Latham and Lowen Named All-Metro XC Runners of the Year

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 10, 2024 - The two #1-ranked athletes in Georgia were named Runners of the Year at Atlanta Track Club's 2024 All-Metro Cross Country Awards ceremony on Tuesday night.

Tommy Latham, a senior at Marist School, and Averi Lowen, a sophomore at Bowdon High School, received the year's top honors among the 42 high school runners named to the first, second and third teams at the annual event.

The ceremony was held at Curate, where athletes took the stage one-by-one as their season highlights were displayed on giant LED screens.

The annual All-Metro awards are Atlanta Track Club's oldest tradition, going back to the Club's founding in 1964. Fittingly, tonight's ceremony is one of the last events of 2024 as the Club wraps up celebration of its 60th anniversary. Almost 6,000 boys and girls have been honored over the history of the Club's All-Metro selections.

This is the third time that Latham has been named Runner of the Year. The fastest boy in Georgia this season thanks to his time of 14:41.01 at the Southern Showcase in September, Latham not only three-repeated as state champion when he won the GHSA 4A title this fall but also notched a commanding win at Wingfoot XC Presented by Publix. After placing third at Southeast Regional qualifying, he ended his season last weekend with a 4th-place finish at Nike Cross Nationals - the highest ever by a runner from Georgia.

"It's something that truly surprises me," Latham said of receiving the honor for the past three years. "Coming here my freshman year and seeing all the great runners before me, I looked up to them for inspiration but it's always hard to imagine yourself in their footsteps. I'm very, very honored."

Latham has committed to compete for the University of North Carolina next fall.

Lowen, meanwhile, dominated the GHSA 1A, Division 2 state championship meet by more than 3:20, with a winning time of 17:52.46 that stood as the fastest that day in any division and followed that up with a win at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional. Her time there, 16:59.18, makes her the sixth-fastest sophomore girl in the country this season.

"It was a big surprise breaking 18 [minutes] for me; I would never have imagined it," said Lowen. But all the hard work I put in has paid off. Being named Runner of the Year is such an honor."

Joining Lowen on the girls' first team are Zahara Bernal (Pace Academy), Josie Hutchinson (Pope HS), Mary Nesmith (Marietta HS), Evelyn Schlitz (Mill Creek HS), Paige Comstock (Harrison HS) and Regina Michel Camacho (Northview HS).

Also named to the boys' first team were Jackson Hogsed (Lambert HS), Malachi Burnett (Creekview HS), Dash Brackin (Carrollton HS), Andrew Stricklin (Marist School), Clint Huggins (Harrison HS) and Riley Comstock (Harrison HS).

Full first-, second- and third-team lists are below. First teams are ranked as a traditional cross country team by performance while the second and third teams are listed alphabetically.

All-Metro athletes are selected by their performance at the state meet, a season overview and performances in major meets against other All-Metro contenders. This year's group of 21 boys and 21 girls includes runners from 28 different schools and eight counties. It also boasts eight runners who won state titles at the GHSA State Championship Meet.

ALL-METRO CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS

Boys First Team

Girls First Team

Boys Second Team

Girls Second Team

Boys Third Team

Girls Third Team