Westminster Adds to State Cross Country Championships

From Patch Reports

boys and girls cross country teams continued their state dominance Saturday, .

The Westminster boys' AA championship was their fifth straight and the 15th in the last 16 years, according to the Buckhead school. For the Wildcat girls, it was their 17th state crown in the last 20 years.

Westminster won the boys meet in Carrollton by 33 points over runner-up , with Jordan Flowers winning the individual championship, the school said. The sophomore’s time of 16:32.24 was eight seconds better than his nearest competitor, Chris Akins of Model High School.

Westminster’s Jake Candler finished third at 16:52.47. Wildcats senior Sean Smith took seventh, 17:06.52, giving the Wildcats three top 10 finishers. Rounding out the field for the Cats were Kyle Dhillon (16th), Currell Berry (18th), Kirby Carlisle (19th), and Trip Henningson (26th).

In the girls race, Westminster junior Sahara Fletcher won her third straight individual state title, finishing in 19:08.89. Fletcher joins Tracy Stevenson and Hillary White as the only three-time state champions in school history. Teammate Michelle Sullivan was the individual silver medalist, just 24 seconds off  Fletcher’s pace.

Junior Martha Stuart Fuqua gave Westminster three runners under the 20 minute barrier when she came in in sixth at 19:53.12. Westminster had three runners in the top 10 and six in the top 20. Westminster’s team score of 35 was 33 points ahead of second place Blessed Trinity.

The championship was the 25th in the history of Wildcat girls cross country. The boys and girls state championships are the first for Westminster in the 2011-2012 school year, giving the school 231 in its history.