With frost still on the ground, the JV Championship girls started off the day, running very well and finishing 6th out of 16 teams! The Wildcats were led by great races from Ellie Canalichio and Emma Sheehan. Following this great start to the day, the Varsity girls competed in the Championship race, which featured some of the best competition we have seen this year. The girls finished a strong 10th out of 19 teams and were led by outstanding performances from Kelly May Sheehan and Callie Dill, who each improved greatly in time from their performances in last year's Coach Wood Invitational.
Most of the rest of the Championship Roster members got a chance to race in the JV Blue races in the middle of the day (after it had warmed up quite a bit). Megan Johnson and Maddie Tapp led the way in the girls JV Blue races, while Andrew Rice and Michael Lynch led the boys performances. Overall, the girls finished 16th while the boys finished 10th. The Varsity boys closed out the long day in much different conditions than the morning racers, but came ready to battle in the Varsity Cardinal race, finishing an impressive 6th out of 14 teams. Sam Mahle led the way with a top-15 finish, and was helped by a great race from Jerett Lupoli. Overall, it was a great day with many great performances. Thanks to all of the parents who attended (as well as alumni!), especially those that helped carpool runners to make the day shorter for some. Full race results can be found here.
That was not the only excitement on Saturday, however. A little farther down south, 8th grader Max Mowrer competed in the GA Middle School State Championships, and was victorious in the Large School division! Not only that, his time was the fastest recorded in all of the races! He can definitively say that he is the fastest 8th grader in the State of Georgia! Congratulations, Max!
Region Rosters:
The GHSA required that all Cross Country Region rosters be submitted by this past Tuesday, October 13th. These 12 runners are eligible to compete as one of the 7 participants in the Varsity races at the Region Championship and the State Championships (should the squads qualify). Congratulations to the following members of the 2015 Region Teams:
Boys: Sam Mahle, Jackson Watson, Phineas Haq, Jerett Lupoli, Max Marion, Alex Herod, Ethan Herod, Leighton Chen, Brandon Shockley, Ben Bass, Brandon Gita, and Jason Hughes.
Girls: Ansley Heavern, Kelly May Sheehan, Samantha Cameron, Callie Dill, Ally Womble, Ann-Marie Sills, Julia Echols, Sophia Tarrago, Chloe Thomas, Julie Hensley, Kate Marion, and Olivia Vergura.
This Week:
This is the last week of the regular season, culminating in the Region 6-AAAAA Championships this Saturday at Druid Hills Middle School. If the teams are able to finish in the top 4 at the Region meet on Saturday, they will qualify for the State Championships in Carrollton on November 7th.
First, a practice note: We will have practice at regular times all week, with the exception of Thursday, which will be a "run on your own" day due to the Homecoming Parade on Thursday afternoon, which the XC Wildcats will be participating in. All members of the team (Championship Roster or not) are welcome and encouraged to walk in the parade with your teammates!
Saturday will be the Region Championships at Druid Hills MS. There will be no bus to this meet, and Dunwoody is the host of this meet, along with Lakeside (who is the host for their Region). If you are able to volunteer to help for this meet, please let Coach Boucher know (we could use 4-8 volunteers to help at the finish line and handing out packets to teams). The race times and rosters (subject to change) are as follows:
8:15 AM - Varsity Boys: Sam Mahle, Jackson Watson, Jerett Lupoli, Phineas Haq, Max Marion, Ethan Herod, and Alex Herod.
9:00 AM - Varsity Girls: Julia Echols, Chloe Thomas, Julie Hensley, Sophia Tarrago, Kate Marion, and Olivia Vergura.
9:45 AM - JV Boys (Combined with Region 2-6A): All other Championship Season roster boys.
10:30 AM - JV Girls (Combined with Region 2-6A): All other Championship Season roster girls.
As the regular season draws to a close, we will be focusing on finishing the season strong and ending on a high note! The team has worked hard to get to where we are now, so let's make it count these last couple of weeks!
Thanks for your support of Dunwoody XC, and Go Wildcats!
Coach Boucher