A Showdown Under the Lights: Previewing the 2025 Wingfoot XC Classic Championship Races

When the sun sets on Sam Smith Park in Cartersville on Saturday, September 20, an electric atmosphere will take hold as the spotlight shines on the 11th annual Wingfoot XC Classic's Championship races. These anticipated races serve as the culmination of all the competition, speed and top results so far this season, and historically have seen some of the top athletes in the state take home a victory.

While some athletes are vying for an individual title, others are collectively strategizing for the coveted team title: the Wingfoot Cup. Awarded to the team that has the best combined score in both the girls and boys Championship races, the Wingfoot Cup often times comes down to tiebreakers.

For many teams, bringing that trophy back home is the ultimate goal, and they'll stop at nothing to get there.

Before the high school athletes take on the rolling hills under the lights, here are some names and teams to look out for.

Girls Championship:

For those keeping up with Georgia's high school cross country results over the past few years, it may not come as a surprise that Bowdon High School's Averi Lowen is leading the pack. As the reigning runner-up, she stands as the top returner for this year's event with her 5K PR of 16:52.

In the past year, Lowen has made groundbreaking improvements during her track and cross country seasons. In the spring, she became a four-time Georgia 1A Division 2 state champion, clocked a 4:55.28 mile time and holds the 3200m all-time state record at 10:10.33, set at this year's adidas Atlanta City Games - Meet of Champions. While she is only midway through this fall, she opened her cross country season with a 16:52 at Bob Blastow Invitational, setting a seven-second PR and winning the race by over 90 seconds. If this pattern holds, the Wingfoot XC Classic course record of 17:21 set by Claire Stegall in 2023 could be under serious threat.

Pope High School's Josie Hutchinson will be right in the mix. She is the recent winner of the Cobb County Championships in 17:59, just one second off from her PR. Hutchinson is familiar with this event after placing 8th in the Championships last year with an 18:25. Since then, she continued to improve and added a 5A state champion title to her resume, and is sitting as third in the state this season.

She's joined by teammate Aislynn Dunn who finished second behind Hutchinson at last year's state championship meet and holds a PR of 18:05, which was set at Cobb County Championships just last weekend.

Others to watch are Liliana Beemer, a junior from Evans High School, and Ella Williams, a senior from Lakeside Evans High School. Beemer's PR of 18:02 and progression at this meet over time puts her in a solid position to move up even more spots on Saturday. This past spring, she won her first high school state title in the 1600m outdoor in 4:54, and during the summer, competed in the esteemed Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race High School Elite field.

Williams, a sophomore and three-time Georgia Middle School State bronze medalist, is racing the Championship event for the first time but is familiar with the course after placing 8th in the Varsity Girls B race in 2024 (20:25).

In the team competition, Pope High School is armed with the powerful top duo of Hutchinson and Dunn, but Marietta High School can't be counted out. The top seven girls on Marietta's team hold PRs ranging from 18:18 to 20:48, but their strength comes from their chemistry and ability to compress nicely. Another team to consider is McIntosh High School—with a young team of mostly underclassmen competing, they could impress the field this year and continue building over time.

Boys Championship:

Coming in as the top seed is Midtown High School's Cameron Collier. While he placed 9th in the Varsity Boys A race last year (16:11), he has since leveled up. In his track season, he was runner-up in the 3200m, ran a 4:16 mile PR at the adidas Atlanta City Games - Meet of Champions and finished second in the Peachtree High School Elite field (32:19 for a road 10K). His trajectory points toward a big breakout under the lights for the senior.

Athletes will need to watch out for some out-of-state competitors, like George Church (15:25 PR), a sophomore at Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee. Church is the fastest underclassman in his home state this year by 40 seconds and is ranked 6th overall in Tennessee.

Jacob Jacquot, a senior from Westminster School, stands as the second-ranked returner in the field, with his PR of 15:31 and solid track performances giving him an edge. One of Jacquot's strengths is his consistency, which can lead to more team points for Westminster.

But don't count out Samuel Wood, a senior at Trinity Christian Sharpsburg who is continuing to heat up this season and set a new PR of 15:39 at the Bob Blastow Invitational.

As for the overall teams, Westminster School, Trinity Christian Sharpsburg and Milton High School bring strong rosters to the table. Westminster features four potential scorers in the front of the pack, with Jacquot taking the lead, while Trinity Christian Sharpsburg has a strong 1-2 punch who could deliver. Milton, the only boys team with two Wingfoot XC Classic championship titles (2015 and 2017), has a field competing for the top 10-15, which could benefit their overall team scores.

Track live results of the 2025 Wingfoot XC Classic here and follow along on Atlanta Track Club's social media channels for live coverage throughout the day.

This is the third and final article in a series of event previews. To read all 2025 Wingfoot XC Classic event previews, click here.