ATLANTA - September 24, 2016 - Clear skies, summerlike temperatures and some impressive competition heated up the second annual Wingfoot XC Classic. Approximately 5,000 runners and walkers participated in a community race and a full slate of middle and high school divisions.
Wingfoot CupThe Wingfoot Cup is awarded to the school that earns the most points for championship varsity and junior varsity teams placing in their respective races. Taking home the title for the second year is Milton High School with 392 points. Milton’s harriers once again received the championship trophy and will be featured on the November/December cover of
Wingfoot magazine. The team celebrated with a dance party at the awards stage with other participants.
Championship Varsity Girls Division (5K)The Championship Varsity Girls Division featured 20 high school teams including #2 nationally ranked Saratoga Springs from New York. Their top runner, sophomore Kelsey Chmiel, quickly pulled away and was through the two-mile mark in 10:59, a 47-second lead over the chase pack. Chmiel won in 17:17.6, almost a full minute faster than second place finisher Liz Galarza of West Forsyth (18:16.8). The time is a season's best for Chmiel and the 4th fastest time in the country this year. It's just two seconds of her personal best set last year at Nike Nationals. It was a tight finish for the second- through fifth-place girls, with Galarza outkicking Kaylee DuPont (South Forsyth – 18:16.9), Helen Audrey Williams (AIS - 18:18.6) and Serena Tripodi (Lovett – 18:19.2).
Kelsey Chmiel - Saratoga Springs, 1st Place (17:17)
A pack sprints towards the finish of the Championship Varsity Girls DivisionChmiel’s commanding win led to victory for the ladies of Saratoga Springs, winning the division with 51 points. Milton was second (106 points) and South Forsyth finished third (111).
Championship Varsity Boys Division (5K)East Jackson’s Chase Kennedy went out hard in the Championship Varsity Boys Division and never looked back. The division included 21 boys teams. Kennedy blazed through the first mile in 4:42 followed by a chase pack led by Darr Smith of Johnson Ferry and Braeden Collins of Alexander. In the second mile, which is a hillier part of the course, Alex Mortimer of Tates Creek in Kentucky moved into second and Sam Bowers of Milton also made a move in the chase pack. The gained on Kennedy, but never overtook him. Kennedy claimed victory in 15:32 with Bowers and Mortimer taking second (15:40.0) and third (15:40.5) respectively.
Chase Kennedy - East Jackson, 1st Place (15:32)Blessed Trinity ran strong as a team with Ben McCoy as their top finisher (fifth – 15:48). The Blessed Trinity boys took the top spot in the division with 134 points. Alexander was second with 142, and Milton took third with 144.
Varsity Girls Division (5K)The out-of-town girls teams continued to show their strength in the Varsity Girls Division. Traveling from Tennessee, Webb School of Knoxville’s Niki Narayani broke the tape in 18:44 followed by Taylor Luthringer of Signal Mountain (18:57). Freshman Haley Rose of Decatur came in third with a time of 19:02.
Niki Narayani - Webb School of Knoxville, 1st Place (18:44)The Farragut Admirals from Knoxville, Tennessee took the top spot in the Varsity Girls Division with 77 points. Pace Academy (142) and Centennial (180) rounded out the top three.
Varsity Boys Division (5K)Webb School of Knoxville also had the top finisher in the Varsity Boys Division. Carter Coughlin crossed the finish line in 16:02 with Jack Douglass (Pace Academy – 16:32) Michael Smith (Northview – 16:38) behind him.
Carter Coughlin - Webb School of Knoxville, 1st Place (16:02)Westminster won the division with 121 points. Farragut and Richmond Hill both scored 148, but Farragat took second in a tiebreaker as their sixth place runner finish higher than Richmond Hill's.
Championship Junior Varsity Girls Division (3K)The trip from New York proved to be a good one for the Saratoga Springs junior varsity team as well. Taking five of the top 10 spots in the Championship Junior Varsity Division, the Blue Streaks won with a commanding 24 points ahead of Milton’s 88. Hunter Von Ahn crossed the finish line first with a time of 11:20 in the 3K with her teammate Mari Ellen Penzer right behind her (11:30). Ellen Teeter of South Forsyth placed third (11:44).
Saratoga Springs Junior Varsity
Championship Junior Varsity Boys Division (3K)The South Forsyth junior varsity boys took home the Championship Junior Varsity title, coming in with 26 points and taking five of the top 10 spots. The Milton boys also secured second place with 54 points. Chris Turko of Blessed Trinity broke the tape in 9:55, with South Forsyth’s Surya Rangaswamy and Kedarnath Malapati placing in second (10:02) and third (10:05).
Chris Turko - Blessed Trinity, 1st Place (9:55)
Junior Varsity Open Girls Division (3K)Milton scored a 40, earning first place in the Junior Varsity Open Girls Division. Marist was close behind with 44 points. Brookwood came in third with 64 points.
Junior Varsity Open Boys Division (3K)Milton also placed first in the Junior Varsity Open Boys Division (26 points). West Forsyth (80 points) and Tates Creek (99 points) rounded out the top three.
Middle School Girls Division (3K)For the middle school girls, Great Strides claimed victory with 57 points. Alpha Crush (68) and Woodland (91) came in second and third respectively.
Jessica Herbert (Cherokee Junior) sprints towards the finish
Middle Schools Boys Division (3K)The Nashville Youth Athletics took top spot in the Middle School Boys Division with 29 points. Alpha Crush scored second (84 points) and Great Strides came in third (90 points).
Zack Truitt - Landmark Christian, 1st Place (9:55)
Community Race (5K)The day started with the Community Race with nearly 700 participants. The Atlanta Track Club Elite men started as a pack with Kirubel Erassa taking the lead. Erassa extended his advantage at the two-mile mark and went on to win in 14:56. Teammates Matt McDonald and James Dwyer battled it out at the finish line, crossing the line in 15:20 and 15:21 respectively.
Kirubel Erassa - 1st Place (14:56)For the women, Atlanta Track Club Elite’s Bridget Lyons broke the tape in 17:14. Sallie Post (17:37) and Lauren Sara (17:47) rounded out the top three, also of Atlanta Track Club Elite.You can find full results for the
middle and high school races here and for the
community race here.
About Atlanta Track ClubAtlanta Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates, inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With more than 26,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (
peachtreeroadrace.org) – the largest 10K running event in the world, the Publix Georgia Marathon, PNC Atlanta 10 Miler and Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through Atlanta Track Club’s All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit
atlantatrackclub.org.
