The unranked Milton boy’s cross country team headed to Carrollton after qualifying for the state meet by finishing 3rd in Region 6 and then matched their highest finish since 2005 with a incredible 7th place (227 pts)!

The Eagles finished just 7 points shy of Harrison (6th-220 pts) who were ranked 8th in AAAAA and beat back region foe Lassiter (9th-228 pts) who were ranked 9th in AAAAA. Milton also just edged unranked Woodstock (8th-228 pts). The Eagles knocked off many top-ranked programs including Marietta, who was ranked 3rd in AAAAA as they actually failed to finish 5 runners and thus did not score as a team! Milton also dispatched Parkview for the first time in over 5 years. Parkview (10th-257 pts) was ranked 5th going into the state meet. The Eagles also beat 10th ranked South Forsyth (270 pts) handily.

Milton was led to their outstanding team finish by junior Tyler Tomy. Rebounding from his region performance (11th), Tyler ran a very smart and consistent race, and stayed with the lead pack, and with 400 meters to go passed 10 runners and finished 5th overall! His time of 16:21 was his 2nd best time of the season. This is the highest individual state meet placing for an Eagle runner in the last 10 years.

Great team and pack running followed to propel the Eagles to their 7th place finish. Senior and brother Seth Tomy ran his best race of the season and finished 49th (17:18) to lead the talented group for Milton. Great runs and finishes were recorded by senior co-captain Frasier Reade (56th-17:24), sophomore Alex Salvatierra (64th-17:29) and senior Alex Keeter (75th-17:36). For most, these times reflect at least their 2nd best performances of the season! The Eagles 18 second spread between their #2 and #5 runners propelled them to a top-10 finish. Seniors Travis Turner (96th-17:53) and Ryan Price (111th-18:06) concluded the outstanding Milton Eagle team and season.

The Milton Varsity Cross Country teams traveled to Carrollton, GA to compete in the GHSA State Cross Country Championship Meet and ran one of their best team performances of the entire season and came away with very high finishes!

Varsity Boys
The Eagles came into the meet riding a great wave of momentum after a strong third at Region 6-AAAAA in Canton, GA the weekend before and thought a top-10 or higher finishing spot was well within their grasp. Clean shaven and Mohawk laden, the Eagles pressed right from the starting gun and finished with a very strong 8th (196 pts) place finish out of 32 schools. Running in the top group for the majority of the race, Tyler Tomy continued his amazing season with a 20th place finish running his 2nd fastest time of the season (16:42) to lead the Eagles. Senior Brian Parsons’ strategy to hang with Tyler for as long as he could paid off with his 27th place finish and also running his 2nd fastest time of the season (16:57). A solid pack of Milton runners really made the day for the Eagles, senior co-captain Christian Scholz (48th-17:15), first-year runner Fraser Reade (55th-17:23, an all-time best time) and junior Seth Tomy (56th-17:25) closed out the scoring to secure a well earned 8th place. This solid team effort put Milton ahead of many ranked teams that were projected to beat the Eagles (Marietta-ranked 8th and finished 13th, Mill Creek-ranked 9th and finished 9th and South Forsyth-ranked 10th and finished 11th). Also running for Milton was a strong run by junior Alex Keeter (85th-17:53) and junior Mitchell Foley (87th-17:55). With their 8th place finish, Milton closed the gap on region foe Lassiter another 6 points and was able to finish their top-7 runners before BOTH Walton & Parkview’s top-7 runners!!

Varsity Girls
The Lady Eagles ran strong enough the previous weekend at the Region 6-AAAAA meet to earn that last spot to qualify and run at the state meet and carried that enthusiasm into a well-run race throughout the team. Many on the team were looking forward to a hillier course and got that at the Carrollton venue. The Lady Eagles finished an impressive 11th (268 pts) out of 31 schools. Milton was able to beat strong programs from Peachtree Ridge (13th, 289 pts, ranked 8th) and Etowah (12th, 268 pts, ranked 5th)! The Lady Eagles were just 20 points shy of 7th in a really close team battle between 7th-12th places and only 3 points out of 10th! Again running number 1 for Milton, freshman Lauren Jones had a great start and was in contention for a medal winning performance but finished a strong 13th place, running her 2nd fastest time of the season (19:46). Lauren’s impressive run turned back Katie June (Centennial), Kathleen Wilson (Lassiter) and Mara Canning (Walton) whom had beaten Lauren the previous weekend! After a rough start, Chelsea Weiermiller continued her magnificent season with a 38th place finish and season’s 2nd best time (20:34). The bad start for the Lady Eagles did not deter their efforts as strong races were turned in by Jamie Chandler (68th-21:08), Cori Deutsch (82nd-21:40) and Stephanie Butzer (90th-21:51).
A gutsy and final performance by senior co-captain Susannah Hardy paid big dividends for Milton as her 22:04 performance was 10 spots better than Etowah’s 6th runner putting the Lady Eagles in 11th place instead of 12th! Senior Monique Rollocks closed out her cross country career at Milton with a seasonal best of 22:46!!

With the season now complete, the Milton Cross Country teams look forward to 2008 with excitement and anticipation of continuing the tradition of being an impact on the state of Georgia cross country scene.

The Milton Cross Country season concluded Saturday with the Eagles running in the state championship meet at Carrollton. With a season long goal of just qualifying for the meet and a dream of finishing in the top-10, that goal AND dream was realized!

The varsity boy’s pulled off one of their best team races of the season to finish an incredible 7th place out of 32 teams at the state championship meet! Led by freshman sensation Tyler Tomy (32nd), the Eagles scored 226 points (adjusted) to outdistance some major state cross country programs, including South Forsyth, Marietta, Etowah, Kennesaw Mountain and Peachtree Ridge. From finishing a non-state qualifying 6th at REGION in 2005 to a 7th place at the state meet is a true testament of the strength, resolve and commitment to training and racing this team put forth this season. Also scoring for Milton was a brilliant run by Brian Parsons (48th), Christian Scholz (51st), Seth Tomy (54th) and Mitchell Foley (71st). The boy’s time spread (from runners #1-#5) was a season low of only 39 seconds! (17:09-17:48). Rounding out Milton’s varsity team included Ryan Price (108th) and Alex Keeter (178th). 229 runners finished. This is the Eagles highest state meet placing since its 5th place finish in 2004.

The varsity girl’s achieved their season long goal of a top-10 finish at the state meet with a 9th place (244 points-adjusted) finish. Upsetting previously ranked teams of Northview (247), Lassiter (247), Harrison (301) and Etowah (305), the Lady Eagles achieved their best state finish since 2003 (7th). Milton was again led by senior Megan Hirschi (20th) who was running in the top-10 the majority of the race. Strong finishes by Sarah Foreman (29th) and Jamie Chandler (30th) put the Lady Eagles in contention for a high team finish. Senior sensation Lauren Newman (82nd) followed for Milton and was supported by a hard-charging Laura Randall (88th) who passed many runners the last half of the race. The Lady Eagles strong pack was also supported by Susannah Hardy (92nd) and the amazing freshman Steph Butzer (98th). There were 215 finishers.