Two Athens-area cross country teams win state championships

Two Athens-area teams are bringing home gold after the GHSA state cross country championships, held Friday and Saturday in Carrollton. The Oconee County boys won the Class 3A state title for the second consecutive year on Saturday and earlier in the day, the Athens Academy girls claimed the Class 2A state championship.

On Friday, the Jefferson boys finished second and the Clarke Central boys finished third in the Class 5A race and the Athens Christian girls came in second in the Class A Division 1 competition.

Here’s a closer look at the weekend’s results:

CLASS 3A

For the second consecutive year, senior Cooper Timberman and sophomore Aaron Brodrick set the pace for Oconee County’s second Boys Class 3A state championship in as many years. Timberman finished first among 195 runners in a time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds and Brodrick was third in 16:10 as the Warriors won state gold for the third time in school history.

A year ago, it was Brodrick who won the individual title, with Timberman finishing second.

All told, Oconee County had five runners finish in the top 20 as the Warriors won the team crown with 40 points, trailed by Lumpkin County (second place, 100 points), Hebron Christian (third place, 109 points), Wesleyan (fourth place, 113 points) and Bremen (fifth place, 175 points).

Besides Timberman and Brodrick, Oconee County’s top-20 competitors were senior Patterson Graham (sixth place, 16:34), junior Johan Ferguson (10^th place, 17:13) and senior Noah Scheuer (20^th place, 17:48).

In the girls’ race, Oconee County had two runners finish in the top 20 as the Warriors finished third overall behind Wesleyan (34 points) and Columbus (84 points).

Senior Mary Matthews finished 16^th among 179 runners in 21:38 and freshman Annabelle Witorski was 17^th in 21:41.

CLASS 2A

Athens Academy junior Maya Davis finished first in a field of 178 runners to lead the Spartans to the Girls Class 2A state championship on Saturday morning. Davis, who finished second at last year’s state meet and recorded six first-place finishes this fall, crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 15 seconds, 45 seconds ahead of second-place Lindsey Holloway of Fannin County (20:01).

Davis was followed in the top 20 by three teammates – junior Molly Smith (sixth place, 20:47), senior Margalit Mauricio (11^th place, 21:26) and Kate Sullivan (16^th place, 22:01).

Athens Academy bested 26 other teams, winning the state meet with 58 points. It was the Spartans’ fourth state crown – they also won in 1994, 1995 and 2002. Fellowship Christian was second with 95 points, followed by Savannah Arts Academy (third place, 102 points), Union County (fourth place, 135 points) and Fanin County (fifth place, 188 points).

In the boys meet, Athens Academy senior Will DeLoach wound up his high school career with a second-place finish as the Spartans also came in second. DeLoach placed second among 209 runners in 16:43, trailing individual champion Zechariah Prater of Fannin County, who finished in 16:23.

Providence Christian won the team title, besting 30 other teams with 70 points, followed by Athens Academy (second place, 80 points), Fannin County (third place, 137 points), Vidalia (fourth place, 146 points) and Jeff Davis (fifth place, 163 points). East Jackson came in sixth with 193 points.

Athens Academy senior Cohen Tomlinson finished 15^th overall in a time of 17:30.

FROM FRIDAY

CLASS 5A

Led by senior Chris Connolly, who finished second among 222 runners in 16 minutes, 10 seconds in the first race at the state championships in Carrollton, Chattahoochee won the Boys Class 5A team title with 92 points, followed by Jefferson (99 points) and Clarke Central (109 points).

The Dragons had two runners finish in the top 20 – senior Ben Davis finished fourth overall in 16:22 and junior Brock Bush came in sixth place in a time of 16:24.

Clarke Central sophomore James Daniel had the best finish among area runners, coming in third in 16:20. He was followed by teammates, junior Ryan Marshall (16^th place, 16:41) and sophomore Waylon Vaughn (17th place, 16:41) in the top 20.

Cambridge (117 points) finished fourth overall and Greenbrier rounded out the top five with 135 points. Jacob Pullen a senior from Jackson-Atlanta, was the individual winner, finishing in a time of 15:58.

In the Girls Class 5A race, Jefferson finished 10^th among 31 teams with 342 points. Sophomores Hannah Schroeder and Lily Janning were the Dragons’ top finishers, with Schroeder coming in 51^st among 208 runners in 21:35.32 and Janning finishing 52^nd in 21:35.97. Decatur won the team competition with 54 points, followed by McIntosh (second place, 76 points), Northview (third place, 88 points), Chattahoochee (fourth place, 138 points) and Cambridge (fifth place, 140 points).

CLASS A DIVISION 1

With two runners finishing in the top 20, the Athens Christian girls came in second place among 24 teams, finishing with 123 points. Bleckley County won the team meet with 45 points, followed by Athens Christian, Paideia (third place, 125 points), Armuchee (fourth place, 163 points) and The Mount Vernon School (fifth place, 174 points).

The Eagles were led by sophomore Ansley Moore, who finished eighth among 160 runners in 20 minutes, 36 seconds, and sophomore McKinley Smith, who finished 15^th in 21:28.

The Athens area’s top finisher was junior Sydnie Henderson of Oglethorpe County, who crossed the finish line in 20:17, finishing third. The Patriots finished ninth with 262 points. Barrow Arts & Sciences finished sixth overall with 180 points; senior Smita Carroll led Barrow Arts with a 20^th place finish in 22:11.

Prince Avenue Christian finished 12^th with 303 points. Sophomore Ella Gibbs of Bleckley County was the top individual finisher with a time of 18:48.

In the Boys Class A Division 1 race, Whitefield Academy won the 30-team meet with 52 points, followed by Paideia (second place, 70 points), Darlington (third place, 109 points), Bleckley County (fourth place, 121 points) and Armuchee (fifth place, 130 points).

Freshman Michael Fletcher of Barrow Arts was the Athens area’s top finisher, coming in ninth place in 16:50. Barrow Arts came in seventh place with 236 points. Athens Christian, led by sophomore Johann Brink’s 11^th place finish (17:03), finished eighth overall with 275 points.

Oglethorpe County finished 11^th with 310 points and Prince Avenue Christian was 12^th with 339 points. Junior Caleb Darsey of Bleckley County was the top individual finisher, coming in first among 206 runners in a time of 16:16.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee County, Athens Academy cross country teams win state titles