Region cross country championships are nothing new for the Winder-Barrow High School Lady Bulldoggs.
The team won its fourth consecutive region crown last week in Conyers and will enter Saturday’s state championship with hopes of capping another stellar season by finishing among the state’s elite.
“Our seniors have won region four years in a row,” said WBHS coach Amanda Partee-Manders. “They went in with a lot of weight on their shoulders. They really stepped up. They ran the course a couple of weeks earlier and that helped give them confidence. They ran a smart race. I am very proud of them.”
Senior Caitlin Connell won the individual championships in 19:22. Adding to the accomplishment was the fact Connell defeated Cassie Ward of Flowery Branch for the first-place medal.
WBHS coach Michael Lofton said Connell typically begins her races with a reserved pace and then pours it on at the end. For the region meet, the WBHS coaches told Connell not to let Ward get too far in front of her. Lofton said Ward’s strategy is usually to build such a big lead early that it hampers her competitor’s chances of passing her.
“Caitlin was in front of her at the two-mile mark and we knew she would be able to hold on,” Lofton said.
The Lady Bulldoggs took the first, third, fifth, ninth and 12th place spots at region for 30 points which put WBHS ahead by 10 points in the team standings. Flowery Branch was second.
Whitley Kennedy was the third runner to finish the race, completing the course in 19:58 followed by Anna Dean in fifth in 20:14. Amber Palermo was ninth individually in 20:42 with Kiana Perez in 12th with a time of 20:49.
For Palermo and Perez, it was the first time competing at the region meet for the varsity Lady Bulldoggs.
“You wonder if they will be able to push through,” Lofton said. “They did a great job at this level.”
It was the first time in 2012 that the Winder-Barrow and Flowery Branch teams competed head-to-head.
“Both teams wanted it,” said Partee-Manders. “Not having faced this during the season made it tougher. However, our runners had an average of 20:13, which is tremendous.”
The Lady Bulldoggs will now step on the state’s big cross country stage Saturday in Carrollton. The state race begins at 1:40 p.m.
“I think we have a chance to be in the upper tier,” Partee-Manders said. “They have changed the course at state from last year. There is a monster hill we’ll have to contend with. We will walk the course Friday and figure out what we have to do in order to run a smart race.”
WBHS BOYS
The Winder-Barrow High School boys cross country runners also had a strong showing at the Region 8-AAAAA meet finishing second as a team.
Skyler Lowe, William Wright, Nelson Lofton, Alex Martinez and Tony Rowden were the top five runners for the Bulldoggs.
Lowe finished seventh individually in 17:08 followed by Wright in 13th place 17:37. Lofton was 14th in 17:41 followed by Martinez in 16th at 17:47 and Rowden in 18th at 17:52. Rowden’s mark was a personal best by 30 seconds.
“It was Skyler’s best race of the season,” Coach Lofton said. “We have to keep it up and race at state the same way we did at region. We have a bigger race to run now Saturday. Last year we did well at region, but were a little flat at state. We’ll change some things up this week in preparation and give it our best. We’ll be facing more than 200 runners at state.”
The boys will compete Saturday at 1 p.m. in Carrollton.
APALACHEE AT REGION
The Apalachee High School cross country runners capped their 2012 season at region last week with fifth place finishes for the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats.
The AHS runners, under the direction of first-year coach Alex Holmes, made steady progress throughout the season.
Will Morgan paced the Wildcats at region in 17:38 followed by Nick Zvirbulis (18:06), Chandler Campell (18:10) and Stephen Sassano (18:19).
The Lady Wildcats had four freshman runners in their top five at region.
Casey Todd paced the AHS girls in 21:04 followed by Madison Rogan (21:45), Skylar Rogan (23:27), Ashley Burton (23:37) and Analee Bradach (23:38).
Holmes said the Lady Wildcats should be strong in 2013 with so many runners returning.
