For freshman Alexis Farley, competing at the Georgia AAAAA state track and field championships last Thursday-Saturday was an incredible experience.

“It was fun but nerve raking at the same time,” said Farley, who finished fourth in the triple jump. “The meet was a great experience and put me in a good position for next year.”

Farley broke her own school record with a distance of 36-11 on her fifth jump. She  and freshman Sophie Handel were the first freshmen to go to state in school history, head track and field coach Chad Walker said. 

 “It was incredible to have two freshmen compete,” Walker said. “I am also excited that they scored points because not all teams score points at the meet.”

 The Panthers finished 31st out of 36 schools with 4 points.

“The meet was a great experience to have even if I didn’t run my best time,” said Handel, who finished 14th in the 800-meter race with a time 0f 2:25. “It definitely set me up to have a great sophomore season.”

Walker said he believes that nerves played a big part in his runners’ performances.

“For both Alexis and Sophie, I think they were both really nervous before their races and that may have gotten the best of them.”

Junior Hailey Gollnick, who competed in the one-  and two-mile races placing  14th and ninth respectively, said her races went well. 

 “In the two-mile I was able to run a new personal best and was really excited about it. In the mile, I almost ran my best time, but missed it by a couple of seconds.”

Gollnick ran 11:44, beating her previous best by two seconds in the two-mile and 5:24 in the mile, missing her best by one second.

“The girls’ team has a bright future,” Walker said. “We have a lot of youth to build on for next year and we hope to send more runners to state.”