CARROLLTON -- After years of knocking on the door Richmond Hill’s boys cross-country team finally kicked it in last Friday when it won the GHSA Class 6A state championship at Carrollton.

Led by sophomores Noah Sybert and Memphis Rich’s fourth and fifth-place finishes, respectively, the win capped a stretch in which Richmond Hill had finished sixth or better six straight years including a fourth-place finish last year.

That fourth-place finish, Coach Levi Sybert said, was a key factor in winning it all this year over a favored Alexander team.

“The big difference was we didn’t win last year,” said Sybert who is in his 12th season. “They felt they should have won last year and didn’t. It kept them motivated and they had a goal that was obtainable.”

Showing excellent depth, the Wildcats were dominant with 105 points to Alexander’s 168.

It was the school’s first state championship in cross country and its fifth state title overall in all sports. Basketball was state champions in 1988, 1993 and 1994 while wrestling won it all in 2018.

Noah Sybert, who is the coach’s son, clocked a time of 16:25.82 and Rich was a second behind at 16:26.31. Five seniors followed with strong finishes to insure the win.

Ravi Reed (16:50.96) finished 16th, Sterling Bastian (17.27.05) was 36th, Garrison Gilbert (1:33.71) took 44th while Luis Gotay (18.10.33) placed 81st and Dylan Overby (18:43.22) was 119th.

It was also a good day for the Richmond Hill girls who finished 10th marking the eighth straight year they had finished 10th or better in the state meet.

“They learned from their mistakes,” Sybert said of his team’s win over a 32-team field. “Alexander is one of the best teams in all classes but we had eight strong guys.

“Our depth was a difference. Our seniors all ran really well. They stepped up when we needed them.”

Sophomore Julia Wilson finished 21st in a time of 20:47.35 to pace a young Lady Wildcats team with the team’s lone senior, Reese Wilson (no relation) finishing 28th at 20:57.03.

“The girls did really well,” Sybert said. “They improved a lot from last year. They were just a few seconds here and there from finishing as high as sixth.”

Savannah Goode (21.43.73) was 45th, Summer Chirpich (22:12.89) was 62nd, Kyule Kitchens-Hayes (23:21.04) was 107th and Baleigh Sevier (23:22.19) was 109th.

Reese Wilson was the only senior on the girl’s team while all the boy’s runners except for Sybert and Rich were seniors.