5. Wingfoot XC
Where: Sam Smith Park, Cartersville, GA
Who Teams:
Boys: 9 of top 10 GA teams
Girls: 8 of top 10 GA teams, Winter Park (FL), and Brentwood Academy (TN)
Who Individuals:
Boys: Flo50 No.24 Jacob McLeod (Trinity Christian School, GA), Sam Bowers (Milton High School, GA), Joey Fitzpatrick (Ocala Vanguard, FL)
Girls: Erin Leonard (Jones County, GA)
Why: This meet should be one of the best meets in the South this weekend. It will feature teams from Florida, Tennessee, and of course Georgia.
On the girls side there are five athletes in the field who all have run right around 18:30 or faster for 5K, including Jones County's Erin Leonard (18:07), Gordon Lee's Gracie O'Neal (18:19), Landmark Christian School's Erin Fegans (18:24), Colquitt County's Elizabeth Funderburk (18:25), and Brentwood Academy's Meredith Helton (18:29). The two big teams to watch will be 2016 FHSAA 4A girls runners-up Winter Park Florida and Brentwood Academy out of Tennessee.
The boys' race will be just as interesting as Flo50 No. 24-ranked Jacob McLeod (GA) will look to prove himself against Milton Georgia's Sam Bowers. McLeod suffered an early-season loss to Bolles High School's Charles Hicks at the Bale-n-Trail Cross Country Original, which dropped him from his preseason ranking of No. 13. to 24. Bowers was runner-up at this meet last year running a 15:40.00.
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