The GHSA State Cross Country Championships are here as races are set to be run in Carrollton on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7.
Advertisement
Richmond Hill coach Levi Sybert has his girls and boys teams ready for the Class 7A meet, which will be run on Saturday, after both squads finished second in the Class 7A Sectional teams standings.
The boys were led by freshman sensation Liam Penttila, who ran a personal best time of 15:44.22 on the 3.1 mile course to finish second in the race individually. Wildcat senior Eddie Howell was eighth in 16:23.58, one spot ahead of his sophomore teammate Caden Gross who finished in 16:30.29. Junior Derek Feske was 15th in 16:59.91.
Junior Chloe Miller led the Wildcat girls with a third place finish in 18:50.02, with senior Gabriella Francis fifth in 19:30.21. Senior Julia Anastasio was 11th in 19:47.30, one place ahead of freshman Lucy Puskar (20:08.71).
“Liam (Penttila) is just a freshman but he has a lot of ability and has found his stride this year,” Sybert said. “He’s a quiet and hard working runner. He stayed in the back of the pack earlier in the year, but now he likes to get out and run with the top dogs. He’s a very methodical runner.
Advertisement
“Julia (Anastasio) is coming back from a hip injury that slowed her down as a junior and is having a big season,” he said “And Chloe has emerged as our No. 1 lately, and with Gabby Francis we have a solid group at the top of our lineup.”
The Wildcat boys have a chance to win it all, as they did in 2021, Sybert said, and he’s hoping for a podium (Top 4) finish for both squads.
Richmond Hill cross-country runners (L-R) Liam Penttila, Eddie Howell and Caden Gross.
The Savannah Arts girls are on a quest to win their third straight state crown and took another step toward that goal by winning the Class 2A Sectional 1 meet.
The Panthers were led by senior Francie Tedder, who finished second in 19:22.00. Morgan Irvine was third with a time of 20:13.60 and McKay Bennett finished fifth in 20:33.00. Madeline Balthrop was seventh in 20:52.00 and Avae Treece finished 10th in 21:34.70.
Advertisement
The Panthers boys squad had a strong team run to finish third in the meet led by Logan Brodhead, who was fourth in 17:30.10 and Nico Klaras, who took eighth with a time of 17:37.10.
The Islands girls team won the Class 3A Sectional 1 team title with three girls finishing in the Top 10. Leila Kellison was second in 20:55.90, with Zeycan Agbas sixth in 22:38.60, one spot ahead of Kaileigh Toler (22:39.00).
The Class 4A, 5A and Class 2A-4A Private Schools races will be held Friday, with the Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 6A and 7A events set for Saturday.
Here’s a look at the area teams and their top runners who have qualified for the state meets in Carrollton with results from last week’s sectional qualifying races. The top 12 teams along with the Top 20 individual runners not on those teams from sectionals qualified for state.
Richmond Hill cross-country runners (L-R) Chloe Miller, Gabby Francis and Julia Anastasio.
Class 7A Sectional 1
Richmond Hill Boys (2nd in team standings)
2. Liam Penttila, fresh., 15:44.42
Advertisement
8. Eddie Howell, sr., 16:23.58
15. Derek Feske, jr., 16:50.91
27. Jamie Holler, jr., 17:08.83
37. Lealond Hodges, sr., 17:32.74
44. Benjamin Tocco, jr., 17:47.00
Richmond Hill Girls (2nd in team standings)
3. Chloe Miller, jr., 18:50.02
5. Gabriella Francis, sr., 19:13.21
11. Julia Anastasio, sr., 19:47.30
12. Lucy Puskar, fresh., 20:08.71
17. Koeyn Harris, fresh., 20:30.15
21. Lena Tocco, jr., 20:40.71
27. Quinn Lock, fresh., 21:28.08
Class 5A Sectional 1 Boys
Team standings
8. Benedictine
Individuals (top times)
24. Tucker Hollis, jr., 17:11.95
27. Cole Minnich, sr., 17:14.06
44. Ben Harvey, sr., 17:26.34
Class 3A Sectional 1
Girls Team standings
1. Islands
Advertisement
Individuals
1. Leila Kellison, soph., 20:55.90
6. Zeycan Agbas, sr., 22:38.60
7. Kaileigh Toler, soph., 22:39.00
17. Bella LaPlante sr., 24:46.10
33. Monika Majerova, jr., 25.56.40
48. Corinne Miezejeski, soph., 26:48.50
Class 3A Sectional 1
Boys Team standings
6. Islands
Individuals (top times)
15. Isaac Edris, jr., 18:48.50
21. Bennett Edris, jr., 19:08.30
26. Noah Burton, soph., 19:22.50
Class 2A Sectional 1
Girls Team standings
1. Savannah Arts
6. Woodville-Tompkins
7. Bryan County
Individuals
2. Francie Tedder, Savannah Arts, sr., 19:22.0
3. Morgan Irvine, Savannah Arts, sr., 20:13.60
5. McKay Bennett, Savannah Arts, 20:33.00
Advertisement
7. Madeline Balthrop, Savannah Arts, 20:52.00
10. Ava Treece, Savannah Arts, 21:34.70
12. Eleanora Smith, Savannah Arts, 21:42.80
13. Abbigale Stucker, Bryan County 21:52.20
14. Lorena Nell, Savannah Arts, 21:52.70
17. Giana Bryan, Woodville-Tompkins, jr., 22:10.80
22. Janeth Arteaga, Woodville-Tompkins, sr., 23:09.30
Boys Team standings
3. Savannah Arts
6. Woodville-Tompkins
7. Bryan County
Top individuals
4. Logan Brodhead, Savannah Arts 17:30.10
8. Nico Klaras, Savannah Arts 17:37.10
13. Walter Yang, Savannah Arts 17:46.90
17. William McCarn, Savannah Arts 17:59.30
22. Michael Grabowski, Savannah Arts 18:36.80
Advertisement
24. William Summeford, Bryan County 18:50.00
26. Channing Creech, Bryan County 18:57.10
Class A Sectional 1
Boys Team standings
9. Savannah Classical
Top individuals
7. Alan Jarquin-Felix, sr., 19:01.65
16. Gerald Pineda, soph., 19:56.65
Class 2A-4A Private Sectional 1
Girls Team standings
9. Savannah Christian
Top individuals
23. Grace Cunigan, 23:00.61
42. Sadie McGarity, jr., 24:09.18
58. Lydia Amick, 25:44.58
59. Rielyn Woo, fresh., 25:52.31
Boys Team standings
11. Savannah Christian
Top individuals
32. Chris Manchester, 18:44.08
46. Heath Patterson, 19:31.49
49. Wyatt Bowen, 19:31.49
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah teams and runners to watch in GHSA Cross Country state meets
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
