by outfitting the top 15 boys and 15 girls who will run at the Footlocker South XC meet. The Footlocker South Regional will take place in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, 11/24 and is the precursor to the National XC Championships.   

Regional Records (via footlockercc.com)

One had to be there to appreciate all of these races as they unfolded on a beautiful Fall Day in NW Georgia. The conditions for racing were best before noon, but that mean little addition to the State Course, now to be known infamously as 'Separation Slope' uuugh...took its toll on the weaker runners and the strong thrived on its presence extending leads that could not be challenged.  Wesleyan's and Brookwood's Girls seized upon opportunity and cashed in with State titles. Josh Brickell once again displayed he is 'The Man' in Georgia HS Cross Country choosing this year just to stone everyone early and cruise.  This article will expand Sunday and Monday with full photo galleries and a "Winners Gallery" from Pinion Photography. Pictured is Brickell as he cruised on in to the 6A Title. Image by Pinion Photography  'Separation Slope' will be revered and cursed by many.....

This season, the course at Carrollton has ran slower, and may have been lengthened a few meters which should favor the 'strength' runners. At press-time, it has been discussed that mats may possibly be covering the many pavement crossings which has been a sore subject for XC purists as the growth of Carollton Schools has stirred the pot enough for a few schools willing to loan the mats they have to cover the pavement. This article will include 2A thru 6A State Previews only. The weather for raceday looks very promising at this time and bodes well for fast times  http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail3/USGA0096  6A...we have been saving the Best for Last, and here it is from Ga.MileSplit.com,  thanks to Pre1962 as expounds his unique and detailed breakdown for the Community....Ga.MileSplit.com and GATFXC would like to thank all the Rankers and Runner of the Week Committee members for the tough, time consuming efforts put forth this season to rank each class along with  contributing  articles and selections. This often is a thankless endeavor, as the Community is eager to differ on selections. We care about the kids, programs, coaches, fans and parents who support the programs and athletes. Good Luck to everyone in Carrollton and once again congrats to the Class A Winners, Podium teams, All-State individuals and volunteers that made it happen!

        Great Weekend of Cross Country headlined by The Clara Bowl at Berry, Covered Bridge Run, Mountain Eagle Invite and1st Annual Panther XC Invite. Berry is a monster of a meet with over 80 schools and 2036 runners entered and provides a good checkmark for teams early in the season. After a light Labor Day weekend of racing almost all of the ranked programs in each class will be battling it out in these 4 meets. Weather for this Saturday currently is forecasted to be a bit cooler with highs in the Mid 80's, Lows around 60, 10mph SSW winds and a 50% chance of scattered T-Storms. Hopefully many of you can get some great photos to post on the site at each venue.....  

   Annie Kelly of Milton is 'Runner of the Week' for 6A.    Image by Pinion Photography Every Week a Committee of Top Coaches will Determine a 'ROW' for each Class. 1A will be combined.

2012 Pre-Season Rankings and Class Briefs. Broken down by Class by the Ga.MileSplit.com Rankings Commitee. This season we will also make an effort to Rank GISA depending on the results submitted.

Girls Power Rankings by Class  A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA.....