Cross Country Runners Qualify for State
Piedmont Academy’s cross country program, competing at the GISA Region 4 AA Championship last Saturday, scored its second individual title win of the season and qualified both its varsity runners to compete at the state championship race to be held at Darton College in Albany this Saturday, Oct. 25.
The region varsity meet, hosted this year by Monsignor Donovan in Athens, brought together the five GISA Region 4-AA programs from Piedmont, Brentwood, Windsor, Briarwood, and Monsignor Donovan.
Piedmont freshman Alina Jablonski, out to prove an early August knee injury couldn’t hold her back for the entire season, took on the 3.1-mile course with a vengeance to cross the finish line in first place and secure the varsity women’s region champion title. She finished in 24:08.66, with no other runners in sight and more than a minute ahead of the second-place competitor.
“I’m very proud of how Alina handled this run,” said coach Traci Brady. “It was a strong win. She’s still several minutes off her 3.1 times from before the bursitis, but she’s had to ease back into running slowly to avoid re-injury. This particular course was a bit tough on that knee because it has very little flat terrain. The hills are mostly clay and were still somewhat rutted and wet from a recent rainfall, and some are tall and steep, so it was challenging for runners who weren’t one hundred percent.”
The state meet’s course is flatter and faster, so Jablonski hopes to finish the season with a decent improvement there in her overall time.
“Alina actually ran the Athens half marathon the day after regionals without any knee issues and finished in an hour and 45 minutes,” her coach said. “It was a great conditioning run and boosted her confidence. She’s really excited to test herself next at state level XC competition.”
Sophomore Brice Dodson, representing Piedmont in the varsity boys, gave a tremendous effort and ran the course almost a minute and a half faster than just a few weeks earlier during regular season competition, despite the day’s demanding course conditions. He finished in 25:34.20 and tenth place, securing his qualification for the state event.
“Brice ran a smart race,” said Brady. “He kept a steady pace throughout the run and pressed hard when it was necessary to gain that tenth spot to take him to state. Once he had it I knew he’d fight to keep it.”
Having improved his best race time from last year by a full two minutes, Dodson is proving his potential for cross country running.
“Brice runs with good form and never seems shaken no matter how tough the competition,” Brady said. “He always looks like he’s having a great time out there. I’m excited to see what he can do in Albany.”
The GISA State Championship meet is open to the top four teams from each region, and to the top 10 individual regional runners, regardless of team qualification. Five runners in a single category are required to place as a team.