Multiple records set as Greyhounds finish sixth in state

CROSS COUNTRY

  • The Greyhounds finished sixth in Friday’s GHSA Class AAAAA meet and 24th out of all classifications, beating out multiple schools from the Atlanta area. CONTRIBUTED
    The Greyhounds finished sixth in Friday’s GHSA Class AAAAA meet and 24th out of all classifications, beating out multiple schools from the Atlanta area. CONTRIBUTED
  • Both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds pose after Friday’s state meet in Carrollton. CONTRIBUTED
    Both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds pose after Friday’s state meet in Carrollton. CONTRIBUTED

    On the state’s biggest cross country stage, there was no sign of letdown for the Greyhounds.

    Fresh off a nip-and-tuck region title win, edging Union Grove, Jones County dug deep once again, running to a sixthplace finish as a team last Friday morning in Carrollton with the Lady Greyhounds finishing 14th in the state.

    The Greyhounds have now finished within the state’s top six for the second year in a row, coming in fourth last year.

    “We finished 24th out of all classes, and there are some perennial powerhouse programs on that list,” Greyhounds head coach Geoff Moore said. “We finished ahead of St. Pius X, Starrs Mill and Lovett. Those are powerhouse programs.”

    This time, four Greyhounds posted the program’s four best times in school history on the Carrollton course, led by Luke Thornton’s 22nd-place finish with a time of 16:46. Thornton was one of two Greyhounds with a sub-17minute run as Gavin Robinson’s 16:52 was good for 28th.

    “All the times are fast. This year when it was 35 degrees, everyone ran fast, that’s the way it works. All the good runners are on seven or eight programs. What happens is, those programs are the ones developing the runners and all of those teams have open enrollment and kids come and go. We’re keeping ours. When your top four run the fastest four times in school history, you’ve got to be happy with that and move forward. It’s hard when everybody runs fast.”

    The impact of having a strong set of five runners was cemented by what JCHS was able to do in Carrollton. All five runners had a time of 17:37 or better. Tyler Marshall ran a 17:08 to come in 39th with times of 17:18 and 17:37 by Grady Newby and Andrew Marshall giving them finishes of 49th and 72nd at the state meet.

    Moore pointed to Andrew Marshall’s drive to the finish as a big reason for the Greyhounds’ finish.

    “We couldn’t have done it without him, he saved his best for last. He held it together for us for that spot,” Moore said. “Ten seconds in a race like that is worth 10 or 15 points. He had a great race and showed some guts. He was the key to our finish.”

    Lilly Palmer’s time of 20:24 led the Lady Greyhounds individually with her 18th-place finish. The Lady Hounds finished 14th despite being without their No. 2 and No. 5 runners, Isabella Sanchez and Emily Patat. Addison Robinson’s course time of 21:28 earned an overall finish of 49th with Camryn Wommack timing in at 22:24, finishing 86th in the state.

    Addison Newby and Jordan Norman-Brown rounded things out for the Lady Hounds with times of 23:59 and 26:10.

    “That was our story all year, we couldn’t stay healthy,” Moore said. “14th is respectable for not having our No. 2 girl. They ran into lots of adversity, but we’re proud of them for how they finished.”