GHSA 3A Sectional B Preview


Just in case you did not read about it in the previous article...POSTSEASON IS HERE!  That's right, our War Eagles will be traveling north to Ringgold to compete in the GHSA 3A "B" Sectional XC Race.  

So here is a rundown of how things work in order to qualify for the State Meet in Carrolton:

Chestatee is in Region 6 of GHSA 3A schools and will compete with Regions 5, 7, and 8 at Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia.  Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be competing at Long County High School in Ludowici, Georgia.

1. Top 12 teams running in each Sectional will advance (12 teams x 2 sectionals = 24 total teams that will compete at the State Meet)

2. Top 20 individual finishers in the Sectional will get an automatic bid to the State Meet, regardless if their team qualifies...so EVERYONE, has a chance to make it, even if their team is struggling.

3. In order to qualify for the State Meet, you MUST RUN in the Sectional race...which includes alternates.  There are no "automatic" invites.

4. Each team is allowed to run 7 runners in the Varsity race, which is the same for the State Meet.

5. Additional runners will run in the "JV" Sectional race and will thus be able to run at the State Meet if their team qualifies and if they are needed or run a faster time than one of the Varsity runners.  These reserve runners are critical if one of the Top-7 become ill, injured, or are absent on the day of the State Meet.

6. The boys will run at 9:30am, the girls will run at 10:00am, and the JV runners will run at 10:40am.  Awards will take place at 11:15am where Region Awards and recognition of teams and individuals advancing to State Meet will be announced.

7. Simultaneously, runners will be completing with athletes in their respective regions and their time will be used for both the Sectional race and their individual Region race...but the results of the Sectional classification are what will be used for State Meet qualifying.  So, our runners will be competing against all of the schools in Regions 5, 6, 7, and 8 for qualification to State...but also just against the schools in Region 6 as well (for awards recognition).


Full meet coverage of the GHSA 3A "B" Sectional will be available on MileSplit:
https://ga.milesplit.com/meets/698742-ghsa-3a-sectional-2-regions-5678-2025/info

If you plan on cheering on our War Eagles in person, tickets must be purchased through GoFan.
https://gofan.co/event/4009542?schoolId=GHSA

So, how do our runners match up?  The following stats were taken from MileSplit and each athlete is ranked with all the other athletes that have run in Regions 5, 6, 7, and 8.  Their ranking is based on their best performance of this season, which may not reflect on the course they will be running, but it is the best way MileSplit comes up with their rankings for the year.  The ranking system favors times run on flat and fast courses (like Pickens) than hilly courses (like Chestatee and Tallulah Falls).


BOYS 5K
MileSplit rankings by GHSA 3A Sectional B (includes Regions 5, 6, 7, & 8)

The Chestatee boys are currently ranked well outside the Top-12 and will need solid runs from their 5 scorers to try and score in the qualifying spot or individually land in the Top-20 finishers.  The overall race will be a shootout between Oconee, who's lead runner just ran the fastest time in 3A (and 2nd fastest in the entire state...including all classes) last weekend, and North Hall.  Lumpkin Co, Heritage, Jefferson, Cherokee Bluff, and White Co will also look to advance to the State Meet with strong finishes as well.

RankRunnerYearSeason Best
61Sibrian, Jefferson202818:33.64
89Chaffin, Easton202819:05.63
110Smith, Jonathan202619:28.92
149Pedro-Martin, Pedro202820:12.30
178Blackburn, Colton202920:44.00
196Vasquez, Romeo202921:01.70
214Valdez, Miguel202921:16.80
219Martinez, Kevin202721:19.20


GIRLS 5K
MileSplit rankings by GHSA 3A Sectional B (includes Regions 5, 6, 7, & 8)

The Chestatee girls will be matched up against teams we are very familiar with.  With North Hall and Oconee Co currently ranked #1 and #2, the Lady War Eagles, currently ranked #3, will look to surprise some but will also have to fend off White Co and Jefferson, who have matched up well head-to-head against the Chestatee girls all year.  But don't count out Dawson Co and Pickens who have also been running well at the end of their seasons leading up to Sectionals.

RankRunnerYearSeason Best
2Dobson, Emma202918:31.52
28Wintermantel, Izzy202621:31.85
29McClenathen, Bella202921:33.46
31Vaca, Crystal202721:35.55
35McBride, Kayleigh202621:43.80
43Menjivar, Natalie202722:03.11
54Aguilar, Alison202723:28.60
63Stewart, Kylor202822:40.80
82Moreno, Leilani202723:19.44
97Valdez, Vanessa202723:47.97


The War Eagles will be leaving from school next Friday afternoon to travel up to Ringgold for an overnight business trip in order to preview the course and be well rested before having to run the next morning.  

We will keep you up-to-date on all of the activity on our social media accounts and a full recap and photos on ChestateeXC.com.

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