During the previous newsletter, I mentioned that there would likely be several season best times as well as numerous PRs and the War Eagles did not disappoint! The conditions were very favorable (finally) on the flat and fast course at Boling Park. Plus, the months and months of training was apparent as 31 runners ran their fastest race of the season and of those, 19 ran PRs. Make sure to scroll to the bottom as I have listed the new season best times, new PRs, and the overall improvement if an athlete had a new season best or PR. Overall, there is a lot to be proud of but the state championship is what a team like South has been training for since last May and both the boys and the girls teams have a legitimate shot of standing on the podium. In other words, there is still hard work ahead.

Area 3 Region 4 and 5 7A Championships

JV Girls

In my humble opinion, this is the strongest 7A region in the state so competition, from varsity to open, is sure to be tough. Our JV girls started off the day’s races and conditions were quite favorable as the rain was not yet falling. As the pack came off the line and worked back into the trees, Ashley Hunt positioned herself among the leaders and she held this position as the runners exited the trees and completed the first lap. Katelyn McLean was the next War Eagle and she was followed by Paige Sobczak, Emily Barnes, Isabelle Cadeau, Ansley Rogers, Phoebe Vaughn, Janeesha Patil and Pragna Veeravelli. After completing the gravel loop and returning to the trees, there was some movement in the field by the time the runners reached the 1.25 mile mark.  Ashley and Katelyn maintained their positions but Paige was starting to move up as were Janeesha and Pragna. At the two mile mark, the runners exited the trees and started their last lap and Ashley was still looking strong. Katelyn was still running number two on the team and Paige was number three about ten meters behind. Emily was number four while Janeesha, Isabelle, Pragna, and Phoebe were running in a pack with a few other runners. The runners entered the trees for the last time and Ashley was still the lead War Eagle but Paige was now running number two on the team.  Katelyn was number three on the team and was followed by Emily, Janeesha, Pragna, Isabelle, Phoebe, and Ansley. Finally, the runners exited the trees for the last time and entered the chutes to close out the race. Ashley turned in a fourth place finish with a 20:48. Paige’s steady improvement throughout the race was good for 7th overall with a 20:53. Katelyn was 18th (21:14) and was followed by Emily in 36th (22:07), Pragna in 44th (22:05), Janisha in 46th (22:27), Phoebe in 54th (22:54), Isabelle in 58th (23:03) and Ansley in 68th (24:01). Lambert captured both the individual and the team crown for this race.  Isabelle Garahan was the first runner to cross the line at 20:20 while the Longhorns scored 45 points. West Forsyth was second (52) followed by Walton (95), South (104), and Roswell (105).

JV Boys

Next up were the JV Boys and conditions were ideal for running.  The gun sounded and the runners moved over the grassy infield and onto the crushed gravel path. The pack was fairly intact as the runners disappeared into the trees. As the first runners emerged from the trees (about three quarters of a mile into the race), Colin McClelland was out in front and was being closely pursued by Evan Castellano of West Forsyth. A group of about 10 runners, including Pujith Veeravelli, Dylan Brennan, and Ryan Vaughn was about 5 meters behind. The runners continued on past the tents and as they headed into the back loop, Colin still was running in a smaller lead pack which had now grown to three as Evan Shadoff of Lambert had joined. Pujith was running fourth and Dylan was fifth at the head of a much larger group of runners. Ryan, Aadi Jai, and Patrick Kuckucka were running in 12th, 13th, and 14th respectively. The runners completed the back loop and at the two mile mark, Colin was running stride for stride with Castellano and they were about 10 meters in front of thinning pack of about 10 runners. Pujith was battling for third overall at this point with several West Forsyth Wolverines and Lambert Longhorns and Dylan was in 9th. The runners flew past the tents and headed back into the trees for the last three quarters of a mile.  At this point, it was apparent that the winner would likely be Colin or Castellano as they were starting to increase their lead over the rest of the field. Pujith was about 15 meters behind the leaders and was in sixth place. As the leaders approached the chutes, Colin had obviously started his kick as he opened up a 7 to 8 meter lead over Castellano. Nick White from Lambert had moved into contention and all three runners raced towards the finish. Colin maintained his lead until the very last step of the race where Castellano passed him to win with a time of 17:05.01 while Colin clocked in at second with a  17:05.11. Pujith was eighth (17:20) and was followed by Dylan in 11th (17:25), Aadi in 23rd (17:50), Devin Schmuckal in 33rd (18:06), Chris Wilusz in 36th (18:09.22), Ryan in 37th (18:09.76), Patrick in 52nd (18:44) and Winston Rothaermel in 85th (19:50). As for the team results, Lambert took top honors with 33 points followed by West with 47 and the War Eagles with 73.        

Varsity Girls

A short 150 meters after the gun sounded, Madelynne Cadeau was already making a statement. In the typical competitive race, the pack will eventually thin and the leaders will eventually emerge. At the 150 mark, Madelynne, Nyah Hernandez from Milton, and Sarah Burwell from Walton had already put 15 meters between them and the number four runner. The runners entered the back loop and when they emerged at the three quarter mile mark, Madelynne was out in front of the second and third runners by 15 meters and the rest of the pack looked to be another 100 meters behind. Sophia Baker and Carmel Yonas were running together at the front of the larger pack and were in the top ten.  Emma O’Conner and Sydney Copeland were working together and Carolyn Patterson and Bella Rhone were a short 10 to 15 meters behind. The runners passed the tents and the one mile mark and started their second of three trips to the back loop. At this point, Madelynne’s really began to extend her lead as second and third place could not keep up with her blistering pace. Sophia and Carmel also began to separate from the larger pack as Sophia was fifth and Carmel was sixth and they were about 25 meters in front of the next group of runners. Emma was the next War Eagle and she seemed to be running strong. Sydney, Caroline and Bella were running 5th, 6th, and 7th on the team, and with these efforts, it looked like we were well placed. As Madelynne exited the back loop, it was apparent that she was not going to be challenged for the remainder of the race as her lead had grown to over 30 seconds. Sophia and Carmel were still working together along with an Etowah runner from the fourth, fifth, and sixth overall spots. On the last lap, Madelynne ultimately extended her lead and ended up with a 52 second victory at 17:52. It should also be noted that her time was good for a meet record that was previously set by Macki Walsh of Etowah in 2017. Sophia’s strong kick and 800 speed propelled her to a fourth place finish in 18:57 and Carmel was not far behind in sixth place (19:05). Emma was impressive with a 13th place finish at 19:31 and was followed by Sydney in 28th (20:02), Caroline in 33rd (20:15), and Bella in 44th (20:49).  The War Eagles prevailed in the team race with 52 points and were followed by West Forsyth (73), Milton (82), Walton (93), Lambert (127), and Woodstock (144).  

Varsity Boys

As mentioned in the last newsletter, four of the five top ranked 7A teams in state would be squaring off in this race so you knew that there would be some great individual and team battles.  As the runners took off from the starting line, most of our team was at the head of a large pack. With this many quality runners in the same race, it would take a bit of time for them to spread out.  As the runners exited the back loop at the three quarter mile mark, a lead pack of six had formed. This group included Brennan Bower, Connor Old and Zac Shaffer from Walton, Cooper Bocko from Lambert, Caleb Hall from North Forsyth, and Hayden Marshall from Milton. Mikey Patterson, Joe Pontrelli, and Nate Verska were less than 5 seconds behind the lead pack and were in the top ten.  Harrison, Mark, and Sebastian were also grouped close together. The runners passed the tents and the one mile mark and headed to the second of three passes on the back loop. Brennan was still in the lead pack but some of the other runners previously in this group were starting to fade. Mikey, Joe, and Nate were running right behind one another as they began to put some distance between them and the rest of the field. Mark Martin had improved his position and was looking strong at this point. After completing the second back loop (approximately two miles), three runners, Brennan, Connor Old, and Cooper Bocko emerged as the runners to beat as they had separated from a gradually thinning field. Mikey, Joe, and Nate maintained their positions and Harrison appeared to be moving up. Mark and Sebastain were now running alongside each other and both looked impressive. As the leaders circled around and headed to the last back loop, Brennan and Connor Old were running stride for stride and the third runner (Bocko) had dropped off by about 15 meters and the larger pack was about 50 meters back. Mikey began moving up and Joe and Nate were still not far behind.  Harrison was also starting to move up evenmore as he was positioning himself for his usual strong finish. Mark was now running sixth on the team and Sebastian was seventh about 10 meters back. Entering the chutes, Brennan out kicked the Walton runner and won the regional meet by 1 second with a 15:42 and he also posted the sixth fastest time ever for the meet. Mikey was 10th at 16:10, Joe was 15th at 16:27.34, Nate was 16th at 16:27.75, Harrison was 17th at 16:29, Mark was 28th at 16:46 and Sebastian was 38th at 17:03. In the team standings, Walton won by a very slim margin (57) over South (59). West Forsyth was just a few points back in third (64) and they were followed by Lambert (79), Milton (140) and Roswell (185). 

Girls Open

By this time, the rain had set in and things were getting soaked.  Unfortunately, this included my phone. I normally use my phone to take pictures of South’s runners and I use the photos to construct the narrative for each race; however, I was unable to do this for the open races due to the soaked phone.  With that in mind, I will only be able to provide team and individual results. My apologies to the runners.

Megan Milstead was the top War Eagle coming in at 36th (23:27) and she was followed by Amanda Edwards in 44th (23:52), Vishaka Venkatraman in 49th (24:08), Ally McGlaughlin in 66th (25:19), Kate Ward in 72nd (25:57), Caroline Elam in 80th (26:09), Mohana Malapati in 90th (26:53) and Bella Fether in 104th (28:01). The team finished sixth overall with 173 points.

Boys Open

For the boys, Andrew Wilson was the first South runner to finish.  He was 39th in 19:04 and he was followed by Harris Garmon in 45th (19:10), Brett Dunlap in 75th (19:48), Charlie Szilagyi in 93rd (20:13), Travis Edwards in 166th (22:21) and Jay Ariga in 178th at 23:00. The boys team also finished sixth as they scored 203

Booster Club News

If you have not done so already, please make plans to attend and honor this great group of student athletes at the banquet on Monday, November 11 at 6 pm. Tickets are on sale on the SFHS XC website until November 4. In case you have not read emails from the Booster Club, tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for children and runners attend free. After November 4, you will need to purchase them at the door for $20.

I want to send a big thank you to the Booster Club for all that you have done for our runners. We really do have a first rate program and our student athletes are provided with a tremendous experience that I am sure they will remember when they are super old like me. There are board positions open and we need parents to step up and fill these slots so please consider helping out the program. 

7A State Championships

Carrollton High School has been the site of the state XC meet since at least 2002 (this is far back as I could find an online record of the meet).  If you have never been, the course consists of two laps and it is known to be a slower course in large part because of the hills. This also provides a different dynamic, as opposed to a flat course, as some teams seem to handle the hills better than others.  The boys will start racing at 9:30 and the girls are up at 10:15.

Varsity Boys

Unless something unforeseen happens, one of the teams from our regional meet will walk away with the state championship crown. The top four ranked 7A boys teams (Walton, South, West, and Lambert) could very likely finish one through four. I would not overlook Marietta though as they have some legitimate front runners but might not have quite the depth as some other teams. The scores were very, very close at regionals so barring injuries, it could come down to team depth. This has been a strength of South’s all season and several of our runners seem to be peaking at the right time (just look at the number of season best and PRs that the boys put up last week). Plus, this is a hard working group that has runners that work together during a race. On the individual side, Brennan has put together a pretty incredible season and he can likely land a top ten spot (he finished 14th last year). Mikey had his best race of the season at regionals and if he continues on this trajectory, a top ten is not out of the question (he finished 11th last year). It should be a competitive race as 14 of the top 20 finishers from last year are returning so it will be a veteran field. If I had to pick a favorite, I would have to go with Myles Collins from Archer.  Collins has put together a memorable senior season as he has not lost to another 7A runner, he has set at least one course record, and has run every meet except one in the 15s or under (two of his meets were in the 14s).   

Varsity Girls

From the very first newsletter, I mentioned that our girls were consistently one of the most dominant 7A teams in recent memory. South’s hard work this season has completely backed up these words. The ability of our runners to work together could be the key to this race. Last week, our two and three runners were prime examples of how one runner can pull another along.  If this happens again with our two and three and with our four, five, and six, it could be a great day for the War Eagles. Hillgrove, Marietta (especially if they are healthy) and West Forsyth are serious contenders for the podium as well. On the individual side, I am going to have to pick Madelynne as my favorite. Her competitive nature is quite incredible and her time last week, especially considering that she was running alone, was impressive. On a side note, the best girls cross country race I have ever watched was last year at the state championships.  Madelynne was in an incredible battle to win the race with 100 meters to go and she wound up in third and it was the kind of finish that left fans in awe. I am sure that her finish in that race has been motivating!    

No matter what happens at Carrollton on Saturday, the War Eagles should hold their heads high as the program as a whole is hands down one of the best in the state. This was quite evident in a story that Mark Martin’s dad told me earlier this year. It seems that he was running before work in Piedmont Park and he was wearing a SFHS XC shirt. At about the same time, the Georgia Tech XC team was finishing up a workout and their coach happened to notice the SFHS XC shirt.  The GT coach walked up to Mark’s dad unsolicited and said, “South Forsyth - now that is a great program!”

That’s it for now, see you at the state championships!

As a reminder, a time in bold represents a new season best time or a new PR.