Richmond Hill seniors Julia Anastasio and Eddie Howell lead the latest editions of the Wildcats’ girls and boys cross country teams that are expected to contend for podium finishes at the GHSA Class 7A state meet in November.
The pair have put up 5K times and placements over the past three seasons to support such aspirations, and current teammates also are showing that perennial contender Richmond Hill has the depth in talent to make these goals a reality.
Not to be overlooked is the mental toughness that Anastasio and Howell bring to the sport and has so much to do with their level of success this season.
Anastasio is coming back this fall from basically a lost year in 2025. As a sophomore that January, her track season ended when she needed surgery for a right hip impingement. Her labrum was torn, and arthritis had built up, leading to surgery to shave bone in the hip, she said.
“I was on bed rest for at least six months, so getting back into it was a very long process,” recalled Anastasio, 17.
She was determined to run cross country as a junior last fall and had the support of family, friends and coaches.
“I always knew,” Anastasio said. “I knew it was going to take a while. I knew it was going to be a long process but I’d eventually get back.”
She didn’t run over the summer until that August, affecting Anastasio’s impact for the team during her abbreviated season. Coach Levi Sybert called it “really rough” compared to a normal cross country campaign for Anastasio, lauded as the top girls cross country runner in the Coastal Empire as a freshman and sophomore by the Savannah Morning News.
“She’s doing really good right now,” Sybert said. “I know last year she had a lot of nervousness. If she felt anything in the hip, she’d be like, ‘oh, no,’ and shut down a little bit, concerned about that. This year, she’s really going after it. I’m really proud of her. She’s done some amazing things from where she was at to where she’s going. I think she’ll be good.”
Anastasio concluded last season by not completing the Class 6A state meet because of a sprained ankle. She ran track in the spring but “wasn’t aggressive,” Sybert said, and the results showed in the 800- and 1,600-meter races.
But this fall, Anastasio posted one of the area’s fastest times (19 minutes, 6 seconds) for 12th place individually at the Wildcats’ season opener, the Cecil Field Summer Classic on Aug. 21 in Jacksonville, Fla.
She followed that with a return to Carrollton’s hilly course on Sept. 12 for the OrthoWest Invitational. In muddy conditions, Anastasio placed fourth (20:46.68).
“I doubt state will be that muddy, but if it is, at least we have that preparation,” said Anastasio, whose personal best is 18:27.27 set on a widely regarded fast course at the Alexander/Asics meet in Fairburn in 2023.
“I think she got her head and body and everything in the right mindset,” Sybert said of Anastasio’s efforts this season. “I hope she will do well and finish the season well. I know confidence is a tough thing for a lot of athletes. As long as she can stay aggressive and confident like she is now, she should finish really well.”
Anastasio said her goal is to make the podium with a top-10 time, and her team goal is a podium finish at the state meet on Nov. 7. The Wildcats placed 10th in Class 6A in 2025.
“We have a pretty solid team this year,” she said. “I feel pretty confident.”
Sybert pointed to a trio of runners in Anastasio, junior Chloe Miller and senior Gabriella Francis as improving in their team leadership as well as their race-day performances this season.
Richmond Hill senior Julia Anastasio, left, and junior Chloe Miller compete at the OrthoWest Invitational on Sept. 12, 2026, in Carrollton, Ga. (Kasie LaFramboise/Richmond Hill High School)
Miller, the Morning News’ All-Greater Savannah Girls Runner of the Year in 2025, posted a 19:19 for 20th in Jacksonville and 20:11.72 for second at Carrollton this season. Francis recorded times of 19:46 (33rd) and 20:21.23 (third) at the two meets, respectively.
Anastasio was asked about the sustained success of the Richmond Hill cross country program under Sybert, who started working at the school in 2007 and was an assistant track coach before becoming head coach of the boys and girls cross country and track and field teams in 2010.
“We build off each other. We all want to get better,” she said. “We all just want to be the best. That’s what’s really special about the program, how close everyone is.”
All-in on running
That closeness was a selling point for Howell, who as a freshman had planned to run cross country, wrestle, and go out for the soccer team over the school year.
“But my freshman year of cross country I had a really great time, got really close with some of the guys on the team, and I realized I had some talent there and wanted to pursue that,” recalled Howell, 17.
He went all-in and ran track instead of playing soccer, and stopped wrestling after that freshman season, going “all-in on running.”
Sybert, for one, considers Howell a track athlete first.
“He’s not a cross country runner. Cross country is just something he’s doing,” the coach said. “He’s good at it. He’s not opposed to it at all. But his specialty is more the 800 and 1,600. He’s just really strong.”
Howell posted a personal best of 15:39.28 at the 2025 Alexander/Asics meet in 2025. He placed 10th at the Class 6A state meet (16:38.15).
This season, Howell ran 17:30.71 (sixth place) at Carrollton after finishing 17th in 16:01 in Jacksonville.
“I felt a little rusty. I hadn’t raced in a while. But 16:01, I’ll take that any day on a season opener,” Howell said.
“Eddie’s come along – he’s definitely been a nice, good slow progression,” Sybert said of Howell’s career. “Every year he’s gotten slightly faster and a little more confident in his ability in different areas. He’s actually more of a mid-distance runner.”
Richmond Hill senior Eddie Howell displays his medal after placing sixth at the OrthoWest Invitational on Sept. 12, 2026, in Carrollton, Ga. (Kasie LaFramboise/Richmond Hill High School)
Howell said 800 meters makes for a “great race” that “takes a little grit.”
“It’s one of those events where it’s right on that line of sprint and distance,” he said. “The 800 is a really big mental race.”
He brings aspects of his experience in other sports to cross country, which he regards as the toughest from a mental perspective.
“Wrestling has that grinding mindset, working hard and getting better,” he said. “I take a little bit from wrestling, mental-wise, but cross country is a little bit different. It’s more of that longevity, slow burn. Wrestling is like more of a sprint finish. Cross country is more challenging mentally than any sport I’ve played in my life. I had to re-wire a little bit. It’s definitely helped me get more mentally tough.”
The Richmond Hill boys squad will need to click mentally and physically as the athletics program was reclassified for two academic years from 6A to the newly created largest class, 7A. The Wildcats, who placed sixth last year in 6A, won their lone state crown at that classification in 2021.
Howell is part of a core group that also includes junior Derek Feske, sophomore Caden Gross and freshman Liam Penttila, with junior James Holler and senior Lealond Hodges as early contributors.
“We have a really strong top four, and our five and six are right up there and keep getting better,” said Howell, who believes the Wildcats have a “decent shot” at making the podium. “On the day (of the meet), you never know what can happen. We’re one of those teams that has a chance.”
He said that team culture produces strong results, with freshmen learning from veteran runners how to work hard and train until they “turn into one of those people,” and the cycle repeats itself with incoming classes.
“Coach Sybert is a great coach,” Howell said. “He’s always changing workout plans and adapting it to make it better. I think that’s a big contributor to why the program has been so consistent in the past years.”
Sybert said the team goal is to “do really well at the state meet and be consistent and reliable.” He believes the current squad could be better than the 2021 team, but the competition in 7A could be better, too.
“Honestly, I haven’t looked at it,” he said of the opposition. “I used to pay attention a whole bunch, but they reclassify every two years. They change things up so much. You know what, for one, I have no say in it. Two, we’re going to train pretty hard regardless.”
Photos courtesy of Kasie LaFramboise/Richmond Hill High School
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