On November 8th, both the boys’ and girls’ Spartan Cross Country teams traveled to Carrollton, Georgia, for this year’s state championship. Both teams fought against some heavy competition from schools like Wesleyan, Lovett, and Providence Christian Academy. In the end, the girls came home with a trophy for finishing third as a team, and Senior Maya Davis brought home a trophy for finishing first overall.
The Carrollton course is historically known for being challenging, and many runners come unprepared to face it. The course is both hilly and deceptive, making it difficult to pace yourself. Sophomore Audrey Davis explained, “With the difficult course and cold weather combined, it was not the day to set a PR.”
Despite these challenges, the team still had some outstanding results. Maya Davis came 1st with a time of 19:26, senior, Adelaide Ellis, came 14th with a time of 21:09, and Audrey Davis ran her first-ever state finish with a time of 22:04. These impressive finishes led the girls’ team to finish 3rd overall! On the boys’ team, Junior Bryce Paramore came 1st for the team with a time of 18:33, followed by Sophomore Mathew Reilley who ran a time of 19:04. The boys’ team finished 11th overall, which is not bad for the considerably young team.
The team also had a notably large cheering squad that helped them fight through the race, as the entire team traveled to Carrollton to support the runners. The night before state, the entire girls’ team piled into a hotel room and created signs to support the runners with funny phrases like “Meyers Minions” and “Blythes Beautifuls” recognizing Coach Mayer and the newest addition to the coaching team, Coach Blythe. This embraces the value of “teamness,” which Coach Farmer described as “running as individuals but competing as a team.”
Overall, the team had an amazing season with much to celebrate! The team ran a sectionals race before state for the first time, and the girls finished first while the boys finished 6th. Some members of the team also ran the Foot Locker South race on November 30th, an invitational meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, with runners from around the US. Maya Davis commented on the Foot Locker race saying, “It’s always great for the team to get that exposure to something new.” The team had an amazing season with much to look forward to for next year.
