7th-grader Haygen James of Demorest moments before crossing the finish line during the 2019 Tallulah Falls School quadrathlon. (Brian Boyd/Tallulah Falls School)
On a beautiful Thursday afternoon, Aug. 21, Tallulah Falls School middle school and varsity cross country runners gathered at Terrora beach at Tallulah Gorge State Park to compete in the school’s annual quadrathlon.
This strenuous, multi-discipline race includes kayaking, swimming, biking and running, in that order. The middle school runners competed first, and were followed by the varsity squad.
From the middle school, top female finishers included seventh-grader Haygen James of Demorest (58:23), eighth-grader Jenna Chesser of Cleveland (1:09:37), eighth-grader Daniel Prince of Demorest (1:09:53), seventh-grader Maggie Shelton of Cornelia (1:09:54) and Carsyn Griffis of Tallulah Falls (1:13:23).
Eighth-grader Blair Moore of Demorest (58:20) led the way for the middle school boys, while eighth-grader Henry Rickman of Tiger (1:01:38), seventh-grader Timothy Beck of Clayton (1:22:59) and seventh-grader QiangFeng William Xu of China (1:49:22) completed the group.
The varsity team was led by sophomore Evan Prince of Demorest (52:16) and junior Grey Bourlet of Tallulah Falls (52:19). Completing the top five for the boys’ team was senior Chris Geiger of Sautee Nacoochee (57:33), Chathan Clouatre of Toccoa (58:20) and junior Collin Kelly of Demorest (1:03:50).
For the varsity girls, sophomore Lucy Alexander of Sautee Nacoochee (1:07:17) paced the group. Senior Sophie Alexander (1:19:00), sophomore Maggie Peacock of Clarkesville (1:25:46), sophomore Macy Murdock of Carnesville (1:30:20) and senior Maria Whitson of Alto (1:30:20) completed the top five.
Following the race, student-athletes, families and guests celebrated a safe and successful event with a cookout held at the park’s picnic shelter.
