Last weekend, both cross country teams competed in the AAAA State Championship in Carrollton, Georgia. The boys team placed 2nd, only 12 points behind Westminster. The girls finished third.

Freshman Ana Miller was the highest finisher for the Panthers, placing 8th with a time of 20 minutes, 44.68 seconds. 

“It’s really fun and new,” Miller said. “I had a really good team and it just made the experience so much better.” 

Five freshmen comprised this year’s girls team. 

“Allison Moore and Ana Miller have been our top [girls] top runners,” head coach Kelly Rock said. “Allison has taken the lead [to make] that everybody is kind of doing what they are supposed to be doing.” 

The composition of the boys team is opposite the girls, with four of the top seven runners being seniors. 

“We are obviously going to miss those seniors, because of the huge impact that they had on the team,” Rock said. “The senior captain boys Grant Dougher, Ethan Aguilera, Denver Oates, and Nat Miller took the lead this season on making sure everyone was on track.” 

Dougher came in 10th place out of 213 runners with a time of 17:04.19. 

“We are a strong team,” Dougher said. “We had big success. Boys and girls both got podiums at state.” 

Rock labeled the season a success after reuniting the teams following COVID-19 through social events and team dinners.