After a strong number of preseason races and the region meet hosted by Athens Academy on October 23rd, the Varsity Girls cross country team heads into the post-season sectional and state meets. The sectional meet was on October 31st in Rome, Georgia, and the state meet is on November 7th at the infamous state course, known for its tricky elevation, in Carrollton, GA.
The region meet crowned the girls team as the 7-time defending region champions, an incredible feat that was backed up by several successful races. Senior Kate Sullivan ran a strong 20:48, followed by sophomore Nell Williams running a 21:55, freshman Blythe Roark running a 21:58, and sophomore Lucy Williams coming in at 21:59. All seven varsity runners filled the top 11. The team hopes to carry this strong momentum to sectionals and state.
One of the challenges the girls’ team faces this year is that the team is considerably “younger” than last year, meaning that a large part of the team’s strong runners are filled by the underclassmen. After the 2024 season, the team also graduated a class filled with many senior runners. As a result, the “expectation” for the girls may not be as high, but defying this expectation has been a strength of the team, as described by assistant coach Shannon Blythe.
“They are rising towards the occasion because they are a very determined group, and that’s what has been so fun,” Blythe said. “Even though the expectation may not be as high, they are rising to it and then exceeding it.”
The strong team bond and supportive environment are two of the most important qualities that this team is taking to the post-season meets, and Nell Williams explained her favorite part of being on the team was exactly this.
“The energy and positivity of the team, for example, when we’re doing a track workout, and everyone is cheering for everyone to push them to be the best they can be,” said Williams.
As the team heads into this crucial part of their season, there are a few goals they are striving for. The team’s primary goal is to place at state and return home with a trophy. Another underlying goal is to treat state as a learning opportunity, explained Coach Blythe.
“That state course is hard, and I want this to be a learning experience that they are capable of facing tough things and coming out as strong winners,” said Blythe.
