Running rampant
Jones is region 8AA champ, boys and girls head to state
By JARED PUTNAM

Chris Jones ran a time of 17:15.

Both the boys and the girls cross country teams are heading to state finals this week, after each squad claimed a spot as one of the top four teams in Region AA. "We're just excited," said Head Coach Jackie Hughes. "We're glad to be there."

The boys team was led by junior Chris Jones, who placed first overall with a time of 17:15, becoming Region 8AA Champion. "We have never had a male region champion from Union County," said Coach Hughes. "He's the first."

Alex Litman followed Jones with a time of 18:24 (16th overall), along with Ian Thomas at 18:51 ( 24th overall), T.J. Burgess at 19:00 (25th overall), Victor Gonzalez at 19:03 (28th overall), Beau Kelley at 19:17 (32nd overall), and Shane Kelley at 19:24 (35th overall).

Oglethorpe finished first as a team with 29 points, North Oconee second with 73, Dawson third with 74 and Union rounded out the top four with 94.

There was a significant gap between the top four and the rest of the field, as Washington Wilkes finish fifth with 133, Banks sixth with 164, Rabun seventh at 179, Morgan eighth at 226, Fannin ninth at 259, and Putnam tenth at 303. "There was a big split," said Coach Hughes. "There was a big dropoff in the guys from [teams four to five]."

Jasmin Gonzales is the only senior on the girls team.

The girls were led by Emma Krier, who acheived her personal best time of 22:38, placing sixth overall. She was followed by Hannah Thomas at 23:49 (17th overall), Monica Garcia at 24:34 (25th overall), Hannah Dohogne at 24:37 (26th overall), Erika Bunpermkoon at 24:41 (28th overall), Rachel Litman at 25:04 (35th overall), and Jasmin Gonzalez at 25:49 (41st overall).

"We were thrilled that the girls performed as well as they did at region and got the chance to go to state," said Coach Hughes, talking about a young group of girls who have steadily improved as the season has progressed. "They were so excited," said the coach. "They just kept doing exactly what I asked them to do. I just said work a little each week, don't try to bite off too much at any one time and each week try to get a little bit better." Coach Hughes said she hoped that they would be in the position come region time to have the work pay off, and in the end, it did. "My top five put it together that race and it just worked out."

Emma Krier has run well all season long.

Dawson took top honors with 62 points, followed by Rabun second with 69, Banks third at 80, and Union fourth with 102. With the exception of North Oconee, which placed fifth with 107, there was once again a large split between the top four and the remainder of the teams. Morgan placed sixth with 137, Fannin seventh with 176, and Oglethorpe eighth at 178. Washington Wilkes and Putnam County did not qualify for team scores.

The coach has three freshmen on the girls team who have never competed at the state level before. "It's really good that they are getting this experience at such a young age, and we can build on that next year."

Both the boys and girls also had junior varsity runners which competed individually. For the girls Katy Browning placed fourth overall with a time of 24:57, followed by Ashley Murrary at 27:16, and Mary Caterine Edumdson at 29:59. For the boys Luke Kelley placed seventh overall by notching a personal best time of 19:52, followed by Nick Thompson at 22:58, and Mack Edmundson at 23:20.

Coach Hughes said that the talent at the state level will be top notch. "The competition is going to be outstanding," said Coach Hughes. "It's going to be a battle. If we get top 10 it would be amazing. Because the competition this year is even stronger than it was last year. Top 20 is going to be a good showing. Anything better than that is frosting."

This is the ninth year in a row that there will be teams from Union County at the state competition, a remarkable feat considering that the program is only 10 years old. Only in the first year did a team not go from Union County. Seniors Ian Thomas and T.J. Burgess have been a part of the competition at the state level all four years of their high school career.