Cartersville, Woodland XC teams tune up for upcoming State Sectionals

October 19, 2024

The cross country teams at Cartersville and Woodland attended two invitationals on Saturday to prepare for the upcoming GHSA Class 4A State Sectionals.

Cartersville participated in the 5K Randolph Invitational in Huntsville, Alabama, and Woodland competed in the Varsity Division of the 5K Coach Wood Invitational in Whitesburg, Georgia.

The Cartersville boys placed seventh of 44 teams in Huntsville in a race that McCallie School of Chattanooga won. The boys' race included 184 runners.

Will Feuerbach led the Canes with a 13th-place finish in 16:07. He was followed by scoring runs by Barrett Stepp (26th, 16:21), Ethan Empie (62nd, 17:00), Hayden Mitchell (66th, 17:11), and Carson Robinson (77th, 17:23).

The Cartersville girls finished eleventh of 35 teams in a race won by Page High School of Franklin, Tennessee. The girls' race included 102 harriers.

Sofia Burns placed fourth individually in 18:36.  Other Lady Canes scoring runs were completed by Kylie Ham (54th, 21:07), Vivi Vest (88th, 22:08), Jordan Hathaway (95th, 22:21), and Samantha Stepp (102nd, 22:34).

The Woodland boys placed 15th of 35 teams in their division at the Coach Wood Invitational. Northgate won the competition, which included 268 runners.

Juan Mendoza (15th, 16:55) led the Wildcats. Will Parker (54th, 17:41), James Morris (91st, 18:08), Conner Cruz (160th, 19:10), and Gabe Hardin (187th, 19:39) had scoring runs for Woodland.

The Lady Cats finished 22nd out of 32 teams in the varsity division. South Forsyth won the race, which included 244 competitors.

Allison Snead ran to a 13th-place finish in 20:25 to pace the Woodland girls. Miranda Pelow (31st, 21:16), Addison Brown (66th, 22:26), Katie Anne Jones (204th, 26:24), and Lily Hiott (208th, 26:49) added scoring runs for the Lady Cats.

Next for Cartersville and Woodland is the GHSA 4A Sectional 2 race for Regions 3, 5, 6, and 7 in Fayetteville on November 2.