STATE BOUND! Cold weather no match for Lady War Eagles as Dobson, McBride lead team to Carrollton
RINGGOLD, GA - This week took us on an overnight business trip to the northern border of Georgia. Heritage High School in Catoosa County played host to almost 30 schools participating in the GHSA 3A Sectional Race. Stakes are high as only the top 12 teams can advance on to the State Meet in Carrollton on November 8th. The only exception...if a runner makes it into the Top 20 of the Sectional results.
Going into the event, the Chestatee boys were ranked #15, just outside the qualifying bubble, so while not an impossible feat, the boys were going to have to work hard to make up some ground. The Lady War Eagles were ranked #3 and seemed to match up well against the competition.
The team left school at noon on Friday to travel the almost 3 hours (by bus) to Ringgold. After checking into the hotel, shared along with Cherokee Bluff, the team set out to the grounds of Heritage High School to get a walkthrough and a light practice before the race. The team walked together along the course that sprawled throughout the campus as Coach Wes would stop at critical areas and give instruction to the runners. As the sun started to set on the horizon, the temperature began to drop, giving everyone a glimpse of what was to come on the morning of the race.
The steam radiating off the local lakes and the frosted grass gave a hint as to the conditions. The team boarded the bus just as the sky was beginning to brighten with the thermometer reading 34 degrees. Several teams were already setting up their tents by the time Chestatee arrived. One team had a portable fire pit to keep their runners warm. Another had an enclosed tent with a propane heater. Some of our runners were using hand warmers to keep their ears warm. But as soon as our team tent was set, it was time for the boys to start warming up.
Most of our opponents we knew well as our Region teams tops the Sectional for both the boys and the girls races. The boys knew what was at stake and they would all have to run hard. Oconee Co set the pace as their lead runner, Aaron Brodrick, who we saw run sub-15 a few weeks ago at North Oconee, broke the course record in the boys race. Sophomore Easton Chaffin led the way for the War Eagles as he PRed with an 18:40. Sophomore Jefferson Sibrian struggled and finished off pace with a 19:10. Senior Jonathan Smith was our 3rd runner as he completed his final high school XC race and Pedro Pedro-Martin finished with a PR. Freshman Colton Blackburn finished off the scoring for the boys, but it was not enough for the War Eagles to move out of that 15th spot and thus marks the end of their season.
The Lady War Eagles got the brunt of the blinding sun in several areas on the course. Freshman Emma Dobson settled right in to the lead pack for most of the race as Pickens' Heidi Thompson led for the first couple miles. But Emma, along with North Hall's Summer Muxlow pushed forward at the end of the race to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Emma finished in 2nd with an 18:50.00 within seconds behind Muxlow. Senior Kayleigh McBride was next to cross the line in 19th place with a PR of 21:04. Junior Crystal Vaca pushed up into the 3rd space as illness was plaguing a few of our runners. Freshman Isabella McClenathen crossed 4th and Junior Natalie Menjivar completed the scoring for the War Eagles as the girls finished 3rd overall and will be competing at the State Meet next week. Junior Leilani Moreno led the JV runners as the coaches will determine who will be the alternate runner for the Lady War Eagles at State. Dobson and McBride's Top 20 finish was enough to individually qualify for the State Meet, but it was not necessary as the entire team qualified.
In addition to the Sectional race (which does not receive any awards), the individual regions use this race to recognize top runners since State Qualification moved to a Sectional race last year. The only War Eagle to received Region Honors was Emma Dobson who finished ranking 2nd in the region to receive All-Region 1st Team. The girls actually tied for 2nd with Dawson Co, but the determining factor moved to the 6th runner which placed better than our 6th runner leaving the War Eagles with 3rd place. The boys did not have anyone recognized for All -Region honors as they finished last in the Region in 7th place.
Overall, we had 5 team PRs and will highlight the improvements that all our runners have achieved this season in another article. Next up, the girls will prepare for State next week and will once again take their business trip on the road to Carrollton, Georgia.
REGION 3A-6 RESULTS
1. North Hall (43)
2. Lumpkin (57)
3. Johnson (87)
4. White Co (92)
5. Pickens (129)
6. Dawson Co (144)
7. CHESTATEE (181)
VARSITY GIRLS, 3rd Place (76 points)
2+13+17+19+25 (27+29)
1. North Hall (45)
2. Dawson Co (76) 7+15+16+18+20+23 (24)
3. CHESTATEE (76) 2+13+17+19+25+27 (29)
4. White Co (83)
5. Pickens (111)
6. Lumpkin (124)
7. Johnson (202)
ALL-REGION HONORS FOR 3A-6
All-Region, 2nd Team - Kayleigh McBride (not pictured)
INDIVIDUAL CXC FINISHERS (TOP 7 RUNNERS)
(There were no medals given out for Sectional results)
- Easton Chaffin, 47th (47)
- Jefferson Sibrian, 72nd (72)
- Jonathan Smith, 91st (91)
- Pedro Pedro-Martin, 99th (99)
- Colton Blackburn, 115th (114)
- Romeo Vazquez, 128th
- Miguel Valdez, 129th
- Emma Dobson, 2nd (2)**
- Kayleigh McBride, 19th (19)**
- Crystal Vaca, 26th (26)
- Bella McClenathen, 28th (28)
- Natalie Menjivar, 37th (36)
- Izzy Wintermantel, 40th
- Kylor Stewart, 41st
