So, what can Northeast Georgia area cross country teams do as an encore to perhaps the best season ever as a collective whole in 2020?
“You know, it was a great season overall for the area and I think we’re going to have several teams be just as strong as they were last year,” said North Hall cross country coach Sam Borg, who has been connected with the sport in the area for nearly two decades. “It should be a lot of fun again.”
Two teams -- the Chestatee boys in Class 4A and Commerce boys in Class A Public -- will be looking to defend state titles after both grabbed their first-ever team titles in 2020. Jefferson’s Katherine Law won the 4A girls individual title, Caylee Wagner of North Hall brought home the 3A girls title, and Commerce’s Brandon Martin won the Class A Public boys title.
Two other teams -- the Jefferson girls (4A) and Dawson County boys (3A) -- finished as state runners-up. Gainesville’s Ashley Thompson was state runner-up in the 7A girls meet and North Hall’s Andrew Jones finished second in 3A boys. Chestatee’s Luke Gaddis finished as state runner-up in 4A boys while teammates Gavin Grater and Jonathan Torres Cruz finished third and fourth, respectively.
In all, the area produced 18 top-10 team finishes and 19 individual top-10 finishers across the eight classifications. It will be a tough season to top.
The 2021 season officially opened on Aug. 9 around the state but most programs had a two-week integration period for runners who were not able to attend summer workouts.
The first meet of the season is expected to be the War Eagle Invite on Aug. 28 at Chestatee.
Of the state title winners, the Lady Dragons’ Law, now a senior, will be the only returning champ. North Hall’s Wagner and Jones both graduated, as did the Tigers’ Martin. Gainesville’s Thompson, also a senior, will be back but Chestatee’s Gaddis and Torres-Cruz both graduated.
The Greater twins, now seniors, will be back to anchor a War Eagles team that despite the two key losses return five of their top seven runners from last year with a couple of solid additions.
Sophomore Javier Rebollar, who finished 10th in the state meet last year, returns along with fellow sophomore Noah Peterson and junior Aaron Retana. Newcomers Nate Ibarra, a sophomore, and freshmen Eli Chafin, have War Eagles coach Jennifer Moore expecting big things in 2021.
The War Eagles pulled off a difficult trifecta in 2020 winning the Hall County Championships, the Region 8-4A title, and the state title.
“We still have a very good nucleus back and we’re looking to try and defend our title,” Moore said. “Last year was like a perfect storm in that we had a lot of talent, stayed healthy, and performed at a high level in the big meets. We know we will have a big bullseye on us in every meet but I think the guys are up to the challenge.
“We’re really a pretty young team overall and the young guys have really been working hard during the summer. You have to have a lot of things go right to win the meets we did. We know we are going to have to up our game if we want to repeat any of those.”
Also in Class 4A, the Jefferson boys, led by returning senior Matthew Schroeder, who finished ninth in 2020, finished fourth overall while the Flowery Branch boys finished fifth and both are expected to challenge again in 2021. The Lady Falcons also finished fifth in 2020, led by now-junior Bella Brick, who placed seventh in 2020, and should be in the mix as well.
In Class 3A, Region 7-3A was by far the deepest with three teams finishing in the top seven on the girls side and three in the top five on the boys side.
Borg said his group of Lady Trojans may be its deepest in years, highlighted by youth and talent. Despite the loss of Wagner, they have sophomores Abi Moore, who finished fifth in 2020, and Makayla Jones to anchor. They also have added the top two state finishers in eighth-grade in 2020 in now-freshmen Jessie Dubnik and Clodagh O’Bryant.
“I think this year’s group will be deeper than last year,” Borg said. “The girls have been training hard all summer and I feel like we’re a team that can definitely win the region and should be a state title contender. We’re very young but they also have already raced a lot of high-pressure races so I think they will be ready for the challenge.”
For the 7-3A girls, White County finished fourth and Cherokee Bluff fifth in 2020. The Lady Bears return junior Adison Myers, who finished third in the Class 3A indivdual meet last year and who should be a title contender again.
On the boys side in 7-3A, Borg expects a wide-open race in 2021. The Dawson County boys graduated several top runners which should open the door for the North Hall and Cherokee Bluff boys, who have several returnees. But White County and Lumpkin County also are expected to be in the mix as well on the boys side.
“I don’t think there is a clear-cut favorite on the boys side,” Borg said. “It may come down to whoever is hot during the region race as to who will move on to the state meet. It should be a lot of fun watching all the teams progress this year.”
Area runners should get plenty of challenges throughout the season with several big meets scheduled.
The War Eagle Invite on Aug. 28 at Chestatee and the North Hall Invite on Sept. 9 will be the first major events, with the Hall County Championships set for Sept. 25. That meet will feature six teams that finished in the top 10 in 2020 with 10 runners that also claimed top 10 finishes.
The Unicoi/Mountain Invite on Oct. 7 should give teams and runners one more big challenge before region meets are scheduled to be finished by the end of October.
The State Championships will once again be held at the West Georgia course in Carrollton on Nov. 5-6.
