2026 Wingfoot XC Classic Crowns New and Returning Champions

For one day each fall, Cartersville, Ga. becomes the center of cross country in the Southeast. On Saturday, Sept. 19, more than 4,500 high school athletes and 1,200 youth runners filled Sam Smith Park for the 12th annual Wingfoot XC Classic. They tackled rolling hills, hay bale hurdles in one of the sport's most premier courses.

High school athletes raced a 5K while youth runners competed over 3K. Due to increased participation in the youth division, two additional morning races were added to the schedule, creating dedicated Boys and Girls Top 10 competitions alongside the traditional youth races.

Severe weather forced several adjustments throughout the day, resulting in a condensed evening schedule. The Youth Boys and Girls races were combined into a co-ed event, while the JV divisions shifted from four races into two: a single JV boys race and a single JV girls race. Despite the changes, the atmosphere only intensified as the day's marquee championship races approached.

Varsity A Winners Set the Tone

Glynn Academy's Jackson Hunter opened the day with a 15:48 victory. He started his race feeling confident, later stating that he trusted his training enough to make that his plan. His performance at Wingfoot drops his season's best time from 16:18 to 15:48.

In the girl's competition, Lakeside Evans freshman Abigail Wong made an immediate statement, winning in a personal best 18:33. A year earlier, Wong ran 19:41 as an eighth grader to win the JV Girls Championship. She returned Saturday near 70 seconds faster.

The lead pack consisted of Wong's teammate Ella Williams, Dunwoody High School's Callie McJunkin and Harris County High School's Melanie Anderson taking turns in the lead for the first mile. McJunkin strongly held her spot up front in mile two until the Lakeside Evans duo surged from behind, ultimately leading to Wong overtaking in the last kilometer for the win and McJunkin placing second in 18:43.

As for the team scores, Walton High School dominated the team competition, sweeping the boys and girls Varsity A titles. The boys won with 137 points, while the girls won with 74. They defended their 2025 titles thanks to their strong showings and close spreads in both events.

Youth Athletes Shine Across 3K Competition

In the morning Youth Boys Top 10 race, Liam Smallwood of Walker Middle School earned the victory in 10:33.4. Bonnie Taylor of Junior Hoyas led the girls' field, crossing the line in 11:02, one of the fastest performances ever recorded on the course behind Paige Comstock's record of 10:46.

Despite the afternoon weather delays resulting in a combined co-ed youth race format under the lights for the first time, the event still produced the fastest 3K time of the day. Jasper Faulk of Bleckley County Middle School surged to victory in 9:49.8, becoming the only winner of the day to break 10 minutes in the 3K and producing the third fastest all-time result on the course. In his post-race interview, Faulk credited competitor Chandler Byrd for an exciting back-and-forth race, pushing him for a faster time in the end. Byrd's time of 9:58 also put him at the fourth fastest all-time behind Faulk.

Also earning a victory and assisting her team to an overall win is Avery Cerni of Atlanta Track Club Youth Team, who led the girls in the evening co-ed race with a time of 11:24. As for the morning session, team winners included Walton Youth Running Club for both the Boys and Girls Top 10 3Ks. In the afternoon youth 3K team competition, Atlanta Track Club Youth Team made program history, dominating both the boys and girls divisions.

Lowen Repeats in Girls Championship Race

Later in the evening, attention turned to the championship races, where some of the state's top talent lined up under the lights.

The Championship Girls race quickly unfolded as many expected. Defending champion and course record holder Averi Lowen established a comfortable lead early and never relinquished it.

Running alone at the front for the entirety of the race, Lowen, a senior from Bowdon High School, crossed the line in 16:51 to secure her second consecutive Wingfoot XC Classic championship and second-fastest time in event history. Asked what it feels like to spend an entire race alone out front, Lowen offered a simple response.

"It's just me and running."

She later said, "I'm just in my own world. I don't really know what's going on around me, so I really appreciate everyone out here cheering."

Behind Lowen, Cassidy King of Glynn Academy finished second in 18:03, narrowly ahead of Pope High School's Aislynn Dunn, who crossed in 18:04. Morgan Waddell of Marist School placed fourth in 18:11, while Blessed Trinity freshman Reese Vagedes rounded out the top five in 18:13.

Dobur Delivers in Boys Championship

The final race of the evening featured one of the deepest fields on the schedule.

For the first half of the race, the lead pack remained tightly grouped as Northgate High School's Carson Dobur, Denmark High School's Luke Jordan, Richmond Hill's Eddie Howell, Pace Academy's Henry Baddley and Union Grove's Will Abbott traded positions at the front.

After the two-mile mark, Dobur surged to the lead, immediately gapping the lead pack before steadily widening it over the final 1500m. By the final kilometer, the outcome was no longer in doubt as he powered toward the finish line alone, earning the championship victory and improving last year's fifth-place finish time by 27 seconds.

"Wingfoot has been one of my favorite events since I was a freshman first running cross country," said Dobur. "It's such an amazing experience coming here and finally getting to win my last year."

In his post-race interview, Dobur shared that illness had resulted in a loss at his most recent meet at Carrollton, making Wingfoot his first true test of the season.

Richmond Hill Claims First Wingfoot Cup

The final award of the evening resulted with a new name onto one of the event's most prestigious trophies.

Richmond Hill High School captured its first Wingfoot Cup, awarded annually to the team with the strongest combined performances in the girls and boys championship races.

Powered by a fourth-place team finish in the Championship Girls race and a victory in the Championship Boys race, Richmond Hill emerged from a tightly contested battle to secure the title and conclude a memorable night in Cartersville.

An additional team title went to Marietta High School in the Championship Girls competition for the second consecutive year. Marietta scored 86 points, finishing 57 points ahead of second-place Pope High School, which scored 143.

Twelve years into its history, the Wingfoot XC Classic continues to showcase the depth of cross country talent across Georgia and beyond, providing athletes of every age an opportunity to test themselves on one of the sport's signature stages.

See full results from the 2026 event here.