THE EAST Jackson boys’ and girls’ cross country teams made sure their seasons didn’t end without a trip to Carrollton.
Both missed out on state a year ago but made amends this year with fourth-place finishes at the Region 8-AA meet — hosted by East Jackson — to each clinch a spot in the Class AAA championships in Carrollton this Saturday.
“I was happy with both the men’s and women’s teams,” coach Tomy Sitton said. “I felt after the Bob Roller meet that both had a good shot to qualify.”
Last year’s miss was also a motivating factor.
“I think it was more of a factor with the boys than it was the girls,” he said. “I think the girls were excited about having the opportunity to go to state but the boys not having qualified last year was a little bit more of an incentive.”
The East Jackson boys qualified on the strength of two sub-17:30 times.
Noah Hulett continued his late-season surge and finished 11th in the 8-AAA boys’ race with a time of 17:09, and Vladik Staples took 13th with a 17:20.
But the Eagles also got help from their two through five spots.
Cory McClung nearly broke 18:00, running a personal-best 18:04 to finish 25th.
“Corey did a really good job,” Sitton said. He PR’d. The others were a little off their pace.”
Quenton Rice also chipped a sub-19 time with an 18:39 to finish 32nd. Tyler Cone rounded out the scoring with a 19:10 (38th overall). Also running were Bobby Hawkes (45th, 19:30) and Adam Minnick (51st, 20:42).
East Jackson (119 points) edged out the Morgan County boys for the fourth and final spot to state by seven points. The Eagles had lost to the Bulldogs five times during the course of the season.
“I think the guys knew that they all had to run well and that we had to somewhat beat them up front,” Sitton said.
All eight Region 8-AAA schools qualified for a team score at region. North Oconee (37 points) won the 8-AA title, followed by Oconee County (48) and Hart County (54). Finishing behind East Jackson were Morgan County (126 points), Elbert County (167), Jackson County (190) and Franklin County (232).
On the girls’ side, East Jackson also got 11th and 13th-place finishes to help earn a fourth-place team score.
Kristin Whitlock ran a 21:45 to finish 11th, and Hayleigh Smith followed closely behind with a 21:53 to take 13th.
Whitlock was running in only her fourth meet due to injuries and splitting time with softball this season.
The Lady Eagles then got sub 24-minute finishes from its two through five runners — Maegan Davidson (20th, 22:07), Bailey Brooks (26th, 22:52) and Robin Adair (32nd, 23:40). Also running were Caroline Flynn (37th, 23:58) and Sydney Moates (52nd, 32:44).
The East Jackson girls (101 points) beat out fifth-place Hart County by 30 points for the final qualifying spots for state.
Seven of the eight Region 8-AAA teams competed in the girls’ race. North Oconee (17 points) won the region, followed by Oconee County (66) and Jackson County (68).
Placing behind East Jackson were Hart County (131), Elbert County (157) and Morgan County (186). Franklin County did not qualify for a team score.
Both teams going to state is big for several reasons, according to Sitton. It’s a good sendoff for the seniors, it will provide good experience for sophomore runners like Hulett and Staples and helps draw attention to East Jackson cross country.
“I think it’s an opportunity to keep improving the program — qualifying both teams — and hopefully getting more kids out and generating more interest,” Sitton said. “We’re still fighting the numbers issue.”
