CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS: AAAAA: Hottest dynasty of all

Huddy’s Hotties did it again.

Though the official mascot at Collins Hill is an Eagle, the girls cross country team named themselves after coach Andrew Hudson in 2005, after they had won the school’s third consecutive Class AAAAA title.

Saturday made it six straight and a state record. So you can call them Collins Hill, the Eagles or Huddy’s Hotties. But you also have to call them dominant, and maybe Georgia’s best team ever.

“We could come out and run poorly and probably still win,” Hudson said. “I don’t mean that to sound cocky. But our goal is to always run our best at state, and this certainly was a dominating performance.”

Led by individual champion Amanda Winslow, Collins Hill runners finished in four of the top six places. Winslow’s winning time of 18:00.27 was 32 seconds faster than Sydney Marshall of Chattahoochee, and was the best overall girl’s time of the day. Winslow’s sister, Vicky, was third.

Amanda Winslow, a senior, said she and her teammates have learned the art of running against themselves, not the competition.

“It can be a tough thing, but after a while you learn to push each other,” said Winslow, who moved to Georgia from Ohio after her sophomore year. “[High school] went by so fast. I feel like I’ve been living here my whole life.”

On the boys’ side, Peachtree Ridge, which began its program in 2003, broke through with its first state championship. While the Lions had two runners finish in the top six in Nial Longobardi (third) and Robert Fensterer (sixth), coach Ron Clanton said the difference was his third, fourth, fifth and sixth runners —- Stephen Jaques, Matthew Weikert, Max Friel and Gavin Brand —- who all finished in the top 60.

Four of Saturday’s top 10 teams in Class AAAAA are Gwinnett schools. Five of the top 10 individuals —- including two of the top three —- are from the county. However, Taylor Lord from Chapel Hill in Douglas County took home the individual title with a time of 15:48.38, the meet’s best overall.

“[Gwinnett] is one of the most competitive areas in the South,” Clanton said. “Every weekend is a war for us. Today we finally put it all together.”