High school cross country: Southeast boys take ninth in state as area teams compete in state championship races
Nov. 6—The GHSA cross country state championships were held on Friday and Saturday in Carrollton, and a handful of local schools from Whitfield and Murray counties were represented across five classifications in the five-kilometer races.
Class 5A
In the Class 5A race, Dalton's boys finished 18th in the team standings, while the Region 7-5A champion girls team finished 16th. Chattahoochee won the boys state title ,while Decatur won the girls state championship.
Christofer Lopez finished 37th in the state on the boys side with his time of 17:05.43. Carlos Marquez was 107th and German Santana was 113th.
Andrea Najera's finish in 21:52.11 got her a 66th-place finish to pace the Lady Catamounts. Camila Pineda was 85th and Ahira Ramirez crossed the finish line 108th.
Class 4A
At the Class 4A race, the Southeast Whitfield boys team finished ninth in the team standings in the state, while the Lady Raiders were 14th. Westminster took the boys state title, and Pace Academy won the girls side.
Johnny Silverio led the way for the Raiders, finishing 20th in Class 4A with a time of 17:17.08. Kevyn Chavez was 33r and Jorge Paredes was 64th.
Lady Raider Sandybel Ramos finished the race in 22:35.55 to earn 43rd place in the state, while Juliana Ruiz was 74th and Amy Gaspar was 91st.
Neither the Northwest boys or girls qualified for the team standings, but a few Bruins represented the school as individuals.
Competing in the boys race, Northwest's Gavin Ollis finished at the same time as Southeast's Silverio, taking 21st in the individual standings.
Lexi Lyon led a group of four Lady Bruins competing in the girls race. She finished 22nd with a time of 21:02.45. Emily King was 77th, Meryl Clark was 97th and Jessica Favela was 149th.
Class 3A
In the 3A race, Coahulla Creek's boys squad finished 13th in the state out of 29 participating teams, while the girls team was 13th out of 25. Oconee County won the boys state championship, and Wesleyan took the girls title.
Jack Gallegly was the top finisher for the Coahulla Creek boys, taking 46th place with a time of 18:35.06. Landon Hollis finished 65th and Johan Reyes was 83rd. Trey Stanley was right behind Reyes at 86th.
Dafne Monroy's time of 23:28.26 was good enough to put her at 42nd in the state in the girls Class 3A race. Kate Casteneda was 64th and Litzy Reyes crossed the finish line 66th.
Class 2A
North Murray's boys squad competed at the state Class 2A race and finished in 19th place in the team standings. Providence Christian won the state championships.
Aven Cameron led the way for the North Murray boys with a 28th place finish in the boys run, finishing the race in 17:58.69. Cole Kopcsak was the next North Murray finisher at 117th, and Lane Watson was 128th.
Class A DII
Christian Heritage's boys team finished 12th in the team standings in the Class A DII race. Atlanta Classical, which hails from the same region as Christian Heritage, won the state championship. The Lions finished second to Atlanta Classical in the region race.
Jose Ojeda was the Lions' top finisher at 49th place overall, while Cash Hare was 58th and Matias Lopez was 71st.
