One of the keys to team success in cross country is depth, and no one in the Coastal Empire develops it better than Richmond Hill coach Levi Sybert. The Richmond Hill boys' and girls' teams once again finished in the top 10 in last Saturday’s state cross country meets.
Run over a grueling 5,000-meter course in Carrollton, the Wildcats girls team had their best finish ever as they took third-place in Class 7A. The boys had a banner day, too, as they came home in fourth, highlighted by a fourth-place finish by freshman sensation Liam Penttila.
Sybert took over the Richmond Hill cross country and track and field programs in 2010 and it didn’t take him long to build a program that beginning in 2012 has now produced 39 region titles by the two teams and consistent top 10 finishes in the state meet for both the girls and boys.
It’s more difficult to build the kind of depth needed to compete at a state level at a smaller school like Bryan County but the Redskins were not humbled in the Class 2A field.
Bryan County’s boys finished 15th in a 24-team field and the girls took 12th as the two teams showed why they ranked among the best in Region 3-2A. Fellow region member Savannah Arts won the girls state championship and Woodville-Tompkins was 11th.
Savannah Arts placed four runners in the top 10 and six in the top 30. The boys' meet was won by Fannin County with four finishers in the top 10. In cross country the top five finishers count toward team scoring.
Savannah Arts was third in the boys division and the Redskins were the next highest ranked Region 3-2A team, one spot ahead of Woodville-Tompkins.
The top finisher for Richmond Hill’s girls was junior Chloe Miller who was timed in 19:31.42. The race was won by Cadee Benz of North Gwinnett in 18:34.44. Marietta won the team title.
Senior Gabriella Francis was ninth in a time of 19:33.75 to give Richmond Hill two runners in the top 10. Also scoring for the Wildcats were senior Julie Anastacio in 15th-place and she was followed by freshmen Koeyn Harris in 22nd and Lucy Puskar in 29th. Also running were junior Lena Tocco who was 47th and freshman Quinn Lock at 73 in the 164-runner field.
Penttila wrapped up an outstanding first year running as he ran a 16:02.07. Host Carrollton won the team championship followed by Harrison, Walton and the Wildcats. Drew Woznicki of Carrollton took first in 15:54.07 but Penttila was far and away the top finishing freshman.
The Wildcats’ Derek Feske was 14th and he was followed by Eddie Howell at 19th. Caden Gross was 63rd and Jamie Holler was the fifth scorer at 71st. Benjamin Tocco was 87th and Lealond Hodges was 107th out of 172 runners.
This was the fifth top five and 10th top 10 finish for Richmond Hill boys under Sybert’s direction including winning the state championship in 2021. The girls were posting their third top five finish and 12th top 10. Their previous best was fifth in 2019 and 2023.
Junior Khloe Smith was 51st for the Bryan County girls among a field of 152 and she was followed by teammates Abbi Stucker in 57th, Lexie Lane in 74th, Julia Koskela at 75th and Lila Hannah at 112.
Koskela and Hannah were key members of the softball team and did not get in the needed cross country training in the fall. But GHSA rules state that a team must have five runners otherwise they can’t compete so they stepped up big time for their team.
JD Roberson did the same for the boys team as he ran Saturday morning after kicking extra points for the football team in its 40-0 win over Savannah High on Friday night.
Roberson was 112th out of 163 runners but that was good enough to earn points for the Redskins whose best finisher was sophomore Channing Creech who was 47th. Walker Summerford was 58th and then came James Hodges at 104, Roberson and Sean Thomas at 122. Evan Cepeda was 127th and freshman Bentley Beavers crossed the line in 155th-place.