WCHS teams race for state meet in Carrollton

The high school cross country season just started last week, and the Region 7-AAA cross country meet is still more than two months away, but for the White County High School runners there is no time like the present to prepare for the future.

After prepping for the season earlier this month by running in the North Georgia Two Mile Stage races in Commerce, and officially opening the season last weekend at the Pickens Preview in Jasper, the WCHS teams have their sights set on making another run to the state meet at the end of the season.

The WCHS program has traditionally spent the first weekend in November in Carrollton at the state meet. Last year, both the girls and the boy's teams made the trip to the Class AAA meet with the Lady Warriors earning a fourth-place finish.

With graduation claiming several top runners from both teams, the path to the state meet might be a little tougher this fall.

“Our girls and boys are going to be in a battle (for state) this year,” WCHS head coach Carrie Vandegriff said. “They are going to have to fight for a spot; nothing is a given like it was last year for the girls.”

Along with Vandegriff, the runners are coaching by Megan Runkle and former head coach Matt Dover.

WCHS enters the season with only seven returnees among the 14 runners that competed in the state meet in 2020.

The boy's have four returners in Lance Kelley, Cole Gearing, Logan Long, and Isaac Sosebee, while the Lady Warriors only have three – Lily Gearing, Nealeigh Broadwell, and Reese Vandegriff.

The race for the 7-AAA titles should be very competitive as the region is one of the deepest in the state.

“For the first time in a long time, we have more depth on the boy's side than we do on the girl's team,” WCHS assistant coach Megan Runkle said. “The boys got a taste of how tough this region is last year. They had to battle and fight for a spot in the state meet, so I think that experience will help them this year. They don't mind being the underdogs.”

North Hall is a perennial power in the sport, led by former WCHS head coach Sam Borg, with the girls finishing third last year while the boy's were seventh. Dawson County was second in the boy's race, while Cherokee Bluff was fourth among the boy's and fifth in the girl's race. Throw in first-year school East Forsyth, and it looks to be a battle for the Top 4 spots in the region and a ticket to the state meet.

“The girls side is really good; we are in one of the best regions in the state,” Vandegriff said. “Sam's already said his girls plan on winning state.”

“North Hall has some fast girls,” Runkle said. “Dawson is going to be good too, and East Forsyth looks like they are going to be good. We really didn't know what to expect of them, but they are good.”

The Warriors squads have some time to work before competing again on Sept. 9 at the North Hall Invitational, but all of the work they are putting in is focused on performing at peak levels in October and November.

“It's going to be a fight in October,” Runkle said. “Cross country is a look-ahead sport. In most other sports, you can't look past a team or a game, but with cross country you can look ahead to the region and state meets, and start preparing for them now. That's the way we look at it. We're already looking at the region meet and the Mountain Invitational. Those are big meets for us. On Friday, we're heading to Unicoi to run those hills and get ready for October. Every race for us is building block for those races in October.”

The roster

When you first glance at this year's roster, something jumps out right away – there's only one senior in the program. Lily Gearing is the lone senior runner, which means the rest of the roster is loaded with underclassmen.

“It's a tough spot for Lily to be in,” Runkle said. “You always look to your seniors for leadership, and when you are the only one, it's hard. We had a great senior group that just graduated, but Lily has worked really hard. She's also playing soccer with an elite travel club, so there have been days when she's had cross country practice and in the morning, and then she goes to soccer practice. She is setting a good example for the other girls.”

Gearing, along with Broadwell and Vandegriff give the Lady Warriors a talented and experienced trio at the top of the lineup. All three ran in the state meet last year, with Broadwell finishing 18th, Gearing 23rd, and Vandegriff 30th. Last weekend at the Pickens Preview, the trio all finished in the Top 50. Broadwell had a time of 22:10 to finish 29th, while Gearing was 48th at 23:03, and Vandegriff was 50th at 23:04.

“Our top three are all better than they were last year,” Runkle said. “Nealeigh is consistently our top runner right now. We expected her and needed her to  step into that role, and she's done it. Reese is working really hard. That girl comes to practice ready to work. She's getting better, physically and mentally. Beyond our top three, we are young, so we're really counting on these three girls. They need to lead and guide our younger kids in practice and in the meets.”

The rest of the Lady Warriors' lineup is evolving with freshman Emma Marrow and junior Lydia Davidson having the edge for the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup. Sophomore Lydia Durden is also in the mix for the varsity lineup.

“Emma's going to be good,” Vandegriff said. “She having to make the jump from middle school to the high school level, and that's a big jump. Lydia has woken this year and she's working hard to be in the lineup.”

“Lydia (Davidson) has been a 'bubble runner,' right there on the edge of JV and varsity cutoff,” Runkle said. “We asked her to step up at Pickens and she ran a better time than we projected. Lydia (Durden) moved up in the lineup at Pickens too.”

The Lady Warriors also have juniors Aidan Cope and Shelby Johnson, sophomore Brianna Blihovde, and freshmen Grace Bythewood, and Mae Egerton.

On the boy's side, the lineup has a little more clarity. Kelley, a junior, has taken over the role in the top spot of the lineup, with Gearing and Sosebee, both juniors, and Long, a sophomore, all back after being key pieces in the lineup last fall.

Last week at Pickens, Kelley turned in a time of 18:43, finishing a team-best 66th, while Gearing clocked in at 21:02, Long had a time of 21:16, and Sosebee at 23:19. Jackson Judice, a junior, turned in a time of 22:26.

“Lance is killing it,” Vandegriff said. He ran well at Pickens, so for him to turning that time this early in the season makes us really excited about we he can accomplish this season. Lance has set some lofty goals, and he knows he has some big shoes to fill with Eamonn graduating, but he wants it. Cole is our wildcard. With Cole, we just have to see which Cole shows up. He's been working hard and we're excited about him. Isaac is looking good. He's a great leader too, He encourages our younger guys. Logan was our lone freshman last year, and he looks good. He's a worker.”

The team has a good of promising freshman, led by Wyatt Pilgrim, who had a time of 21:07 at Pickens, Aiden Pickett, who posted a time of 21:29, Bryce Whitlark at 22:42, Colin Fernandez at 23:14, and Jesse Johnson at 23:36. .

In the JV race, freshmen Trevor Butler had a time of 25:09 and sophomore Evan Cooley finished at 28:13.

Also competing for lineup spots are juniors Wyatt Churchwell and Levi Foster, sophomore Jake Newton, and freshmen Hayden Vandegriff.

“We've got a crazy pack of freshmen that wants to work,” Vandegriff said. “We have enough kids so can actually run two boy's teams this year, usually we've only been able to do that with the girl's team.