GHS began the season last Saturday at the Pickens Peek in Jasper.
The meet is typically called the Pickens Preview and hosts over 30 teams. This season the name was changed and the field was reduced to eight because of COVID-19 (coronavirus) precautions.
With the exception of Dawson County, the field was dominated by Class 6A and 7A schools. The GHS Bobcats placed eighth with 227 team points while the Lady Cats did not have enough runners to qualify for a team score in the girls standings.
Gilmer’s top placer was Carson Purvis. The junior Bobcat completed the 5K course in 18:44.1 for 26th place. Freshman John Keener crossed the finish line next for GHS in 51st place at 20:24.7, and Larz Fowler was next with a time of 21:34.4 for 64th.
Andrew Mooney (22:09.2) and Michael Little (22:59.4) were the Bobcats’ remaining point scorers in 69th and 72nd place, respectively.
Matthew Grice also ran in the varsity race and his time of 23:21.4 landed him in 73rd place.
Four sophomores finished the girls race for the Lady Cats, and Madison Stanley led the way in 40th place at 24:46.4.
Helena Garland and Mallory Henson placed consecutively in 52nd and 53rd place with respective times of 27:06.2 and 27:33.6. Laney Hensley posted a time of 31:16.5 for 60th.
Pope won the girls 5K over Etowah, 31-42. West Forsyth placed third with 48 points. West Forsyth was the top boys team (59 points) and was followed by Pope (67) and Dawson County (73).
GHS will attend the Ferry Ridge Invitational Aug. 28 in Rome.