Twelve local schools have all competed in their respective Sectionals and/or Region meets. That represents 24 teams from 12 schools and in 5 different sectional events.
NOTE: Region meets feature the top-4 qualifying for state, while the sectionals are top-12 teams.
5A Sectional 1 (Regions 1,2,4,8)
Habersham Central
JR Audrey Hotard was 3rd at sectionals (18:41), while JR Abigail Hotard finished 27th (20:26) as the Lady Raiders came in 9th to qualify for state. The Raiders were 24th, with SR Connor Gebora (18:26) coming in 99th, and SO Tyler Allen (19:14) 126th.
3A Sectional 2 (Regions 5-8)
Dawson County
The Lady Tigers qualified for state by placing 5th. JR Hayden Hand (21:33) was 19th, and JR Addison Smith (21:49) was 22nd. SO Maria Gloeckner (22:16) finished 27th. The Tigers were 7th to qualify for state! SRs Jared Wade (17:19) and Emory Lail (17:20) were 21st-22nd. SR Bailey Swafford (18:04) was 44th.
Jefferson
The Dragons were 3rd to qualify for state, and SR Brock Brush (16:17) was 4th and SR CJ Jeffords was 7th (16:36). The Lady Dragons were 6th to earn a state bid. JR Hannah Schroeder (21:14) was 16th, and SR Sasha Thomason (22:24) finished 28th.
Lumpkin County
Wyatt Windham won the field as the Sectionals Champ (15:43), and brother Witt was 5th (16:26), as the Indians were 5th as a team to qualify for state. The Lady Indians also qualified by placing 8th. JR Keli George (20:35) was 7th, and JR Joanie Phillabaum (21:16) was 17th.
White County
The Lady Warriors were Runner-Up at sectionals. FR Carly Black (20:07) was 4th while JR Julie Black (20:32) was 5th. JR Emma Windham (20:42) was 9th. The Warriors qualified for state also by coming in 9th as a team, led by JR Alex Brannon (11th; 16:55) and SR Aiden Pickett (25th; 17:29).
Region 7-AA & 2A Sectionals 2 (Regions 5-8)
Union County
Union County’s girls came in Runner-Up in the Region Championships, with junior Lola Hunter (19:50) winning the individual Region Title. FR Macy Payne (24:48) was 13th and JR Averie Tanner (24:48) was 14th. The Runner-Up Panthers were paced by SO Oliver Hillman (18:12) at 6th, and SO Andrew Nushtayev (19:12) was 11th.
In the Sectionals, the Panthers were 5th behind Hillman’s 9th-place run (17:42) and SO Noah James Payne (19:05; 31st). Hunter (19:46) was the Sectionals Champ for the Lady Panthers. JR Avery Hussion (24:30) was 24th, as Union came in 3rd.
Stephens County
The Indians came in 13th at the sectionals, with SR Lucas Thompson (18:12) placing 15th and SO Gerri Setren (21:09) 77th. The Lady Indians didn’t qualify as a team, but SO Alexis Holland (29:03) and JR Sayde Gibby (29:05) were 64th-65th.
Region 8A DI & 1A DI Sectional 1 (Regions 5-8)
Banks County
The Leopards came in 4th as a team. SR Luke Lindeman (19:04) led with a 13th place run. SR Andrew Pope (20:27) and FR Titus Nguyen (21:00) were 21st-22nd. Banks’ girls didn’t field enough to place as a team. JR Ansley Moore was the Region RU with a 19:24 time and SR Maggie Irvin (24:02) and SO Bailey Baker (24:03) were 14th-15th.
At Sectionals, Lindeman was 13th (18:24) and Pope 58th (20:30). Moore for the girls was Runner-Up (19:41) and Baker (22:52) 19th. The Lady Leopards were 6th.
Commerce
The Tigers didn’t field enough to place as a team, but SO Jacob Fields was 16th at 19:20, and SR Noah Prickett (20:22) was 19th. Commerce girls did not have a team or individual in the event. At sectionals, SO Maribeth Hill (27:27) was 62nd for the girls, and SO Belle Gary (28:32) was 69th. JR Will Cox (18:39) was 18th and Fields (19:26) was 32nd for the Tigers, who came in 10th.
Rabun County
The Rabun boys placed 5th as a team. SR GB Anderson (19:53) was 18th, and JR Fen Hilson (21:32) was 24th. The Lady Cats didn’t have enough to place as a team, however, SR Valery Lembi (27:07) was 24th, and FR Mollie Istre (27:59) and JR Lindsay Whitmire (28:24) were 26th-27th. In the sectionals meet, Anderson led the Wildcats with a 41st-place run (19:49), and the boys came in 15th to miss the state cut. The Lady Cats came in 12th to qualify. SR Valery Lembi was 50th (25:47) and JR Lindsay Whitmire was 57th (26:29).
1A DII Sectional 2 (Regions 5-8)
Towns County
The Indians earned a state spot by coming in 7th. SR Connor Williams was 4th (18:06), and SR John Durham (22:52) was 50th. The Lady Indians were 9th. SR Kya Smith was 27th with a 27:00, and SR Ansleigh Hardin was 65th with a 33:59.
GIAA Region 4-AAA
Tallulah Falls
The Indians and Lady Indians both qualified for state with 3rd-place finishes. SO Teagan Penland was Runner-Up (17:16), and SR Timothy Beck (18:25) was 5th. FR Avery Chatman (19:09) was 9th, and SO Ryan Anderson was 11th (19:25). The Lady Indians were paced by SO Olivia Henderson (22:25) at 4th place, and SO Avery Keim was 8th (23:57).
