Furlow Charter girls place third in state while boys finish sixth

Published 9:03 pm Monday, November 6, 2023

: Furlow Charter senior Maria Kilheffer finished eighth out of 109 runners at the GHSA Class A Division 2 State Meet. Photo by GA Milesplit

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From Staff Reports

CARROLLTON, GA – It was an historic day for the Furlow Charter (FC) Cross County program, as the Lady Falcons finished in third place at the GHSA Class A Division 2 state meet and the boys’ team finished in sixth place.

The Lady Falcons finished in third place with 92 points and were 10 points behind meet runners-up Wilcox County (82 points) and 25 points behind state champions Atlanta Classical Academy (67 points). On the boys’ side, the Falcons finished in sixth place out of 26 schools with 152 points.

Schley County also had runners in both the girls and boys state races. As a team, the Lady Wildcats finished in seventh place with 193 points, while the SCHS boys’ team finished in 17^th place.

As far as individual girls’ performances were concerned, FC senior Maria Kilheffer closed out her prolific cross country career with a top 10 finish at state, finishing in eighth place in a time of 23:09. Her teammate, Elizabeth Arizmendi, finished in 15^th place out of 109 competitors in a time of 24:37. Schley County’s Mallory Crenshaw finished in 21^st place with a time of 25:26 and FC’s Addison Drinnon finished right behind Crenshaw in a time of 25:31.

Furlow Charter’s Ashley Narvaez finished 31st out of 109 runners at the state meet.
Photo by GA Milesplit

FC’s Ashley Narvaez was the next local runner to cross, as she finished in 31^st place with a time of 26:43. Her teammate, Karen Perez, finished in 37^th place with a time of 27:20.

Schley County’s Payton Goodin was the next local runner to cross the finish line. Goodin finished the race in 41^st place in a time of 27:30. Goodin’s teammate, Emily Wilder, finished 50^th out of 109 competitors in a time of 28:03.

Ian Biedermann (left) and Ibis Gonzalez (right) are seen here competing in the state meet. Ibis Gonzalez finished in ninth place out of 170 runners and Ian Biedermann finished in 13th place.
Photo by GA Milesplit

Other Furlow Charter and Schley County female athletes who turned in strong performances at the state meet are as follows:

Kaleigh Johnson (SCHS) 28:28
Syruis Zhang (FC) 28:54
Britton Cox (SCHS) 29:41
Lily Harris (SCHS) 30:03
Brandi Ardon (FC) 31:06
Abby Kirkland (SCHS) 31:45

As far as individual boys’ performances, FC’s Dennis Gonzalez turned in a top 10 finish by finishing in sixth place with a time of 18:23. His teammate and brother, Ibis Gonzalez, finished just three spots behind him in ninth place in a time of 18:26.

Furlow Charter’s Dennis Gonzalez finished in sixth place out of 170 runners at the state meet.
Photo by GA Milesplit

Ian Biedermann was the next Falcon to cross the finish line. Biedermann finished the race in 13^th place out of 170 competitors with a time of 18:49. Haydn Wright finished just four spots behind Biedermann in a time of 18:59.

The first Schley County male runner to cross the finish line was Markus Sowell, who finished 50^th out of 170 runners in a time of 20:51. Other Furlow Charter and Schley County male runners who turned in strong performances are as follows:

Sterling Blanchard (SCHS) 22:17
Cole Bartholome (FC) 22:55
London Lee (SCHS) 23:00
Hudson Barker (SCHS) 23:03
Wiley Stewart (FC) 23:14
Ethan Bliss (SCHS) 23:19
Ty Grace (SCHS) 24:38
Eli Grace (SCHS) 24:46