Bluth, Billings are Best at Fulton County

9/19/15

By Andy Carr

Varsity Girls

In a race that saw 4 of the top-7 ranked All-Class teams in the state, the Titans of Northview (1st-58 pts) ran only their top-5 runners and came out on top over a very determined Milton (2nd-70 pts) squad. It was a 4-way battle as Lovett (3rd-84 pts) put up a strong fight for the win and Landmark Christian (5th-139 pts) suffered without Kathryn Foreman running. Roswell (4th-125 pts) snagged the final team trophy. Milton kept it close and finished all-5 of their scoring runners before any other team but the upfront strength of Northview propelled them to their 3rd-straight Fulton County title.

The individual race was a close affair, for the 1st mile. Senior Lindsay Billings (1st-18:58) of Northview pulled away for good from junior Nicole Fagans (2nd-19:55) just past the mile mark and was never challenged. Lovett’s Serena Tripodi (3rd-19:55), a junior, just about caught Fegans at the line as the duo ran the 4th & 5th best performances ever on the Milton course. Billings missed her course record by 15-seconds.

Varsity Boys

Coming into the meet as the top-ranked school all-class, the Eagles of Milton (1st-28 pts) used that home field advantage and put all 7 of their runners in the top-14 to easily defend their championship. Blessed Trinity (2nd-51 pts) was a tough challenger but he depth & the on-two punch of the Eagfles was just too much to overcome. It was a big day for the Bears of Cambridge (3rd-116 pts) as they brought home their first-ever boys team trophy in school history! Roswell (4th-126 pts) rounded out the trophy-winning teams.

Individually, the race for 2nd was the only issue as defending champion Jack Bluth (1st-17:08) of Milton, a senior, obliterated the course record (17:30, Sid Vaughn, Lakeside-Evans, 2011) romping to an easy win! Bluth went wire-to-wire in becoming the best ever on his home course (same one used since 2005). Sophomore Sam Bowers (2nd-17:32) of Milton passed senior Bjorn Leicher (3rd-17:37) of Cambridge by the midpoint of the race to become the 3rd best performer ever on the Milton course. Leicher’s performance makes him the 5th-best performer all-time on the course which is considered one of the toughest in the state.