Calhoun cross country competes at 5A state meet
The Calhoun boys and girls cross country teams competed in the GHSA AAAAA State Championship on Saturday in Carrollton.
The crisp air, crowd energy, and course conditions created an ideal running atmosphere for the final race of the season.
The Jackets battled hard in both races against arguably the deepest field in AAAAA history.
The boys raced first and improved their average time on the course from earlier in the year by approximately one minute.
They swarmed to a 26th place finish behind junior leader Enders Cinto in a time of 19:03.
Seniors Julian Santiago and Ricardo Mejia, who both made their fourth state championship appearance, kicked hard to finish right behind Cinto.
Devon Dornan and Alberto De Leon scored for the Jackets with great performances.
Nicholas Repp and Chris Fitz Lopez ran strong races and contributed to the overall team finish.
The girls raced soon after the boys and improved their
♦ time on the course by over two minutes to secure a 27th place finish.
They were led by freshman leader Carolynn Dooley, who had a stellar performance in her first state championship with a time of 22:48.
Senior Anna Gibson, who was also competing in her fourth state championship, became stronger as the race went by and finished soon after Dooley with a fast kick.
Freshmen Beyonce Brito and Giuliana Lopez shined in their first state appearance by scoring for the Jackets. Junior Linda Perez ran a very strong race to contribute to the team score.
Seniors Melany Sanchez and Jasmine Rodriguez demonstrated grit and determination by contributing to the team finish.
The Jackets will now look to recover and prepare to continue their streak of state championship appearances next fall.