Savannah Arts Academy’s girls won their third straight GHSA Class 2A cross country title at the state meet in Carrollton. The Panthers scored 46 points, led by Francie Tedder, who finished second.
Islands’ girls placed second in Class 3A, the highest state meet finish in school history. Richmond Hill’s girls finished third in Class 7A, and the boys took fourth. For the first time, both Richmond Hill teams reached the podium. It was also the first podium finish for the girls.
Nine Savannah-area runners reached the All-State podium by finishing in the top 10 of their classifications. The girls were Savannah Arts’ Tedder (second), Morgan Irvine (eighth) and McKay Bennett (ninth); Islands’ Leila Kellison (fourth); and Richmond Hill’s Chloe Miller (sixth) and Gabriella Francis (ninth). The boys were Richmond Hill’s Liam Penttila (fourth), Benedictine’s Cole Minnich (fifth) and Savannah Arts’ Logan Brodhead (eighth).
Savannah Arts’ boys also reached the podium, placing third in Class 2A. Here are the local team results. Each team was allowed up to seven runners, and the first five runners scored points. Runner points are from the results on the MileSplitGA.com website; times are included for the scoring five. Other listed runners are included by name, without times.
Girls
Savannah Arts Academy’s girls cross-country team celebrates its third straight Class 2A state title.
Savannah Arts Academy — Class 2A, first, 46 points; team time 21:39. Francie Tedder (second, 20:38.79; 2 points), Morgan Irvine (eighth, 21:30.36; 8), McKay Bennett (ninth, 21:40.35; 9), Ava Treece (12th, 21:55.74; 11) and Madeline Balthrop (17th, 22:33.28; 16). Also ran: Eleanora Smith and Lorena Nell.
Islands’ girls cross-country team celebrates its second-place finish in Class 3A at the GHSA state meet in Carrollton, the highest finish in school cross country history.
Islands — Class 3A, second, 139 points; team time 24:54. Leila Kellison (fourth, 22:17.60; 2 points), Zeycan Agbas (20th, 24:10.99; 16), Bella LaPlante (35th, 25:27.77; 28), Kaileigh Toler (40th, 25:45.55; 33) and Corinne Miezejeski (68th, 26:51.20; 60). Also ran: Monika Majerova and Niki Majerova.
Richmond Hill’s girls cross-country team celebrates its third-place finish in Class 7A, the first podium finish in girls program history.
Richmond Hill — Class 7A, third, 81 points; team time 20:00. Chloe Miller (sixth, 19:21.42; 6 points), Gabriella Francis (ninth, 19:33.75; 9), Julia Anastasio (15th, 20:08.27; 15), Koeyn Harris (22nd, 20:20.04; 22) and Lucy Puskar (29th, 20:40.06; 29). Also ran: Lena Tocco and Quinn Lock.
Bryan County — Class 2A, 12th, 354 points; team time 25:49. Khloe Smith (51st, 24:41.16; 48 points), Abbigale Stucker (57th, 24:59.68; 54), Lexi Lane (74th, 25:39.24; 71), Julia Koskela (75th, 25:47.82; 72) and Lila Hannah (112th, 28:00.71; 109).
Savannah Christian Prep — private-school division, 20th, 522 points; team time 26:16. Lydia Amick (72nd, 24:39.81; 73 points), Grace Cunigan (87th, 24:59.58; 88), Rielyn Woo (111th, 26:14.16; 112), Sadie McGarity (113th, 26:29.74; 113) and Georgia Keller (136th, 29:00.23; 136). Also ran: Katie Miller and Meera Patel.
Boys
Savannah Arts Academy’s boys cross-country team celebrates its third-place finish in Class 2A on the podium.
Savannah Arts Academy — Class 2A, third, 87 points; team time 18:19. Logan Brodhead (eighth, 17:57.60; 8 points), Nico Klaras (13th, 18:09.16; 13), Walter Yang (15th, 18:14.67; 15), William McCarn (22nd, 18:28.94; 21) and Aleksandar Domazet (31st, 18:48.85; 30). Also ran: Michael Grabowski and James McCarn.
Richmond Hill’s boys cross-country team celebrates its fourth-place finish in Class 7A. For the first time, the boys team reached the podium.
Richmond Hill — Class 7A, fourth, 161 points; team time 17:03. Liam Penttila (fourth, 16:02.67; 4 points), Derek Feske (14th, 16:44.36; 13), Eddie Howell (19th, 16:53.95; 18), Caden Gross (63rd, 17:45.16; 59) and Jamie Holler (71st, 17:49.75; 67). Also ran: Benjamin Tocco and Lealond Hodges.
Benedictine — Class 5A, 16th, 423 points; team time 18:52. Cole Minnich (fifth, 17:04.70; 4 points), Ben Harvey (54th, 18:21.79; 50), Will Hoffman (120th, 19:26.59; 116), Tucker Hollis (124th, 19:31.37; 120) and Andrew DeWitt (137th, 19:58.81; 133). Also ran: Gui Lemieux and Quinn Kolovich.
Islands — Class 3A, 15th, 398 points; team time 20:36. Isaac Edris (51st, 19:48.47; 51 points), Bennett Edris (69th, 20:16.62; 68), Noah Burton (78th, 20:32.96; 77), Anthony Herbert (101st, 21:10.39; 100) and Connor Stille (103rd, 21:11.96; 102). Also ran: Elliott Smith and Greg Lindsay.
Bryan County — Class 2A, 15th, 444 points; team time 20:40. Channing Creech (47th, 19:26.15; 46 points), Walker Summerford (68th, 20:12.86; 66), James Hodges (104th, 20:58.93; 102), John Roberson (112th, 21:15.16; 110) and Sean Thomas (122nd, 21:30.71; 120). Also ran: Evan Cepeda and Bentley Beavers.
Savannah Classical Academy — Class 1A, 20th, 457 points; team time 23:47. Alan Jarquin Felix (37th, 20:40.00; 37 points), Gerald Pineda (41st, 20:56.45; 41), Luis Martinez (124th, 24:52.38; 121), Osarume Aigbogun (126th, 24:54.19; 123) and Cayto Clayton (138th, 27:36.40; 135). Also ran: Simeon Ervin.
Savannah Christian Prep — private-school division, 20th, 501 points; team time 20:29. Christopher Manchester (61st, 19:15.65; 60 points), Heath Patterson (93rd, 20:03.51; 91), Wyatt Bowen (105th, 20:29.89; 104) and Garrett Robertson (156th, 22:35.78; 154). Also listed: Ephraim Sprinkel, Harrison Loucks and Xhaiden McCormick.
A third straight title for Savannah Arts, a historic finish for Islands and a milestone day for Richmond Hill and nine all-state runners. Not a bad weekend in Carrollton, Georgia, for the Coastal Empire teams!
Photos courtesy of the school’s social media pages and athletic departments.
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