September 30, 2018
By: Kristen VanVranken
The DeKalb Middle School girls and boys Cross Country teams competed with an outstanding performance at the McCallie Invitational on September 29th in Chattanooga. Out of a competitive field of 12 teams the girls placed 2nd and the boys finished 4th.
Aaron Gottlied captured the title of the boys varsity race conquering the two mile course with a time of 11:32. “Two sub 6:00 minute miles back to back is an extremely challenging thing to do…there are only a handful of middle school runners in the state that are doing this right now. It was a much deserving and exciting win for him” said Coach Kristen VanVranken.
Running strong behind Gottlied and rounding up the boys varsity was: Cooper Brown 20th 12:55, Caleb Gray 21st 13:01, Kaleb Spears 23rd 13:06, Cameron Miller 43rd 13:46, Andrew Tramel 51st 14:17, and Cale Brown 60th 14:34.
The girls varsity, led by Katherine Knowles, had 4 runners in the top 20! Knowles finished 6th 13:47, Zoe Keys 7th 13:49, Mylie Phillips 14th 14:46, Madeline Martin 15th 14:49, Emily Young 22nd 15:38, and Summer Morse 27th 15:57. “Our varsity consists of 6 sixth graders and one seventh….you just don’t see this type of running and performances from such a young team. They are such a special group of girls…with limitless potential,” said VanVranken
In the JV races Liam Wallace led the boys with a time of 16:43, followed by Erick Hernandez 17:06, Robert Wheeler 17:25, and Ethan Spears 24:25.
Darrah Ramsey led the girls JV with at time of 18:00, Sylvia Evans 18:34, Alexa Hernandez 19:32, and Mara Oakley 22:05.