On November 4th, Statesboro-Bulloch County was well represented at the GHSA State Cross Country Championship. Statesboro High School, Southeast Bulloch High School, Portal High School, and Statesboro STEAM Academy all qualified for the State Competition in Carrollton, GA.
"SHS girls ran very well and finished higher than expected."
Jordan Owens - Statesboro High School, Cross Country Coach
Statesboro High School, Division 5A, finished 23rd out of 31 teams. Coach Jordan Owens said, “the girls ran very well and finished higher than expected. Overall, the atmosphere at the meet was amazing. Everything was well organized and ran very smoothly. They stayed on schedule perfectly, and the course was immaculate. We really enjoyed our trip to state.”
"Both the boys' and girls' teams are set to move up in the rankings as they build strength and gain more knowledge about competitive running."
Laurie Pitts - Southeast Bulloch High School, Cross Country and Track/Field Coach
Southeast Bulloch High School, Division 4A, Girls Team finished 17th place overall. Laurie Pitts, Cross Country and Track/Field Coach stated, “Our SEBHS team this year is one that is just learning the ropes of high school cross country and they have done well with it. We don’t have very many veteran runners. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams are set to move up in the rankings as they build strength and gain more knowledge about competitive running. We have a large talent base that I’m very excited to work with.”
"We hope that this program will continue to make strides for many years down the road."
Justin Chester - Portal Middle High School, Athletic Director
Portal Middle High School, 1A Division 2, finished 18th in the state out of 25 teams. Justin Chester, Athletic Director said, “the race had 164 runners. The Panther team’s average was 24:57. Mason Barnes, 10th grade, was the fastest runner for Portal finishing the tough Carrollton course with 21:59. The team will lose two seniors, Kyle Haddock and Pierce Anderson, so many racers will be returning next year, and they understand they all need to shave their time down significantly to finish better at state. The team had a great experience in Carrollton. We hope that this program will continue to make strides for many years down the road.”
"Statesboro STEAM now has 3 of the top 10 runners in the region: Kaiden Cane, Tiyanne Freeman, and Serena Harris."
Coach Tony Normil - Statesboro STEAM Academy
Statesboro STEAM Academy, 1A Division 2, for the first time in the school’s history qualified for region or state cross country. Coach Tony Normil stated, “Freshman, Tiyanne Freeman placed 35th out of 117 in the region. Statesboro STEAM now has 3 of the top 10 runners in the region, Kaiden Cane, Tiyanne Freeman, and Serena Harris. Our team placed 6th overall at the region meet to qualify for state. At the state meet, Statesboro STEAM placed 81st of 117.”
"I was very excited but nervous thinking about the state meet. It was a good experience and I'm looking forward to next year!"
Tiyanne Freeman - Statesboro STEAM Academy
Congratulations to each school on your participation at the GHSA State Cross Country Championship from everyone at Grice Connect!