The Gilmer High School Lady Cats are state bound.
GHS cross-country runners were at Helen’s Unicoi State Park last Saturday for the Class 3A north sectional. A top 12 finish was needed, and the Lady Cats nabbed ninth place to extend their season for their first state berth since 2019.
The Bobcats were edged out of 12th place by four points in the boys standings and just missed qualifying for state.
The Lady Cats’ top three runners battled it out to see who would be the first to finish, and Jennifer Garcia did so in 23:04 for 37th place. Next up were Lady Cats Salma Gonzales (40th, 23:07) and Estephany Becerra (42nd, 23:15).
Morgan Palmeri (70th, 24:21) and Allison Hernandez (77th, 24:36) also scored team points and were followed by Cats Jayla Walker (83rd, 24:53) and Braelyn Nolasco (118th, 28:02).
Dawson Richard was the top placing Bobcat in 42nd at 18:03. Seth Turner was next in 70th with a time of 19:09, and he was trailed by teammates Harrison Chester (98th, 20:02), Manny Velasquez (103rd, 20:19), Edward Marietta (106th, 20:42) and Eddie Alonzo (108th, 20:53).
The GHSA Cross-County State Championships will be Saturday in Carrollton.