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 12^th out of 162 competitors, as she crossed the finish line in a time of 23:33.54. Kilheffer was just eight seconds behind 11^th 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 61^st 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 39^th 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 46^th 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 76^th 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