A large faction of Glynn County runners will be racing to the GHSA Class 6A State Meet in Carrollton next weekend.
The Region 2-6A Meet was held Thursday at College of Coastal Georgia, where the Glynn Academy boys and girls, and the Brunswick High girls, qualified for state with top-4 finishes.
Jackson Hunter continued his tremendous freshman season by finishing as the overall winner in the boys race with a time of 16:33 to lead Glynn Academy to second place as a team — just three points behind region champion Evans.
Maxwell Wakeland was next for the Terrors, finishing ninth overall with a time of 17:29, and Jack Roberts was just behind at 17:49, which was good for 11th. Cam Gazaway finished in 18:05, Noah Abarca ran a 18:09, Cole Albright recorded a time of 18:27, and Sam Abarca rounded out the GA runners at 18:55.
Glynn Academy’s girls also placed second as a team, and only two points behind first-place South Effingham.
Emma Hill paced the Lady Terrors, finishing fourth overall with a time of 21:09, Ruthie Akins was seventh in 21:40, and Abigail Winford placed 11th with a time of 22:17.
Wyleigh Foulk ran a 22:53 for Glynn, Sophie Speirs finished in 23:50, Addi Morrow had a time of 23:52, and Alyssa Latta completed the race in 24:11.
The Brunswick girls finished fourth as a team, edging out Evans in a tiebreaker with sixth runner Georgia Lawless (27:14) crossing the finish line ahead of Evans’ Kiera Vance in a photo finish.
Emma Kirkland was the top runner for BHS, placing 10th overall with a time of 21:58. Sydney Haywood was next in 12th at 22:45. Sophia Miller (24:48), Phoebe Cook (25:09), Riley Letson (26:18), and Emily Hoskins (27:15) also ran for the Lady Pirates.
Cook in particular had a strong showing, knocking off nearly 10 minutes from her mark at the region meet a year ago.
“Head coach Rachel Thomas has been instrumental thus year in teaching, motivating, and caring for the teams,” said Brunswick coach Thomas Bartolotta. “She is an excellent coach, and she has just begun her journey as a leader.
“Coach Amanda Kirkland has consistently been the best coach here for the Pirates and makes us coaches, competitors, and people better all the time. Her integrity is something special and makes every kid on the team comfortable no matter the situation.”
The Brunswick boys also ran at the region meet, and although they did not qualify for state, seniors Caden Stevenot (18:24), Zachary Reed (18:29), Thomas Clay (18:51) and Ryan Thomas (19:09) will continue their prep athletic careers in another sport next semester.