At the Middle School State Cross Country Championships held in Cochran, Georgia, Abigail Hotard and Audrey Hotard of the Habersham Middle School Cross Country team finished 1st and 2nd in the Championship Race for all schools competing in the GHSA 5A, 6A, and 7A classifications.
Abigail finished first in the 2-mile race with a time of 12:42, followed closely by Audrey, who finished at 12:44 on the challenging course in a field of 193 runners.
When combining the races for all classifications and running clubs, the twins finished 3rd and 4th in the State behind only Ella Gibbs of Bleckley Middle and Mary Green of High Meadows in a field of 547 runners.
“Their accomplishments were the culmination of many hours of training and were especially gratifying to Audrey, who overcame breaking her tibia and fibula in February of this year,” says their father, Clarkesville attorney Gabriel Hotard.
“Abigail and Audrey have worked hard all season long to cement themselves as the two best female runners in our league and, now, two of the best female runners in the state meet,” says Habersham Middle School Cross Country Coach Jarrod Bingham.
The pair finished every league race in first and second place and helped lead a strong group of Habersham County Middle School girl runners to a sweep of their league meets this year, winning six consecutive first-place victories.
“They have always been very competitive and have always strived to run their best race, regardless of how far they were ahead of the third-place runner,” says Coach Bingham.
Bingham says he’s “very proud” of the work the entire team put in this season.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of student-athletes, and I’m excited to watch Abigail, Audrey, and all of our other eighth-grader runners continue to improve as they transition to the high school program next fall.”
Hotard says his daughters are “very grateful for their coaches’ advice and support” and are looking to hopefully participate in the AAU National Cross Country Championship and Junior Olympic races in December.
