2025 Wingfoot XC Classic Makes History and Shines a Light on the Future of Running

From sunrise to sunset, Cartersville's Sam Smith Park was alive with drama, dominance and record-breaking performances at the 11th annual Wingfoot XC Classic. Across 17 races, the meet delivered thrilling showdowns and the fastest high school girls 5K ever run on Georgia soil - cementing its place as one of the most unforgettable editions in the meet's history.

Going into the meet, it was predicted that the girls course record of 17:21 set in 2023 was under serious threat, and it didn't take long for that mark to fall. In the Varsity Girls A race, the second race of the day, Athens Christian School's Jane Wangari - a recent transfer from Kenya who has been in the United States for less than a week - immediately took on the challenge. She caught the crowd by surprise with her aggressive start and immediate gap between her and the chase pack, clocking a 5:21 first mile.

The 16-year-old then slowed to a 5:45 for the second mile, requiring her to accelerate over the final 1.1 miles, which she managed to do with a 5:38 pace. Not much later - and after practically floating over the course's signature haybales, Wangari broke the tape in 17:04, shattering not only the previous course record but also the event record of 17:17 set by Kelsey Chmiel in 2016. When asked about her fast start and if it ever made her nervous, Wangari said she was "confident the whole time."

But the day's fireworks weren't over.

Just hours later, Averi Lowen, Georgia's top-ranked high school girl, took to the line in the Girls Championship race. The junior from Bowdon High School had something to prove after finishing second here in 2024 and was already favored to win with her PR of 16:52.

From start to finish, Lowen's run was for the record books. She crossed the first mile marker in 5:11, which she thought for a moment was "maybe too fast," but kept a strong pace until the end. In fact, her 10:28 two-mile split would have put her in the top five in Georgia for the 3200m on the track this past spring.

In a phenomenal effort, she soared through the line in 16:28, 36 seconds faster than Wangari's impressive time set earlier that day. It now stands as the fastest 5K cross country time in Georgia history.

After breaking the tape and course record in a thrilling fashion, Lowen said she felt inspired prior to the race after seeing Wangari's time earlier that morning.

"I'm really excited to have some competition in the southeast," Lowen said in her post-race interview. "I'm excited to see how our times compare to each other."

The Boys Championship brought it owns drama. Midtown High School senior Cameron Collier found himself chasing down Lakeside (DeKalb) High School's Andrew Bitsko.

Bitsko led in the first mile with a 4:51 split and Collier a few seconds behind him. Collier recognized that the seven-second gap at the mile stretched to nine seconds by 2050m, and he needed to reel Bitsko in if he were to have a shot at breaking the tape. The gap was back down to six seconds by two miles, but it took until there was just 400m to go for the senior from Midtown to catch the leader from Lakeside.

His strategic move to sit behind Bitsko came from a lesson learned when competing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race High School Elite Field this past summer—Collier felt he pushed to the front too fast and placed second in the 10K race behind another Wingfoot XC Classic legend Riley Comstock.

The Midtown High School and former Atlanta Track Club Youth Team athlete did not repeat that experience in this race. He claimed his long-awaited victory in 15:34, coming full circle from the first time he ran this course, or any cross country course, in sixth grade, and Bitsko finished one second behind Collier.

"This means everything," said Collier. "I've been on this course a lot, and its connection to Atlanta Track Club just makes it really special to me."

The 14 other races that took place throughout the day were just as eventful, with personal breakthroughs and season-best highlights from thousands of athletes who competed.

Heating up the course for the first event of the day, Lucas Johnson of Westminster Schools of Augusta won the Varsity Boys A race in 15:33—the fastest time of the day. Later that morning, Lumpkin County High School sophomore Witt Windham broke the Varsity Boys B tape in 15:59. Windham was already familiar with this course after placing second in the same race in 2024, just behind his brother Wyatt Windham who now runs for Georgia Tech. As for the Varsity Girls B race, Caroline Struby, a senior from the Paideia School, broke 20:00 for the first time in her career and won with a time of 19:39.

In the Youth Boys and Girls 3Ks, about 1,500 athletes competed in four different events split between the morning and evening sessions. The first winner of the 3K course was Brock Morris of Cartersville Middle School in 10:54, followed by Bremen Middle School's Averi Pollard winning the girls 3K in 11:58.

The evening events picked back up with Everett Braden of Wild Beast Track Club winning the second Youth Boys 3K with the event's fourth fastest all-time in 10:00. Reese Vagedes of Alpha Crush Running Club became a back-to-back champion in the event, winning in 11:11, also the fourth fastest all time.

"I feel really happy and grateful for all that I'm able to do because of how hard I work," Vagedes said when asked how she felt after winning for the second year in a row. "I just keep running... and I'm excited to continue running as part of a team setting in high school."

In the Championship team competitions, Marietta High School landed on top for the girls with 89 points, and Westminster Schools took the boys trophy with 102 points.

Walton High School dominated in four different boys and girls competitions throughout the day, including both Varsity A competitions. The impressive score of 42 showed their dominance at the front of the race and gave them a 47-point victory over South Forsyth High School. Walton also swept the JV girls and boys A events, highlighting the range of talent across the entire team.

Tift County High School was the top boys team for Varsity Boys B with 151 points - a 42-point lead - and Bremen High School reigned in Varsity Girls B with 89 points, 42 points ahead of Dunwoody. In the morning Youth 3Ks, Cartersville Middle School secured the win in the boys event, while Taylor Road Middle School defended their title for the girls. Alpha Crush Running Club swept the evening youth 3Ks for both events, garnering a total of 76 points.

To close out the night, the most prestigious prize, the Wingfoot Cup, was awarded to Westminster School, whose combined performances in the girls and boys Championship races brought the trophy back to Georgia after two years out of the state. They also secured wins in the Freshman and JV Boys Championship races, showing their depth across levels.

Click here for full results from the 2025 Wingfoot XC Classic.