CARROLLTON — The Bank County boys cross country teams placed four runners in the top eight and all six of its participants in the top 17 to blow away the field to capture the Class AA state title Saturday at the state cross country course at West Georgia.
Griffin Stephens finished third, Jimmy Cochran was fourth, Hunter Cochran seventh, and Seth Ledford was eight for the Leopards, who finished with 38 points, more than 70 points ahad of second place Armuchee (111). Bleckley County was third (143), Pepperell fourth (187), and Toombs County took fifth with 189 points.
Rabun County came in 11th with 321 points, paced by a fifth-place finish by Guy Gober.
The Banks County girls finished second in the girls race with 101 points but was 69 points behind state champion Bleckley County, who tallied just 32 points. The Rabun County girls took fifth with 159 points.
The Lady Leopards were paced by a sixth-place finish from Allison Smith. Rabun County was led by an 11th place showing from Georgia Stockton.
In the Class AAA boys race, North Hall's Devon Crow won the individual medalist title posting a 16:26.34 time to hold off Will Wallace of Westminster, who finished in 16:32.66 time. East Jackson's Shane Shelafoe took third and Lance Underwood of Union County finished fifth.
Westminster won the team title compling 50 points with Dawson Countytaking second with 74 points. Pace Academy was third with 154 points, North Hall fourth with 163, and Lovett completed the top five with 187 points, which was just enough to nip sixth-place East Jackson (198).
Dawson County was led by an eight-place finish from Cody Wood.
In the Class AAA girls race, North Hall with 198 points was the only area team to crack the top five. But Dawson County finished sixth (204) and East Jackson was seventh at 242 points. Westminster won the AAA title placing all five scoring runners in the top nine for a miniscule 25 points. Lovett was second, Pace Academy third, and Hart County fourth.
In the individual race, East Jackson's Sue Morales took fifth and Dawson County's Frankie Muldoon placed sixth.
In the Class AAAA boys race, White County finished sixth (208), Chestatee was seventh (236), and Jefferson took ninth with 274 points to crack the top 10. Marist nipped St. Pius 58-63 to win the team title. Chestatee's Jesus Reyes (16th) was the only individual area runner to crack the top 20.
In the Class AAAA girls meet, the White County girls finished fifth with 130 points with Chestatee taking seventh with 284 points. Marist won the title with 38 points. Oconee County was second, Blessed Trinity third, and St. Pius fourth. In the individual race, Rachel Gearing and Jaelen Alexander finished 14th and 15th to lead White County. Dennis Gomez crossed the line in 23rd to lead Chestatee.
In the Class AAAAAA boys race, Gainesville finished ninth pcade by a 10th place finish from Mugisha Bienvenu.
