Gilmer High cross-country runners made their way to Carrollton last Friday for the Class 4A state meet.
The GHS Bobcats and Lady Cats both competed in a field of 32 teams and turned in respective placements of 23rd and 24th.
“We did pretty good,” coach Tommy Jones said of their performances. “It was real cold Friday morning, in the low 30s and windy. That affected a couple of the boys for sure. They ran first at 9 a.m., and it got a little warmer by the girls race. (Region champion) Naomi (Coombs) didn’t finish, and that definitely hurt us big time (in the standings).
“I was still happy with our results. I’ve always treated the state meet like a celebration of our seasons. We always want to do well, and it’s a culmination of their season.”
The boys state champion was Mary Persons’ Justin Wachtel, who finished the 5K course in 16:05.50, more than 36 seconds ahead of second place.
The Bobcats tallied a score of 604 points, and their top runner was Austin Long in 93rd place with a time of 19:09.72. Gilmer’s next five placers all finished within 25 spots of one another.
Following Dylan Byrd (19:47.11) in 121st were teammates Nate Mooney (132nd, 20:01.88), Ricky Ambrosio-Perez (138th, 20:06.67), Carson Purvis (140th, 20:11.18) and Jon Nix (145th, 20:16.86). Gilmer’s Jakob Dobbs turned in a time of 24:19.64 for 212th.
“Nate ran one of his best races of the year, and Ricky ran a good race,” Jones said. “With that course, it’s so tough, and you can almost add an extra minute to everyone’s time because there’s some tough hills.”
For the girls, Blessed Trinity’s Hannah Minutti set the pace at 18:51.49.
GHS Lady Cat Helana Garland finished in 102nd place at 24:27.92. Teammates Madison Stanley (24:44.51) and Ashley Spagnola (25:08.21) were next with respective finishes of 108th and 124th.
Remaining Lady Cats included Laney Hensley (158th, 26:41.06), Olivia Lykins (180th, 29:06.93) and Mallory Henson (183rd, 29:12.18).
As a team, the Lady Cats scored 670 points. Coombs “would have likely been a top-20 finisher,” according to Jones. However, she was forced to retire from the race after unexpectedly getting sick 800 meters from the finish line.
“Of course, Naomi was super disappointed,” Jones said. “She had a great season and I hate that it ended like that for her.”
The top three girls teams were private schools St. Pius (46 points), Blessed Trinity (50) and Marist (54). St. Pius (49) also won the boys state championship. Denmark took second over Oconee County, 101-148.
Mooney and Chloe Hensley are Gilmer’s only seniors. Jones assessed the season and hopes runners will make good use of offseason months.
“How our runners finished the season was a welcome surprise,” he said. “To finish second in the region (a week prior), I wouldn’t have predicted that. They peaked at the right time.
“Talking to them individually, they all said ‘I wish I would have done this ...’ as far as their training. I’m going to do my best to remind them that even though the season is over, we have to get ready for next season, especially near the end of the school year and during the summer.”