County Championships took place throughout Metro Atlanta this past weekend and the results produced give a good indication on which programs are serious contenders at the state level this season. River Ridge High School hosted the Cherokee County Championships and Etowah swept both the boys and girls titles. The boys earned a 156-to-148 edge over second-place Woodstock and the girls topped second-place Creekview 141-138. The Lady Eagles earned 15 in the 100 and 200 meter dash as Cherokee’s Skylar Harrelson won the 200 with a 24.97 and the 100 with a 12.50. Etowah also won the 4x100 meter relay with a 49.58 for another 10 points and that relay team consisted of Kira Stevenson, Gabrielle Crane, Kamryn Peeples and Mia Williams. As for the Etowah boys, the Eagles had a strong showing in the various jumps; Rand Miller took first in high jump with a 5-10 and Fabrice Apaloo won the triple jump with a 41-2.50. Etowah also took 21 points with top finishes in the pole vault; Zane Gibson recorded a state top 10 mark and first-place finish with a 14-0 and teammate Wes Roundtree earned second-place with a 13-7 mark.
Collins Hill will host the Gwinnett County Varsity Championships on Saturday and that will include 22 schools: Archer, Berkmar, Brookwood, Central Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula, Discovery, Duluth, Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, Hebron Christian, Lanier, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, Mountain View, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, Providence Christian, Shiloh and South Gwinnett. Buford High School will not be participating in the meet and so the Shiloh boys will be a top headliner and contender for the county title. The Shiloh boys won state titles in 2014 and 2019 while competing in the state’s highest classification, but finished seventh in the state last year in Class 6A. The Generals have a tough group of teams to battle with this season, but this year’s results have already showcased Shiloh’s prowess. At the Christian Coleman Invitational, Shiloh earned a first-place finish with 103 total points and edged second-place Buford’s 79 points. The Christian Coleman Invitational also saw Shiloh’s Christion Barker land a 25-3 in the long jump—marking the third-longest in state history.
The Shiloh boys earned another first-place finish with 67 points and Mill Creek came in second with 62. Barker had another State Top 10 mark in the long jump with 22-11.50, but Mill Creek’s Joseph Alexander took first with a 23-0. On the girls side, Mill Creek (47) edged Brookwood (45) for the title. Mill Creek got 36 of its 47 points in the various jumps. Mill Creek’s Madison Aiken (37-2) and Adrianna Pelham (36-3) finished first and third, respectively in the triple jump and racked up 16 points for the Hawks.
The Hillgrove girls and Marietta boys earned titles in the Cobb County Championships. Marietta’s relay team of Cade Mayfield, Jack Baltz, Malachi Sanders and Jared Fortenberry posted a 7:57.14 in the 4x800 meter to earn a first-place finish and Zuri Johnson, Jeremia Frederick, Isaiah Sanders and Devin Clark clocked a 1:27.15 in the 4x200 to meter relay to add another 10 points and top finish.
The most dominant team this weekend had to of been the Westlake girls, who won the Fulton County championships with a 180-point total to second-place Cambridge’s 97.50 points. The Westlake girls placed first in the 4x200 meter relay, the 100 meter hurdles, the 100 meter dash, the 4x100 meter relay, the 300 meter hurdles, the high jump and the long jump. On the boys side, Creekside (89.00) earned first place over Westlake’s 88.50. Additionally, Westminster swept the Westminster Relays with the girls racking up 146 points and the boys tallying 117.50.
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