Gordon Lee teams excel at state meet.
The Gordon Lee High School cross country teams had their best combined state meet ever at Carrollton High School on Saturday as both the Trojans and Lady Trojans each placed third overall in the Class A Public School team standings.
“It was a pretty good day,” said first-year head coach Nathan Burns. “We were all excited. The kids have been busting their tails all year long and training hard. They showed up on Saturday and did really well.”
Jasper Wilson, a sophomore, ran an 18:51 and placed third overall. It was the best individual finish for a Trojan runner since Dylan Smith won the Class A Public School state championship in 2013.
Justin Collins and Bailey Burns, the only two seniors who competed for Gordon Lee on Saturday, ran a 19:09 and 20:08, respectively, for the Navy-and-White. Collins finished on the podium in seventh place.
The rest of the Gordon Lee lineup included freshman Ian Goodwin (20:10), freshman Rob Napier (20:48), sophomore Braxton Ledford (21:28) and junior Cole Collins (21:43). Napier’s time was a personal best. Gordon Lee’s average time of 19:49 was just nine spots away from second place.
It was the best-ever finish at state for a Gordon Lee boys’ team, bettering the seventh place showing they had in 2012 and 2013.
“We broke some new ground for the guys,” Burns said. “I’m really proud of them. Jasper still has two more years to run for us and I think he’ll really compete for the No. 1 spot next year. Justin is not just a great runner, but a great leader. He knows how to train and compete and he’s really like another coach for us. I’m very proud of him.”
On the girls’ side, junior Katelyn Gilliam finished 11th overall with a personal best of 23:46. Freshman Gracie O’Neal clocked in at 24:02 to place 12th and freshman Sarah Young turned in a 24:26, also a personal best, and placed 14th.
The rest of the Lady Trojans lineup included sophomore Emma Cate Dendy (26:47), junior Kaitlyn Hester (29:42) and freshman Kylie
Walker (29:49).
It was the Lady Trojans’ best showing at state since their runnerup finish in 2012.
“Most of the kids on both teams will be back next year and that’s exciting,” Burns added. “(Saturday) kind of showed them what the competition and atmosphere is like (at state). They see what things they need to do to be No. 1 and they have already set a goal of winning it all next year.”
The Georgia Military College Prep School boys won the state title with 41 points, followed by Seminole County (53) and Gordon Lee (93). GMC’s Hunter Kimbrell was the individual champion with a 17:26.
The Towns County girls won the team title with 73 points, just edging out Commerce (77) for the state crown. Gordon Lee (116) was third. Alli Hay of Pataula Charter Academy won the girls’ individual championship with a 20:57.
Complete results of all of the state championship meets in all classifications can be found online at ga.milesplit.com.