CARROLLTON — The 2018 GHSA State Cross Country Championships ended well for several North Georgia teams Saturday at Carrollton High School.
Union County's boys team took home the team title, while Rabun's Gober Guy, Union's Zoe Sanchez and North Hall's Devon Crow took home individual state titles in their respective classifications.
In Class AA, Union County boys, led by Luke Gambrell (4th), outpaced Armuchee (1:32:44 - 1:33:20) to win the team title.
"The boys made history today," Union Head Coach Paige Dyer said. "They've ran well all season, so we knew this was a possibilty. So proud of them."
Guy bested Banks’ Griffin Stephens (17:18 - 17:25) to win the individual state championship.
Banks' Buck Ledford (6th) and Wes Ledford (12th) contributed to the Leopands top-three finish.
On the girls side, Sanchez crossed the finish line well ahead of Bleckley County’s Emily Youngblood (20:04 – 20:55) to win the individual state title. Union finished 8th overall.
"I told Zoe to start fast and stay in front, and she did," Dyer said. "It's a well deserved championship."
Banks County led all area teams, finishing fourth (1:56:12). Rabun County finished 10th (2:03:41).
In Class AAA, North Hall's Devon Crow (16:19) edged Jefferson's Riley Thornton (16:27) to win the Class AAA individual crown.
East Jackson's Shane Shelafoe finished third. Dawson County's Ben McGinnis turned in a ninth-place finish.
North Hall boys finished third overall. Jefferson was fifth. Dawson finished sixth, and East Jackson was ninth.
In girls action, Dawson County's Frankie Muldoon (20:22) turned in a third-place finish. While Jefferson had two in the top 10. Katherin Law (20:45) was seventh, and Caitlyn Shroeder (20:56) crossed the line in ninth.
North Hall, Dawson, Jefferson and Jackson finished fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth in the team standings.
In Class AAAA, Flowery Branch's Collin Kilgore (17:01) jogged to a top-10 finish, placing seventh. Chestatee's Luke Gaddis (17:17) was 12th.
Meanwhile, White County and Flowery Branch girls scored top-10 finishes, grabbing fifth and eighth place.
On Friday, the Gainesville boys finished seventh overall, led by Miguel Lopez in 17th. The girls team finished outside the top-10 in 12th.
Buford finished 11th and Johnson 13 in Class 5A.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/11/730545/cross-country-union-boys-win-guy-and-sanchez-win-individual-titles