Throughout the summer and fall, the boys and girls cross country teams trained incredibly hard in preparation for their season that would end with the 6A state championship on November 4th. 

On the boys side, Tommy Latham led the team. For the girls, Ruby Little led the team. The team practiced and trained on the Marist front field and track as well as occasionally at a trail along the Chattahoochee River. 

The team put in a massive amount of work into their training, devoting hours everyday over the course of the summer and the fall to achieve their goal of winning the state championship.

Starting the second week of June, the team began conditioning with two hour practices each morning, starting as early as 7 or 8 a.m. As Coach McMurray always says, “success for the season starts with the summer.” 

During the fall, the team practiced Monday through Friday with meets on Saturdays. Both the boys and girls started the season strong with a girls victory at Starr’s Mill, and the boys placed second. 

One of the biggest successes of the season was a boys and girls team victory at Coach Wood. Tommy Latham won the meet on the boys side, and it was the boys’ first win of the season. 

On November 4th, the day that the team had been waiting for all season arrived: the state championship.

The boys raced first. Tommy Latham led the team in the race, finishing first. Liam Hanemann finished second for Marist, placing 5th in the race, and Andrew Stricklin finished 10th. The boys had a total of 59 points, winning the competition.

Then came the girls. Ruby little placed third followed by Stella Chambless in 5th and Caroline Rogers in 6th. The girls won the race with a score of 49 points.

Overall, both the boys and the girls had incredible seasons, both ending with state championship victories.