the boys who had run in previous state meets had dramatic time improvements, including Blake Tiede and Quinton Johnson, who were the first two finishers for the Wildcats. They were followed closely behind by Noah Goldstein, Cadmiel Velazquez, Jackson Watson, Benson Ross, and Owen Firebaugh. Congratulations to the whole team, and especially the
hard-working seniors for racing for the final time in style.
The girls took to the line for the hotly contested 5A title, and were led, as they have been for the past four years, by Alex Cameron, who finished up her cross country career with a runner-up finish. She led her team to a 3rd place overall finish, only trailing Northview and Lakeside-Evans, and besting Region rival Lakeside-DeKalb, who finished fourth. Alex was followed closely behind by Ann-Marie Sills, Ansley Heavern, Ellie Conoley, Sydney Drew, Jennifer Hardister, and Callie Dill. This ties for the second best finish ever by a Dunwoody girls XC team, and is a great reward for all of their hard work throughout the season. Only 3 other Dunwoody girls teams have taken the "podium" (top 4 teams), so this is a great
accomplishment by the girls.
The Dunwoody girls progam is also starting to build quite a legacy, as they are only one of 3 public schools in Georgia to have top 3 finishes in each of the last three State Meets (Heritage-Catoosa and Brookwood are the other two). The foundation for this legacy is built in large part by Alex Cameron, who turned in her 4th straight top 3 finish at the State
Championship. She is the ONLY senior girl in all of Georgia with top 3 finishes in all 4 of her years, which speaks to her consistency, durability, passion, and focus. While she will be missed, she has set the Wildcats up for great successes in the future through her leadership.
While the racing may be over, the XC season never really ends! Our season-end banquet will be held at DHS on Wednesday, November 20th and we hope to see all of you there. Additionally, several of our girls will be racing at the Foot Locker Regional Championships in Charlotte, NC on November 30th, and we hope that some of our athletes will take on the challenge of the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half-Marathon.
A few notes for athletes: First, the Varsity letter list will be posted outside of the coaches rooms on Monday. If you have questions about the list, please schedule a time to speak to the coachers BEFORE the banquet. Second, Varsity athletes please return the team jackets to Coach Hendrickson on Monday!
We appreciate all the support we have received throughout the season, and especially yesterday at the State Meet. We were excited to see so many of our JV athletes and parents come out to support the Varsity teams. Let's keep it going next year and turn Dunwoody into Runwoody!
Go Wildcats!