2025 Chestatee XC Senior Spotlight: Jonathan Smith Senior Spotlight is our way of recognizing our War Eagle Seniors who have put in the hard work  of representing the maroon and black in Cross Country.  If you are a senior and would like to be recognized, please email ChestateeXC@gmail.com and we will provide a link to get your information. What is your PR in XC so far? 18:53 ran two years ago, 19:30 this year  What are your college plans, if you have them figured out?
 Georgia State maybe I don’t know What's your most memorable race or race you're most proud of?
 Airport race two years ago when I beat my mentor Nate Ibarra What is your favorite meet in cross country season and why?
 Unicoi or North Oconee because the drive is interesting What has been your biggest challenge in high school or what has been the hardest obstacle to overcome?
 Not turning my work in and relationships. What is your daily/weekly mileage like?
 25-35 weekly if you count running at practic...

BOGART, GA - The North Oconee Invitational marks the last race before postseason starts.   The War Eagles will have a little bit of a rest before 3A Sectionals takes place on November 1st up in Ringgold, Georgia. The highlight of our business trip to North Oconee was freshman Emma Dobson beating her own school record a week after breaking it at Pickens by finishing 2nd today with a time of 18:31.52.    The girls showed some resilience as they had to make up the absence of senior Kayleigh McBride and we had strong finishes from Izzy Wintermantel, Bella McClenathen, Crystal Vaca, and Natalie Menjivar with 4 of our 5 scorers running PRs.    The girls finished 6th overall behind a mix of 3A and larger schools.  For the boys, sophomore Jefferson Sibrian ran a team season best of 18:33.64.    Junior Easton Chaffin and senior Jonathan Smith both ran sub-20, but it wasn’t enough to move the team up further than 19th overall.  The end of the regu...

  JASPER, GA - Fall has settled upon North Georgia and that means we are in the prime of Cross Country! Cool dry air is welcomed after the hot and muggy summer we've had to endure. The War Eagles headed north to Roper Park in Jasper, Georgia to run in the Pickens N Grinnin' Invitational where 34 teams were entered into a variety of classifications.  What makes this race any different from when we ran here?  This time it was all under the lights.  That's right, night racing!  Temperatures dropped into the 50s as we approached the final Championship races of the meet. Freshman Emma Dobson broke the school 5K record “under the lights” on her way to winning the Girls Championship race as she broke free with a late surge with about 800m to go. Her time of 18:41.20 bests a record held by Lindsey Grater since 2014.  Seniors Izzy Wintermantel and Kayleigh McBride finished together at 21:43 and freshman Bella McClenathen and junior Crystal Vaca finished out the sco...

  HELEN, GA - Cooler temperatures, lower humidity, leaves starting to cover the trails, racing up at Unicoi. All of this means one thing...fall has arrived and it's time for the annual Mountain Invitational! The Varsity girls ran against 27 teams which included 183 girls at Unicoi State Park. This event brings a lot of schools and great competition as public and private schools of all classifications gather together in competition.  Coming off their 2nd place finish at the Hall County XC Championships just 5 days prior, the Lady War Eagles held their own on an afternoon filled with 11 girls running new PRs. Freshman Emma Dobson led the way by running down the race favorite, Carly Black of White County, and finishing 23 seconds ahead of the field to win the Mountain Invitational in a PR of 19:06.50. Dobson's time was not only good enough to win the Mountain Invitational, but it was also good enough to move her up to the #3 fastest 5K in Chestatee High School history ahead of Ma...

  GAINESVILLE, GA - Championship season has arrived for Cross Country. Just like last year, the threat of tropical weather was in the conversation and it was looking like the Hall County Championships were going to look more like a Tough Mudder race than a Cross Country race. Chestatee's Trail Maintenance team went out before dawn to help with North Hall's team to make sure the trails were clear of debris (and acorns).  With exception to some light rain on Friday at Nopone, the course seemed to be in excellent shape as night turned to dawn early on Saturday morning. Despite cool temperatures and overcast skies, the high humidity seemed to be a contributing factor as many runners struggled to catch their breath during their race, but the competition did not disappoint as the War Eagle runners alone saw 18 new PRs. The North Hall girls were heavily favored to finish first, but the second place trophy was up for grabs between Flowery Branch, Lanier Christian, and Chestatee…which...

  GAINESVILLE - Homecoming festivities have officially begun for Chestatee High School with the start of their annual HOCO Parade down Sardis Road.  Led by a boisterous charge from the War Eagle Marching Band, each of the sports programs get to follow through with a themed float.  Our Cross Country War Eagles were represented with a "Lightning McQueen" theme to showcase all of our runners on the flatbed of a CRK Towing truck, one of our XC sponsors this year.   In amongst the group floats, the Homecoming Court representatives for each class are showcased. This year, runner Alison Aguilar was seen as one of the Junior representatives.  Final votes on class winners and overall Homecoming Queen will be announced during halftime at tonight's Chestatee vs. Lumpkin County football game starting at 7:30pm. If you are at the game tonight and stay until the end, make sure you stick around for the War Eagle Marching Band and show them some love as they will be perfor...