Calhoun boys lead local finishes at State Meet in Carrollton
The best runners from all over the state of Georgia converged on Carrollton on Saturday for their respective classifications’ State Meets, and several local teams and runners had solid showings as they stacked up against elite competition.
The Calhoun boys were the top team finishers as they took seventh overall in Class AAA with a score of 250. Their top finisher was Felipe Barrios in 39th with a time of 18:38.44, and he was followed shortly after by teammate Julio Lopez in 42nd with an 18:43.41. Other scoring runners for the Jackets were Brody Blalock (49th, 18:52.53), Jonathan Santana (64th, 19:08.43) and Ben Tow ( 66th, 19: 10.99). Also completing the course was Mario Marroquin ( 19: 23.89) and Francisco Pena (19:57.49).
The Calhoun girls finished 12th in the team standings in the Class AAA girls meet with a score of 321 as Ashley Jaramillo was the top finisher for the Lady Jackets in 40th with a time of 23: 37.75. Teresa Nguyen and Mari Morales finished together in 53rd (24:04.07) and 54th (24:05.31), respectively, and Adamariz Perez (80th, 24:52.40) and Sandra Ramirez (105th, 25:59.80) completed the team score. Brisa Lopez (26:31.91) and Angela Pegueros (26:37.34) also completed the course.
Sonoraville’s boys team made their first-ever appearance in the State Meet and finished 12th overall in Class AAA with a score of 362. Nahum Trenti led the way by finishing 37th with a time of 18:35.30, and John Graves was not far behind in 44th with an 18:48.11. Spencer Ford (57th, 19:01.13), Jose Fraire (116th, 20:25.39) and Enrique Trenti (120th, 20:33.15) rounded out the team score. Ben Stewart (20:37.40) and Cody Grantham (21:10.88) also finished the course.
Sonoraville’s Riley Triplett, who qualified as an individual after her thirdplace finish at Region a few weeks ago, was the top-finishing girl in the Class AAA girls meet in 36th with a time of 23:25.25.
Sonoraville coach Butch Burch said he is proud of the way his team performed at State and all season and looks forward to where the program goes from here.
“I am so excited about our teams’ performance at the State meet, and I can’t wait for next season,” said Burch. “We were able to reach our goal for the year, and while in Carrollton we began to set new goals for next sea- son. As coach all I do is aim this ship in the right direction. It’s the kids that put all the hard work into the season that makes it a success. Our boys varsity team finished 12th out of 30 teams in their State debut…not bad for a first timer. Riley finished 36th out of 187 runners in the girls meet. Riley and Nahum have exciting running careers ahead of them, and I’m honored to be along for the ride.
“This team has quickly put Sonoraville Cross Country on the map this year, and I owe a debt of gratitude to John Graves and Ben Stewart who served as team Captains. They are the ones who initially set the State Meet as our focus for the year. We are turning the sport of running into a lifetime movement at Sonoraville, and I hope it’s a movement more kids want to be a part of.”
The Gordon Central boys ran in the Class AAA Meet early on Saturday and finished 14th out of 29 teams with a score of 395. Joey Kowalczeski was the top finisher for the Warriors in 47th with a time of 19:29.68. Nelson Rodriguez took 62nd with a 19:52.19, and Alfredo Pegueros (92nd, 20:24.01), Logan Swaim (97th, 20:31.45) and Bryce Bussert (118th, 20:56.02) completed the team score. Fredo Olivares (21:30.10) and Dylan Ramsey (21:50.53) also finished the State course.