Bleckley cross country takes home state championships

Bleckley County High School swept their classification in the GHSA A-Division 1 state cross country championships this year. Eight of their runners were ranked in the top 10 for their respective gender category for the 5000-meter run. 

The meet took place Nov. 8-9 at the state meet course in Carrollton. Bleckley competes in 1A Division 1. 

Team scores are determined by adding up the place in which the top five runners finished. 

Both the girls and boys teams were favored to win by MileSplit Georgia writer Ryan McClay.

“Bleckley County girls look fantastic as always and are the clear favorites for the team title this year,” McClay wrote in an August preview. “Not only do they have the best runner in the state with Ella Gibbs, they’ve got some serious depth too. Depth that probably can’t be matched by anybody else.”

The girls team placed first in their division, which had 23 other teams compete, with a score of 29, according to MileSplit. Their average total time was 20:19, more than two full minutes lower than the second-place team.

Among 154 total runners, the girls team’s individual times were:

1. Ella Gibbs, 11th grade: 18:52.51

2. Lily Farrell, 10th grade: 18:52.62

6. Ellen Arnold, 12th grade: 20:50.26

7. Anna Lynch, 9th grade: 21:16.38

13. Ava Herrington, 11th grade: 21:44.35

16. Claira Lynch, 11th grade: 22:06.44

17. Kayslen Armstrong, 12th grade: 22:10.41

Gibbs and Farrell met the MileSplit U.S. Second Team standard, which is any time under 19:45 for female runners. This was Gibbs’s third state title. 

The boys fared just as well with four runners in the top 10 and a score of 40, MileSplit reported. Their team’s average total time was 18:10.

Out of 171 runners, their seven runners’ times were:

1. Caleb Darsey, 12th grade: 16:56.65

7. Jack Harrell, 11th grade: 18:03.28

8. Harrison Rogers, 10th grade: 18:17.08

9. Logan Camp, 12th grade: 18:21.52

17. Anthony Rutledge, 10th grade: 19:14.58

25. Ryder Garrett, 11th grade: 19:29.60

39. Greyson Arnold, 10th grade: 19:53.84

On Saturday, Bleckley’s runners will compete in the Meet of Champions 3,200-meter race at Riley Field in Peachtree City. State champion teams and individuals in all classifications received automatic invites, and the top 25 teams were invited with up to seven entries each.

The top 20 runners of each gender will receive awards.

The competing runners are as follows, in order of their 5K times adjusted for the 3,200-meter:

Girls: Ella Gibbs, Lily Farrell, Ava Herrington, Kayslen Armstrong, Natalie Kitchens, Scout Totty

Boys: Caleb Darsey, Logan Camp, Jack Harrell, Greyson Arnold, Anthony Rutledge, Jay Faulk, Seth Arnold