XC teams do well at state meet

The Yellow Jacket Cross Country teams braved the cold and wet weather, as well as the tough Carrollton course to finish off another great season.
As the teams arrived at the course, the light mist turned to a drzzle and then while the teams began warming up the weather worsened and turned to a steady rain before the boys race and lasted throughout the boys race and into the girls race. However both the boys and girls teams did not let the weather nor the bad course conditions affect their performance once the races started.
In the boys race, the Yellow Jacket squad got out to a conservative start in the first thousand meters but turned it on to gain 96 spots by the halfway mark. From the halfway mark to the finish the team gained an additional 12 spots to claim the fourth and final podium spot with 167 points.
Private schools Pace and Lovett battled for the first two spots with Lovett besting the projected winner Pace by two points 39-41. North Georgia school Banks County finished in third with 104 points.
In the girls race, Region Champion Zoie Marchant just missed finishing as an All-State Runner with a 16th place finish, the lowest finish for either boy or girl at the State Championship. The other four girl scorers improved their times from last year’s state meet.
The solid team performance secured the girls team a fifth place finish just off the podium. Private school Pace Academy finished first with 44 points, then Lovett with 62 points. Traditional powerhouse Bleckley County fought hard but did not have enough depth to best either of the private schools. Oglethorpe County took the fourth and final podium spot.
Both the boys and girls secured their fifth straight Top 10 finish.
BOYS RESULTS
24. Pierce Parlor, 18:33.46; 32. Briley Reyes, 18:51.04; 37. Levi Manning, 19:04.41; 38. Skyler Cravey, 19:06.01; 42. Kevin Vega, 19:18.00; 83. Logan Carelock, 20:26.45; 94. Ignacio Lopez, 20:44.23.
Team Scores
1. Lovett    39
2. Pace Academy    41
3. Banks County    104
4. Jeff Davis    167
5. Bremen    191
6. Bleckley County    192
7. Vidalia    204
8. Oglethorpe County    230
9. Model    238
10. Union County    264
11. Dade County    362
12. Pepperell    374
13. Lamar County    376
14. Fannin County    398
15. Westside, Augusta    466
16. Rabun County    526
17. Heard County    538
18. Fitzgerald    557
19. Toombs County    588
20. Cook County    593
21. Elbert County    602
22. Washington County    618
23. Berrien County    641
24. Thomasville    662
25. Callaway    665
26. Jasper County    672
27. Bacon County    708
28. KIPP    871
29. Haralson County    872
30. A.R. Johnson    887
31. Glenn Hills    942
GIRLS RESULTS
16. Zoie Marchant, 22:25.69; 27. Alexandra Uribe, 22:51.67; 40. Flor Rangel, 24:12.08; 53. Hailey Beach, 25:02.32; 54. Joselyn Avila, 25:09.62; 92. Shelby Moore, 27:34.45; 123. Seline Flores, 29:45.82.
Team Scores
1. Pace Academy    44
2. Lovett    62
3. Bleckley County    70
4. Oglethorpe County    124
5. Jeff Davis    178
6. Fannin County    251
7. Vidalia    251
8. Rabun County    358
9. Bremen    336
10. Coosa    275
11. Banks County    311
12. Berrien County    336
13. Union County    360
14. Model    403
15. Fitzgerald    452
16. Worth County    457
17. Gordon Central    459
18. Jasper County    477
19. Toombs County    499
20. Putnam County    511
21. Haralson County    577
22. East Laurens    578
23. Washington County    601
24. KIPP    670
25. Westside, Augusta    679