Furlow’s Kilheffer barely misses top 10 finish, while Gonzalez and Howard finish in upper tier at state XC meet
Published 9:57 pm Monday, November 8, 2021
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
From Staff Reports
CARROLLTON, GA – While the Furlow Charter and Schley County boys and girls cross country teams didn’t finish high in the final standings at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class A-Public State Cross Country Meet in Carrollton this past Saturday, several individuals on each squad turned in very strong performances.
For the Furlow Charter girls’ team that finished ninth overall in the team standings, sophomore Maria Kilheffer very nearly made it into the top 10 in state. Kilheffer finished 12th out of 162 competitors, as she crossed the finish line in a time of 23:33.54. Kilheffer was just eight seconds behind 11th place finisher Anna Robbins of Atlanta Classical Academy, who crossed the finish line in a time of 23:25.96. Marissa Kimple of Armuchee High School won the individual state title, winning the girls’ race in a time of 20:03.77. Armuchee also won the girls’ team championship and Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy was the state runner-up. Kimple’s Armuchee teammate, Shelby Green, finished as the state runner-up in a time of 20:48.77.
Kilheffer’s teammate, Addison Drinnon, was the next Lady Falcon to cross the finish line. Drinnon finished the 3.1-mile race in a time of 27:35.84, which was good enough for 61st out of 162 competitors.
Senior Litzy Lepiz was the next Furlow runner to cross the finish line. Lepiz finished five six spots behind Drinnon in a time of 27:54.10. Her teammate, Jasmine Kilheffer, finished two spots behind her in a time of 28:01.20. Other Furlow and Schley County runners who turned in strong performances in the state meet are as follows:
- Jacklyn Chen Furlow Charter 30:35.44
- Jenny Santamaria Furlow Charter 31:16.84
- Syruis Zhang Furlow Charter 32:19.77
- Kaia McLennan Schley County 33:07.92
- Malia Harden Schley County 34:51.51
- Abby Kirkland Schley County 36:02.81
- Kaleigh Johnson Schley County 36:02.94
- Sarah Renfroe Schley County 40:28.82
- Alyssia Salazar Schley County 41:12.30
In boys’ action, Furlow Charter junior Edwin Gonzalez turned in the best finish of any of the Furlow or Schley County male runners. Gonzalez finished 39th out of 166 competitors in a time of 20:41.13. Schley County senior Dustin Howard closed out his high school cross country career in a strong way, as he finished seven spots behind Gonzalez in a time of 20:49.94, which was good enough for 46th place out of 166 competitors.
Trace Harris of Armuchee ended up being the individual state champion, winning the race in a time of 17:47.68. Armuchee also won the boys’ team championship, while ACE Charter finished as the state runner-up.
The next local athlete to cross the finish line in the state meet was Furlow Charter junior Apollo Huss. Huss finished 76th out of 166 competitors in a time of 21:55.14.
Huss’s teammate, Jaylen Deriso, was the next local runner to cross the finish line. Deriso finished the state meet in a time of 23:11.02.
Other Furlow Charter and Schley County runners who turned in strong performances in the state meet are as follows:
- Jordan Brown Furlow Charter 23:49.96
- Edmund Chen Furlow Charter 24:42.25
- Nick Allen Schley County 26:57.45
- Austin Graham Schley County 27:22.58
- Kyler Walton Schley County 27:40.27
- Ghufran Bhatti Schley County 27:54.97