Bleckley County sweeps GHSA state cross country titles, individual and team, again (Central Georgia results)

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Once again, the late-fall Bleckley County Cross Country Invitational coincided with the GHSA state cross country meet.

          Bleckley County’s girls had a whopping five of the top 10 finishes in Class A/Division I to roll to the state title, while the boys weren’t far behind with four en route to the boys championship.

          Lily Farrell was first, nearly two minutes ahead of Banks County’s Ansley Moore. Four more Royals finished in order from 4-7, headed by Ella Gibbs, and followed by Anna Lynch, Natalie Kitchens, and Claira Lynch. The four were separated by about 32 seconds.

          Kelsey Sanders and Ava Herrington finished in the top 16 for the Royals.

          The girls won their fourth straight, matching their run of four in a row in Class AA from 2016-2019. Bleckley County’s girls have won eight state titles in the last 10 years, getting shut out from atop the medal stand in 2020-21.

          The boys won their third state title, breaking a drought since 2016, when they repeated.

          Jack Harrell edged teammate Ryder Garrett by  about 3.5 seconds for first, with Brody Gibbs a dozen seconds behind. Harrison Rogers took sixth, less than a minute behind Harrell.

Other Central Georgians with top-10 finishes in their respective classes: West Laurens’ Levi Dailey Crawford County’s Jasmyne Tidwell, Hawkinsville’s Daileta Hunlen, and GMC Prep’s Grady Meier.

Results

Central Georgia’s top-10 finishers (winning time with class)

Class 5A Girls/18:52.89

Class 5A Boys/15:58.96

Class 4A Girls/19:04.53

Class 4A Boys/16:07.78
7. Luke Thornton, Jones County, 16:29.95

Class 3A Girls/19:23.03

Class 3A Boys/16:04/24
3. Levi Dailey, West Laurens, 17:21.17

Class A/Division I Girls
1. Lily Farrell, 18:38.92
4. Ella Gibbs, Bleckley County, 20:25.17
5. Anna Lynch, Bleckley County, 20:37.71
6. Natalie Kitchens, Bleckley County, 20:44.98
7. Claira Lynch, Bleckley County, 20:57.38

Class A/Division 1 Boys
1. Jack Harrell, Bleckley County, 16:50.42
2. Ryder Garrett, Bleckley County, 16:53.92
3. Brody Gibbs, Bleckley County, 17:05.38
6. Harrison Rogers, Bleckley County, 17:30.19

Class A/Division II Girls/16:45.12
5. Jasmyne Tidwell, Crawford County, 23:13.52
8. Dileta Hunlen, Hawkinsville, 23:26.00

Class A/Division II Boys/17:10.90
3. Grady Meier, GMC Prep, 17:47.37

Team standings (First-place points with class)

Class 5A Girls/35

20. Veterans, 428

Class 5A Boys/63

23. Houston County, 579

Class 4A Girls/85/24 teams

12. Jones County, 321
24. Perry, 646

Class 4A/Boys/88/24 teams

3. Jones County, 130
21. Warner Robins, 558

Class 3A Girls/63

8T. West Laurens, 242
18. Peach County, 446
20. Mary Persons, 503
21. Upson-Lee, 506

Class 3A Boys/55

6. Mary Persons, 216
6. West Laurens, 216
18. Upson-Lee, 468
21. Peach County, 523

Class AA Girls/37/20 teams

Class AA Boys/68/23 teams

Class A/Division I Girls
1. Bleckley County, 23
5. Jasper County, 198

Class A/Division 1 Boys (24 teams)
1. Bleckley County, 26
10. Washington County, 315
11. Jasper County, 325
14. Dodge County, 396
18. ACE Charter, 445
22. Lamar County, 495

Class A/Division II Girls/54/17 teams
5. GMC Prep, 166
13. Hawkinsville, 326

Class A/Division II Boys/31/21 teams
4. GMC Prep, 147
21. Hawkinsville, 620

* As of Saturday afternoon, official listings failed to note Crawford County’s girls, who had a top-10 finisher