TFS boys make first State appearance in 19 years
By: B. Scott Neal | Tallulah Falls School
The personal satisfaction an athlete feels at the moment of success is superficial compared to the deeper contentment of recognizing legacy in the making.
Qualifying to the state cross country championships has been historically challenging. Two top twenty nationally ranked harriers are in Georgia’s A-Private classification, one in the Area 2 region.
For the first time in Tallulah Falls School’s history, the 2019 TFS Lady Indian harriers advanced through the gateway to State by qualifying in fourth place at the A-Private Area 2 home meet; TFS boys, for the first time since 1990. That, in itself, is cause for happiness, but to the TFS Tribe, simply qualifying developed into more than wishing for lasting memories. The state experience escalated into braiding together to overcome all odds, to creating history, purposefully woven together for athletic tales to inspire generations.
This past weekend, 2,863 racers ran in sixteen races over two days (November 1-2, 2019) in Carrollton. They experienced different temperatures and ground cover, yet a similar atmosphere of professional structure, hoarse well-wishers with bated or visible breath, elite competitors, and forged impressions.
TFS Boys State XC Highlights
TFS boys warmed up in the pre-dawn light before the 8 a.m. Saturday morning start. Once the starter’s gun flashed and the red flag dropped, 117 high school boys took off from their starting boxes like just being released to a buffet line at camp.
The runners narrowed down from the wide start to the path parallel to the school building before circling around to the playground, up the hill, flat for a moment before running downhill to the greenway, through the forest, up separation slope, back to arm pistons up the hill in reverse fashion, and then running the loop the second time before finally sprinting downhill to the blowup finish arch and chip reading pads underneath. And they did it all the while seeing, feeling, and experiencing the 36-degree frosted tundra underfoot.
Undeterred by the coldest temps and toughest conditions, the Indians placed 9th of the 16 state qualifying teams, a solid and noteworthy performance.
Sophomore Evan Prince earned All-State honors by running 16:53.55 to place fifth – only .17 away from fourth – in Class A-Private. Evan’s time ranked 51st of 1463 runners from all classifications, the top three percent of all runners.
Senior Chris Geiger followed his inspiring fifth place Area 2 finish by exquisitely running a personal record 17:46.01 to finish 14th despite previously being ranked 60th in Class A.
Grey Bourlet – a week removed from sickness, Chathan Clouatre (second-best 5k time of the season), and Collin Kelly, who finished with a personal record, rounded out the TFS scoring while zooming with zest at the pinnacle meet.
Kale Corbett outsprinted two runners with 100 meters to go and freshman Zhigao Henry Xiong ran the 5k Carrollton elementary school campus grass, road crossings, and mulched path in 21:39.21 to complete the team’s finishes.
TFS alum Alex Hubbard ‘03, who placed fifth as a junior and then second as a senior at state, and is now an avionics technician with the USAF, wrote heartfelt congratulations and challenged his fellow Tribe torch bearers to shine bright as the light in the mountains.
TFS Girls State XC Highlights
Inspired by ‘17 TFS alum and current Sewanee University runner Perry Gresham’s letter to each of our state-bound girls, the inaugural state qualifying Lady Indians ran strategically stellar and motivated to place 12th as a team. They were led by Lucy Alexander (36th in 22:15) and Captain Sophie Alexander (38th in 22:19), who finished her high school career as #3 on the TFS Cross Country Legacy List.
Freshmen Kate Trotter and Emma Jackson ran side by side the entire race to cross the line less than a second apart.
Sophomore Sophie Herrera ran a gutsy, third-fastest personal best on the second most difficult course of the year to round out the scoring.
Each of the TFS girls etched their name in the history books of first team to state and a memorable finish for future generations to emulate and strive to surpass. Legacy ladies!
Girls results https://ga.milesplit.com/
Boys results https://ga.milesplit.com/
TFS results https://ga.milesplit.com/
