Trapheagen leads Lady Cats to Class 5A state championship

For the second time in three seasons, the Woodland Lady Cats’ cross country team won the GHSA Class AAAAA state championship. This year's title was secured Friday in Carrollton with the Lady Cats edging defending state champion McIntosh by three points.

Individual state champion, McKenna Trapheagen (photo), led the Lady Cats who had all five scoring runners in the top 20 of the 199-runner field. Woodland also had all seven runners finish inside the top 44 and finished with 56 team points. McIntosh had 59 team points with all five scoring runners in the top 18. Their seven runners all finished inside the top 38 runners, but the Lady Cats' totals narrowly edged the Lady Chiefs.

Starr’s Mill placed third in Class 5A with Union Grove and Grady rounding out the top five. The classification included 29 girls teams.

Trapheagen won the individual state championship by completing the typically slow 5K course in 19:07. She outdistanced runner-up Gabby Parsons of Union Grove and third-place Mackenzie Walls of Veterans by 40 seconds to capture the title.

Trapheagan was followed by teammates Carli Clymer (10th, 20:18), Angela Cochran (11th, 20:24), Rylee Evans (14th, 20:34), Baylee Evans (20th, 20:52), Cheyenne Spinks (28th, 21:22), and Marlee Bowles (45th, 22:12).

The Woodland boys finished 17th of 32 Class AAAAA teams in Friday's state finals.

Starr’s Mill won the team championship by 15 points over McIntosh. Decatur placed third with South Effingham and Grady rounding out the top five in the classification.

Dominic Macias (16:35) of Union Grove won the individual championship by two seconds over Zach Jaeger of McIntosh.

Dylan Stermer led Woodland with a 46th place finish of 222 runners in 18:16. Wildcats John Shropshire (69th, 18:33), Kobe Cochran (89th, 18:53), John Forsyth (106th, 19:10), Patrick Bollwerk (115, 19:20), Reece Mitchell (141st, 19:41), and Gabe Shephard (142nd, 19:43).