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2023 CROSS COUNTRY REVIEW

CONGRATULATIONS to our boys XC team who finished as the STATE RUNNER UP at the state XC meet.  Benny led the way, despite an injury to finish 13th overall.  Dermot (16th) Charlie  (18) William (25th) and Carter (31) all had solid races to end the season with success.  Congrats boys on being one of the best EVER at PXC.  

Boys are REGION CHAMPIONS and girls are REGION RUNNER UP!!!     

Your mighty Greyhounds had a great day at the Region Championships.  Our JV teams started off the day with some very impressive performances that showed that the future is bright!!!  Our JV girls were led by Caroline and Avery who both ran impressive sub 2200 PR races.  Also running well for the Hounds were Trystin and Sydney (200 PR race).  Our JV boys also did not disappoint and won the JV Region Championships with ease with our top 5 all running under 18:00!!!!!   Tommy was the JV Region Champion with Giovanni just a second back in 2nd.  Andrew (3rd overall),  Will B (1:23 PR) and Aidan was 6th overall to round out the scoring.  


Our Varsity girls were on a mission and ran one of their BEST team performances of the season.   Josie again PR'ed and qualified individually with a 3rd overall finish!!!  Charlotte (6th) also individually qualified for the State meet with Ahna returning from sickness to finish a very impressive 7th place.    Maeve ran another personal best race and finished 9th!!!!!  Kylie also performed well running her best time EVER to score in our 5th position.    CONGRATS ladies on a great day and on to STATE...... 


Our boy's varsity team turned up the heat and also ran one of their best TEAM races of the year.   Benny won the individual Region Championships.   Carter was 3rd with Davis 5th all qualifying individually for the State meet.    Dermot (PR race) was 7th, Charlie (PR race) was 9th,  William(sick :(  ) was 10th with Paxton 12th and  with a PR race!! .  A very impressive day as WE put our top 7 runners in the top 12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congratulation boys on a great day!!










After a week of rest and recovery our Greyhounds traveled to the Atlanta Classic to sharpen up prior to the Region Championships. Our varsity boys took off from the line with a purpose of defending their already successful season. Questionable footing did not deter any of our Hounds as they navigated the sandy narrow course in a basic maintenance meet Benny led the boys with a 7th place overall finish with Dermot 11th. Carter slipped and fell with 400 to go but popped back up to finish14th. Davis also remained consistent a 15th place finish with William rounding out the 5th spot for Pope. WE continue to emphasize a FULL team placement. In the 6th position was Paxton and with just a few steps back were Andrew and Gio. TEAM RUNNER UP FINISH

The girls were up next and they ran a very consistent race after a pretty quality week of training. Charlotte was disciplined and ran a quality first mile that allowed her to pick off other runners during the later stages of the race. Also scoring for the Hounds were Josie, then Maeve with the Fragala girls Kelsey and Kylie, running in the 4th and 5th spot for the lady Greyhounds.  Nice work lady Hounds :) 

Our quality bunch of JV boys dominated the competition and won the TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS.  Aiden (3rd) led the guys with Reed(6th) and Lawson (9th). Will B finished 11th and Moe rounded out the scoring with Bert and Vern placing in front of numerous other teams 1-5 runners to provide very important depth to the Hounds.

Watching the JV girls was exciting as first year runners dominated and made us proud!! Ansley ran in the lead pack for the girls eventually finishing 3rd overall with an impressive season PR race. Also running season best times were Hannah and Leanne followed by Haley and Molly. Impressive day… ladies we are proud of you!!


The Friday before the break…WOW…a change in the schedule where we are not used to racing in the later afternoon/evening of a weekday and all things FRIDAY!!!!!!!! The Atlanta Track Club does a great job with their organization of this quality event at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville, GA. First off your Greyhounds were much more animated on the bus ride up but are fun people and always a joy to be around. The 9th grade dudes were the first to toe the line and ran well behind Bert, Bryson and Garrett. After some really stunning sunset pics organized by Coach Anne our freshman ladies ran well with leading the way Ansley and Kate.

Now DARK our JV boys toed the line in a very competitive race out boys continued the blue wave tradition finishing in 6th position out of the top 30 teams in the Champinships division. Congrats to Tommy, Andew, Gio, Aiden and Reed for representing Pope so well. Our JV ladies Caroline, Nicole, Breely, Addie C and Leanne were our main contributors for JV ladies and ALL broke 25:00!!!!!!!

Out varsity teams wen with “black out” due the dark of night conditions night race 😊 This is a meet chosen as Championship by the ATC and brings out the best of the best. Benny went out fast in the first mile (452) in his 2nd best time ever 1609. For the second meet in a row our 2-5 spots were within just a few seconds...this week 12 seconds… Dermot (1633), Carter(1640) , William(1645) and Davis (1645) . Charlie (1702) and Paxton (1739) provide competitive depth which adds to our TEAM of our strength

I am not sure how they do it BUT our newest runners continue to amaze with numerous PR races. Addie (1921) led the hounds with Josie PR’ing AGAIN to break 2000 for the first time 😊 Our team leader,  Charlotte continues to improve,, finishing in 2016 with Ahna again running under 2027 (impressive consistency for a 1st year runner ) Maeve also continued to see her hard work pay off running a PR race of 2048!!!!!!!!!!!! Also Pr-ing were 2 more of fantastic freshman Kelsey (2139) and Avery in 2159!!! Our Top 8 is now under 22:00 which will be important as we approach the later part of the season. # RemainFocused

Even with our athletes running two races in 6 days we were pleased with the overall team positioning within this competitive meet !! NOW we are ready for a BREAK 😊 #EnjoyFAllBreak #KeepTheFocus.  





Your mighty Greyhounds headed into the County Championships with a purpose at hand. While we place emphasis on the end of the season we celebrate various stepping stones along the way. Our JV girls kicked off the day with many of our normal varsity girls running JV against their age group peers. Josie and Ahna are not used to controlling a XC race as they are only 7 weeks into this crazy word of XC. They managed the early parts of the race and then when the time was right they took control to finish 1-2 overall. Kelsey and Avery also had GREAT races both finishing sub 22 performances!!! Nicole and Trystin continue to improve, both with PR races and finished in the 5th/6th position for the ladies. Congrats girls, you ran GREAT today and we look forward to continued success of our young runners. JV girls video  

Next up where the JV boys, Bert (1:05 PR race) led our young group of Greyhounds followed closely by Toby with an incredible 3 minute PR run. Bryson, Beck and Garrett all ran very impressive races to lead the young Hound contingent.

Our Varsity girls were up next and managed to finish 6th in the County field even missing numerous varsity athletes. Addie (21 second improvement over 2021) led the Hounds with a 5th place overall finish with Charlotte continuing to improve, finishing with an impressive season PR race. . On a day when we split JV/varsity squads our girls showed some character and RAN fast for the varsity team. Maeve continued her impressive ways with a huge 1:09 PR race. Kylie came up BIG for the girls team with an impressive 1:27 season PR , breaking 22:00 for the first time in her running career!! After battling a knee issue, Caroline ran strong for the ladies (tied her PR) with Rachel running a 35 second season best. GREAT job varsity girls.. we are proud of your continued effort and performance

After an effect planning session, the varsity boys realized they were on a “business trip” and approached the County race with purpose. Benny went out in a blister fast pace, which made Coach Monk nervous, but he was able to hold on to run one of the top 10 Pope 5K performances EVER!!!! This performance does not come without hard work but a continued training effect is key as we approach Championships season!! Next for the Hounds was a wave of Carolina and Navy with the 2-5 runners finishing within 12 seconds. Carter was 8th, Dermot 10th , Davis 11th and not settling and running an incredible 3rd mile William was 12th. Knowing that we must have a complete TEAM our 6th (Charlie) and 7th (Paxton ) runners are VERY important to our success. Just in case anyone is worried, we also have an 8-13 contingent that is solid (many would be in the top 5 of other Cobb teams) in the likes of Tommy, Gio, Aiden, Reed, Andrew and Lawson. SOOOO proud of your efforts boys BUT we have more to do and MUST continue to focus on the end of the season!!! COUNTY TEAM CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

RACE Videos:  JV boys race video    Varsity boys TEAM COUNTY CHAMPS video
 

At the weeeeee crack of not even dawn, our sleepy athletes and coaches boarded the team bus for the state course preview in Carrollton. Once at the course our trusty set up crew, the Wrights, Afshanis and Drakes had our tent and bibs/chips ready for our athletes to roll. In the cool and misty break of day the JV girls kicked off the day for the Greyhounds. Although footing was soggy, we finally they got some relief from the heat for the first time all season. Avery led with a manageable pace that allowed her to finish 1st for the ladies in an impressive early season time Kaylie and Rachel were just a few steps apart coming down the hill for the Hounds followed by Hannah and Kate.  JV girls video
 Next the JV boys took off from the line. Tommy led with very impressive State course performance followed closely by Aiden. After sitting out with the SAT and then being sick Lawson was back in good form as the #3 JV runner. Reid and Vernon rounded out the top 5 for the Pope contingent.  JV boys video

Our varsity girls took off in the 5/6/7 A race with Charlotte being in the strong lead pack for her first race of the season. Charlotte ran for 6th overall and now with a race under her belt will be prepared for the County Championships next week. Running 2nd for the Hounds was Josie who looked like she has been involved in this sport forever; finishing with a very impressive time for a 1st year runner.  Ahna was next for the ladies and attacked the finishing hill and then had an incredible downhill surge!!! #Heart     Maeve also had a quality performance improving 1:17 from her 2021 race. Rounding out the scoring for the ladies was Kelsey who also looked very impressive with her finishing surge off the hill.  3rd place TEAM  girls video

The varsity boys were led by Benny is his first 5K of the season. His dedicated training allowed him to run a 32 second faster race than last year for 2nd overall in the 5/6/7 A race. Our super sophomores continued to run well, with Dermot 8th overall (1:40 improvement from 2021) and Davis (1:14 improvement) was 10th overall. William continued to be consistent for the Hounds finishing 4th over with a race improvement of 18 seconds from last fall. When challenged the final 30m of the race, Charlie said “no thanks” and surged for an incredible 2:15 improvement from 2021 to finish 5th for the boys team. Depth is key in the varsity division so having Paxton and Giovanni run 6/7 for the boys is important AND they would have finished in 36 other teams top 5. TEAM CHAMPIONS!  We look forward to having the entire varsity group together for the Cobb County Championships for the first time all season. Boys, you have put in the work it now time to enjoy the rewards 😊

 

Your Hounds packed up and headed South to McIntosh Nature Preserve for the fast course of the Bob Blastow Invitational. Moving from a hilly course of last week, our athletes were motivated to perform well after a quality week of training.
The varsity boys led off the day in competitive field of some of Georgia’s best teams. Running smart and not letting the pace get out of hand our boys went through the mile right where they needed to be to run PR races. Due to a rainy week the course was somewhat wet but this did not deter the motivated Greyhounds. Davis led the boys this week in a 16:10 PR race (11th) with Carter (17th) and Dermot (19th) just back  a tight 1-3 grouping. Charlie ran another PR race to run 4th for the Hounds. Andrew, Giovanni and Aiden all ran PR races (all sub 17:47) and did great work stepping and adding quality depth to the varsity boys team.  

WE look to the future races and how we match up to other schools not only in 6A but also throughout the State as our boys are on the right path to be really good against ALL schools in Georgia.

Our lady’s varsity squad toed the line after a quality warmup and also finished as a team 5th overall at Bob Blastow. Addie lead the way with a strong 6th place overall performance against some quality competition. Ahna was back in the lineup after being sick last week and ran an incredible time of 20:29. Both Josie and Maeve continued to be strong forces in the varsity lineup with (2:00+) PR races . Kelsey and Caroline completed the scoring for PXC and having now 6 girls under 23 will be pivotal to the overall success of the season. OUR varsity girls are quickly learning what it takes to be elite in XC and we are proud of them!!!!  BB team splits


Right on cue the sun came out as the JV races commenced but our athletes didn’t make excuses and just did their job. Vern led the JV boys with a PR race (6th) followed by the fab freshman Bert in 10th place overall. Cooper, Moe and Ben added senior leadership and scored in the 3rd-5th scoring positions for an overall TEAM RUNNER UP finish. Mile marker video

Rachel led the girls with a medalist performance (12th) and PR race. Also running impressive races for the Hounds were Kaylie, Hannah, Claire and Sydney to lead the ladies’ team to a TEAM RUNNER UP finish. 

Mile marker video

WE are always proud of what the varsity hounds dedicate their time to accomplish but one of the things our PXC coaching staff holds prideful is the team depth in that we can compete on the varsity AND JV level. Once again Saturday both our boys AND girls teams were the TEAM RUNNERS for the JV division.

Our open athletes were all smiles at the start despite the heat but persevered and took advantage of the 1.5 mile race to get some speedwork in. Leading the boys were Wyatt and Colin and for the girls Charlotte P and Ansley K.

WE celebrate our performances but understand that this is the fastest course we will run on this season and look to how the TEAM measured up against others. Greyhounds we are headed in the right direction. 😊 #BestIsYetTo Come   TEAM splits 

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The Kosh Classic is a meet that honors the legendary coach Paul Koshiwa who coached at Westminster HS for 30 years. The course is similar to Coach Kosh, in that it is tough and mandates a strong physical and MENTAL approach to the great sport of XC. Kicking off the day were the varsity boys and they did not disappoint. After a very impressive summer training season, Dermot got his 2022 debut race and performed well(13th overall) on a course that allowed him to boast his core training. William also used his strength of quality miles to finish 16th, with Paxton (23rd) , Charlie (28th) and Tommy (35th) rounding out the scoring of the 3rd place overall Hounds team.  Boys splits

Our smiling varsity ladies ran well as a group with Addy (6th overall) leading the way. Our young ladies are motivated and bonding as a group as they realize that they have what it takes to be really GOOD!! The best is yet to come lady Hounds 😊  girls splits 

Next up at the Kosh Classic were the JV boys and we are always proud as our blue wave always makes an impact in any race in which they compete. After being out last week, Andrew M (3rd overall) led the Hounds to a TEAM RUNNER-UP finish. Pope’s strength lies in pack running and today was no exception. Reed and Vernon sprinted to the line in an exciting finish for 10th/11th place. Carter D (12th) and Will B (14th) were just a few seconds back, with Bert (9th grader!!!) and Cooper finishing in the 6th and 7th position for our deeply talented JV squad. Great work JV boys and while the sun came out your race to make your race HOT, Coach Monk was able to get some quality photos at the finish line 😊

Rounding out the day for the Greyhounds were the JV ladies and similar to the JV boys they make a quick impact. Kylie and Kelsey led for Pope with both in the medal count while leading the JV squad to a TEAM RUNNER UP finish. Caroline, Rachel, Kaylie and Ansley B all navigated the  course and HEAT well.

Great work in a challenging race that will make all the others seem easy. #TEAM 

RESULTS    MILESPLIT OVERALL RESULTS

It is always a treat to uniform up, get out to the XC course and RACE!! We kicked off the2022 XC season at the 

Hoya 2 mile Invitational. Our JV girls were the first to compete and thus got to debut the new uniforms. At the start our younger runners ran smart and did not get sucked into an unmanageable pace. Our elite LAX player, Alex J, , led the ladies and finished in a very respectable negative split race for 11 overall. Also running well for the Greyhounds in the JV 1 race were Rebecca and Charlotte P. In the JV 2 race, The ladies were led by Avery S who, after coming off a summer track season , finished with an impressive time of 13:55 and a 9th place finish. Next for our JV 2 girls, were sisters Kylie and Kelsey who sprinted to the line for a dead heat 2 mile time of 14:45. They were followed closely in the JV 2 race by a tight grouping of BLUE with Rachel G, Claire and Kaylie. Next our Varsity girls took off from the line in a very fast start but persevered with Addie finishing 3rd overall!! First year and extremely dedicated runners Josie and Ahna were next for the Hounds followed by Maeve and Caroline. VERY impressive day for ALL our divisions………..ladies, we are on the right path for PXC 2022!!!!

The Boys of POPE started out the season with a quality set of races at the Hoya 2 mile Invitational. The JV 1 boys race was very exciting as Pope placed 7 boys in the top 17 overall. Congrats to Thomas (6th), Bryson (8th), Dylan (9th), Charlie M (12th), Beck (13th) , Carter N (16th) and Bert (17th). Thia pack running that will to be very important when we move up to the 5K and start scoring meets. #TightPackRunningfortheTEAM

Next up were the JV2 boys race which also showed some impressive early season performances. Coming off a break-out track season, Charlie ran a very smart even split race for the WIN!! He was followed closely by Tommy (6th), Aiden (7th) and Giovanni (8th). These boys should be applauded for their summer dedication and we are excited to see what continued TEAM contributions they can make in 2022.

The boys varsity race was similar to the varsity girls in that many of the boys started off very fast. Our pack of Hounds ran smart and positioned themselves appropriately. The strength of our boys team is the close finishing pack and today was no exception with Benny (8th) and Carter (9th) and Davis (12th) all finishing within 3 seconds, followed by William and Paxton. Great start boys, we have more to do but are headed in the right direction.   



Cross Country 2021 REVIEW

On a very crisp morning in Carrollton our boys and girls teams arrived at the State course motivated and clear of their mission. First the boys toed the line and after hearing the traditional "You are the BEST of the State in all of 6A" and took off ready to run.  In  In a very competitive field, Carter led for the Hounds with a very impressive race finishing 9th overall .    William also ran a PR race at Carrollton with Benny running just behind him.  Both Alec and Paxton had their best races of  the season and finished 4/5 for the Hounds.     Sean and Connor both ran their best times at the State meet course and assisted in the team score for Pope by getting in front of other teams top 5 runners.  WE accomplished our goal of putting 5 runners under 18 on Carrollton and will only build from here  We have a GREAT group of returning runners who will carry the torch into the 2022 season.   #TEAM


There was a bit of drama at the line but when the gun went off the girls were as focused with the mission at hand. Our top girls drew on each other's energy as Charlotte led early with Addison and Lorel just a few steps back.   Catherine put herself in the correct position as did our next pack of Maddy, Emma and Kaylen.   Appropriately paced  racing allowed for a mid race progression on other athletes and our ladies furnished in style.  Lorel, Addi and Charlotte came down the hill in a very impressive  wave of navy and Carolina to finish in  4th Lorel, 5th Addi and 6th Charlotte.  Catherine also helped out the team score with her best finish at the State course!!  WE had another GREAT group of 3 greyhounds coming down the hill in Emma, then Maddy and then Kaylen.  This group running works for us and allowed us to once again make the podium in 6A.  THIRD PLACE TEAM!!!  #TEAM


REGION MEET WAS A BIG SUCESS!!!! Boys and girls Varsity teams are Champions and qualify for State.  BOTH jv boys and girls teams WIN team championship with perfect scores!!!! 


On a fabulous fall day the Greyhounds arrived with purpose to Allatoona Creek Park for the REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS.   First, our l JV girls took off from the line and after starting out at a manageable pace settled in to lead the race.    Emma led from the start and was able break 22:00 for the first time to WIN  the JV Championship.  Not to be out done Kaylie, Kylie and Maeve ran in nice pack that allowed for ALL to have PR's!  April (PR race) made it exciting as she sprinted to the finish to secure the perfect score and team victory for the JV team.  


Next,  our JV squad prepared their minds with the BAHA tradition then stepped to the line.  Michael and Davis led the race from the start with Davis eventually winning JV championship with Michael finishing in a solid second overall.  Dermot  finished 3rd, Carter 4th,  Lawson 5th and Davis 6th all with their best race of the season and a PERFECT score (+ one :) to win the TEAM championship!!


Our girls  team includes three of the best in the State and there was never a doubt as they took off and led from the gun.  Going into the race the mentality was to relax and just enjoy the day/race and that they did just that.  We were treated to a great race to the finish with Addison just out pacing Lorel for the 1-2 finish!!  Both girls PR'ed with incredible 18:44 times that place them 4th and 5th ALL TIME  on the Pope XC list.  Not to be out done, our 6th overall PXC athlete, Charlotte, finished 3rd overall!!!!!  In season/overall PR times, Catherine  had her best race of the season and finished 7th overall as the 4th greyhound runner, Then Claudia had her best race in two years to run in the 5th spot for the Hounds.  Having a solid 6/7 runner is pivotal and Maddy and Kaylen had their best 5K's EVER to secure the TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!


The boys race also produced a team REGION CHAMPIONSHIP by placing 5 runners in the top 12 overall!!.  Benny led the Hounds with a PR race to finish 2nd overall in the race.  Carter was 3rd overall with William finishing 5th.  Connor and Sean rounded out the scoring in 7th and 12th overall.  Depth continues to be a stronger indicator of our success so Alec (14th) and Paxton (16th) remain key contributors!

CONGRATS to all the Greyhounds on a very impressive day!!!

Your mighty Greyhounds headed South to McIntosh Nature Preserve to take on some of the state’s best of the best at the Coach Wood Invitational. Although the weather forecast did not call for rain we had a torrential downpour as athletes were coming in to the park.. This did not phase our varsity boys as they took off in a disciplined fashion from the start and assumed their rightful positions in the extremely competitive field. Because of the early race pacing, all of the boys moved up on their competitors throughout the race with the majority all setting either season or lifetime PR races . Carter was able to the illustrious 16 minute barrier to run 1557. Benny and William ran very well with sub 17:00 performances. Sean (1713) ran an incredible race, running a 29 second PR!!!!! Also running a personal best was Connor in 1721. Rounding out the varsity were a close pack of Paxton, Alec and then Davis who added depth to our team by adding points to other teams score!

Next was the girl's race and, just like the boys, our girls ran appropriate early paces to allow them to move up on the field over the later stages of the race. Lorel ran an impressive 1845 for 13th place with Charlotte just a few steps back in 14th. These two ladies have consistently proven themselves as some of the State's best. Catherine finished next for the ‘Hounds in a season PR along with Maddie (overall PR) in the 4th position. Kaylen (9sec PR) and Kaylie (24 sec PR) ran incredible races for Pope as they just continue to work hard and prove their dedication to the team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Next up were the JV divisions of the Coach Wood Invitational. Michael took off on the line in a motivated fashion and ran well to lead the JV crew.. A close group of young runners, showing that the future is bright, included: Dermot (12 sec PR), Aiden (15 sec PR), Carter D (32 sec PR and 1st time sub 19!), Charlie (54 sec PR and 1st time sub 19:00!!!!) and Mick (47 sec PR and 1st time sub 19:00). Needless to say the JV crew did an incredible job!!!!!!!!!!!!  Our Jv girls also ran well led by Kylie's impressive 27 sec PR race and Maeve's incredible 1:14 sec PR!!!  Some of our younger girls have really bought in to the process an they should celebrate their great accomplishment!!!!!! April (2nd race sub 23:00) , Caroline(1:13 season PR),  Rachel (11 sec PR) and Hannah (1:13 sec PR)!!  You make us proud ladies!!!!!!!!!







After Covid put the annual team trip on hiatus for a year our Greyhounds approached this year’s event with excitement. After a rainy week, the sky’s cleared and we were treated us to a glorious day at Dollywood.

We then, within reason, fueled ourselves with some unlimited bread sticks and tasty pasta!!!

The rain returned overnight but when we arrived at the Trailblazer Invitational meet management had done a great job preparing the race course for competition. Due to some TN sanctioning issues ALL our Greyhounds were required to compete in the varsity division. This was not an issue as our Greyhounds toed the soggy ground ready for action. Running on the hilly trails runners were treated to some beautiful views of the Tennessee mountains AND smells of the countryside (#cows). It is nice to run against some different competition and our athletes performed well against some of the best runners in Tennessee and Virginia. Our girls were led by Charlotte (6th) and Lorel (8th) with Catherine running 3rd for the Hounds in 24th place overall. Our next 4 girls ran in close pack with Maddy finishing in her always reliable position. Then Emma and Kaylie were the next 2 scorers with Maeve having a very impressive race to finish 7th for the Hounds1!!!

Our boys raced next and at the gun, Carter and Benny took off and led the way, eventually finishing 5th and 21st in a deep field. Depth is our forte so when William could not race our boys did not miss a beat. Connor stepped up as our 3rd athlete,  running his best race of the season!!!! After sitting out the last meet to rehab his hip, Davis moved right back into the varsity lineup with ease! Paxton, Sean and Alec tried a new progression race strategy which seemed to work well as they passed numerous competitors over the last mile of the race.  Nice job Varsity boys on your 3rd place TEAM finish.

Thanks Greyhounds for a great weekend with some fun racing and team bonding!!!

On Saturday your mighty Greyhounds took on the wet Allatoona Creek Park trails for the Cobb County Championships. Our JV girls started out the day with zest and finished 3rd overall as a team behind Maeve, Rachel, April, Caroline and Linsey. Next up were our JV boys who honestly put forth one of the most exciting and dominating team races of the day. Our super frosh, Davis, WON the race in impressive fashion with Dermot (6th) and Aiden’s (7th) providing very exciting finishes as well.    Reed , Andrew and Charlie showed team depth by all finishing in the top 15 overall. Great TEAM win for the young Greyhound pups!!!!!! 

race video   girls race video


Our lady Hounds were next up and at the gun our top 3 girls were in the lead pack of a competitive field of athletes. Once the top group made it to the first mile there was no doubt  as our top 3 were leading the entire field. Quite an impression as three Greyhounds finished 1-3, Charlotte is the County Champion with Lorel 2nd and Addison 3rd. We had Catherine back after missing last week to run well in the 4th spot then Claudia, Maddy and Kaylen finished together in the 4/6/7 spots all within 5 seconds of each other. Nice work ladies we will continue with our persistence to be ready as the meets get more and more competitive. TEAM 3rd place.

Race video   

Next up were our Varsity boys who took off in an equally competitive group to the girls and were able to hold their own in a close team race to finish 3rd overall. Carter finished 3rd individually with Benny 8th and William (season PR) 13th. Connor and Sean (1:00 faster than last year!!!!) continued to show their strength as they again both finished under 18. After missing the last 2 races (ACT and SAT) Alec was able shake off some dust and to run in the 6th spot with Michael 7th for the Hounds. TEAM 3rd place.  Boys video


 Team Splits

East Cobb Challenge Champions

This weekend our Greyhounds went to the hills of Carrollton to preview the State meet course. We took more athletes than we normally do as we have a large number of athletes who are just on the cusp of truly doing this running thing RIGHT. WE were missing key varsity athletes due to the ACT but overall we did what we needed to do this weekend!!!

Our JV athletes armed with some vintage sweatshirts prepared under the leadership of James and Brooke to represent in as a Greyhound should 😊 EJ led for the girls with Andrew (season PR) being our top JV boy this week.

Running successfully in the varsity division were Paxton, Davis L and Dermot (PR race). On the girls side, Addison ran in the varsity division and ran a VERY impressive time to WIN the race by a sizeable amount 😊 Kylie and Emma (season PR)also ran impressively in the varsity division on a very challenging course. Key thing heard at the meet after a quality week of training… “All the hill tempo runs really helped prepare me for this course” Take away= WE are headed in the right direction with our workouts 😊 #Continued STRENGTH BUILDING

Both of our top teams competed in the Championship division of the Carrollton Invitational with the BEST of the best in Georgia. In the girls race, Charlotte(6th overall) and Lorel (14th overall) started off at a manageable pace which allowed them to pick off people in the later states of the race. With Catherine out this week and Addison running in the Varsity division, Maddy stepped up and ran in th e3rd spot for the Hounds with a1:23 improvement on last year’s race performance !! Kaylen was 4th with a 2:00 improve from last year and Kaylie ran 5th with a impressive time didn’t even run at this meet last year 😊 Once we get the whole crew back together again we will move back to our normal team positioning. Right now I am happy with where we are and with a little focus we will get done what we need to in order to be competitive when it counts!!Our boys were not ready to run in the Championship division previously but with added experience they ran like they belonged this year. Putting himself in the right position, Carter, was able to improve 1:20 from last year to place 13th overall. Improvement was the name of the game for us as Benny (:37) and William both (:07) Running 4th for the Greyhounds was Davis D, who performed well with great splits in his first attempt at Carrollton!!! Rounding out the scoring was Connor who had an improvement of :49 from his 2020 Carrollton race! Overall, WE looked good and our depth continues to carry us. What I was impressed with most as we trained HARD this week, were disciplined in the early stages of the race and did NOT drop off in the 3rd mile!!!!






TEAM TRIP INFORMATION  Please see the information below regarding the TEAM trip to Dollywood and Trailblazer invitational.    All information should be completed and mailed to David Laushey by 10/1.  WE will be taking up to 40 athletes on the trip with seniors and varsity athletes having first priority.

Itinerary   permission form


Another great for our Greyhound contingent throughout all divisions of the Cherokee County Challenge XC meet.  results 

Our varsity boys team started off just as the sun rose with it being light enough for us to see the trail. Carter and Benny immediately secured their spots in the lead pack. Carter ended up doing most of the work for the top group as he led the pace throughout, eventually finishing in a VERY impressive PR race of 1624. Benny was able to break 17:00 with Connor, William, and Sean running season or overall personal best races to secure the TEAM RUNNER UP finish. WE did this, boys, missing a key contributor (SAT), allowing one of the varsity to run JV and still had Michael and Paxton’s strong races backing up the top 5!! While we used our depth, we can pick up additional seconds (and places) with some dedication to more even splits. That discipline will come boys right now I salute your fire!! #TEAMDEPTH IS KEY  VARSITY VIDEO 

The varsity girls took off next and our super 3 impressively leading the race. If racing body language is any indicator, ALL our top three look fresh and race ready. There are multiple ways to race and this week we allowed others to lead and then used our finishing ability to place Lorel (3rd), Charlotte (4th) and Addison (5th). Catherine broke 2100 to run 4th for the Hounds with Maddy having a nice PR race that was 1:06 faster than this race last year!!! Claudia and Kaylie rounded out the top 7 in style both with very impressive races!!! TEAM RUNNERUP!!  VARSITY VIDEO 


Learning how to race is a key component in maturing as a runner. Davis learned a little bit more about that this weekend at the CCC as he ran much more manageable splits and was able to break 18 as he cruised to the WIN in the JV race. Aiden continues to move up the depth chart finished 13th with a blast of blue in Carter D 14th , Lawson15th and Reed 16th sealing the team runner up finish.

Our JV ladies finished 4th overall behind Kylie, Linsey, Maeve, Rachel, Caroline, Lexi and Hannah running with improving times. Very impressive improvement for our girls after some Hot but productive pacing work this week.

The OPEN jv COED was the next race and you could almost feel the ground shake as the huge group of harriers took off. Immediately, freshman Dermot took off with the lead pack. Nothing to be concerned about as he was able to maintain and finished overall with a 2 ½ minute improvement from last week. Also showing great promise for the future were Ryan, then Jake,  Carter N, and Rylan,  Great work boys on your TEAM RUNNER UP finish. 

Our Open JV girls could NOT be denied as they WON the team championship behind some quality performances by Brooke, EJ and Lane (1:53 improvement)

Proud of the Greyhounds as they continue to add to the mantra of BEING APART OF SOMETHING THAT IS BIGGER THAN SELF!!!!


TEAM PHOTOS   THANKS Tim Hanlon for capturing our hounds in action :)

Race videos

JV girls JV Boys

Varsity girls Varsity Boys

split sheets Boys Girls (in the videos above the clock time is the 1 mile split)


Into the Trail meet summary:

Your mighty Greyhound athletes started off the 2021 XC campaign with a fervor after the long summer months of training. First to toe the line in 2021 were the Varsity girls. After last year’s incredible season there is a confidence that prevails as Lorel and Charlotte were able to take command of the race from the start. Our young freshman, Addison,  trailing just slightly behind and looked like she belonged as she hung on to the lead pack. Congrats to Lorel to WON her first ever XC race in a very impressive early season time. Not far behind was Charlotte in second and then Addison in 3rd to make a definitive blue wave statement. After doing the right things over the summer Catherine finished in an impressive 7th position and Maddy in 15th. Adding depth were our Varsity new comers Kaylie (18th) Kaylen (20th) and Emma J (21st )who rounded out the scoring for the Lady 'Hounds.  TEAM CHAMPS


True ATHLETES must have both athletic ability and also passion to persevere and do the right things. Over the summer the varsity boy’s effort was quite impressive and that dedication was evident in the strength of their performances this week. WE will need to continue improve our 1-7 time gap as the season continues but right now we are in a great place. Carter and Benny took command of the race with a blistering 1st mile that took the wind out of the sails of a few of the competitors. They maintained their positions with Carter throwing in a surge at about 2 miles that sealed the WIN. Benny finished 4th and William fought off a late challenger to secure a 6th place finish. Sean and Connor both boasted their quality summer mileage and looked great as they finished 12th and 15th for the Hounds. After his most dedicated summer yet Alec ran a smart race to finish 18th. TEAM RUNNER UP

Our JV ladies always bring a smile to our faces with their spirited approach to the race. They took off and controlled the race from start to the finish placing 7 athletes in the top 10 and 17 in the top 20!!!! Leading the way for the Greyhounds was Kylie 3rd , Taylor running in her first 5k made it look easy with a 4th place finish, Maeve 5th , April 6th,Linsey 7th, Rachel 8th !!! TEAM CHAMPS

After the first BAAHAAA session of the year, the army of JV boys took off in a huge wave of PXC carolina and navy. These young men looked great in their race and we saw opportunity for many athletes who could move up to the varsity ranks in the future. Seniors, Michael and Davis led the way from the gun, finishing 1st and 2nd overall. Carter D finished 3rd for Pope with some of the most even splits of the day. In the 4th scoring spot for the Hounds was Reed 6th , then Aiden (7th) , Cooper (9th) and Charlie 10th. TEAM CHAMPS!!!

WE are proud of our Greyhounds but realize there is much more to do as we continue throughout the season. While we celebrate today we focus our workouts to maintain a persistence work ethic to be prepared at the end of the season.  


Time trial 2 results 


Great start to the 2021 season with our annual time trial down Hembree Road.  Congratulations to all those who were dedicated over the summer and proved it with their individual performance!!!  Welcome NEW runners  to Greyhound XC!!!  results   time trial #2


1st EVER Sprinters 30m Start Bracket Challenge!! (DOUBLE ELIMINATION)

Monday, February 6th

Don't miss!

Check the brackets for your names (2 boys brackets and 2 girls brackets)

Some names removed due to known absences

If your name is not listed on either bracket, it may be because I don't have a previous time for you.  Please let me know asap.

If you have to miss practice (which you shouldn't) please also let me know asap, so brackets can be adjusted.

Boys Blue Bracket    RESULTS    Boys White Bracket  RESULTS

Girls Blue Bracket    RESULTS     Girls White Bracket  RESULTS

What a fun day watching (and hearing) everyone battle!

*A couple of the rounds of the consolation brackets got a little off with all the moving parts, but hopefully everyone had fun COMPETING and running fast!  We will have another go at this next month!

The TEAM STORE for the 2021 XC team is now LIVE.  ALL athletes will need a uniform and should reserve their size through the store by 8/1. The Pope uniform is a running top and shorts with girls having the option of the split short or the 4" team shorty.   Payment for uniforms will occur at our kick off party on Thursday 8/19.   Other items on the team store are strictly voluntary spirit wear items and are available for purchase for athletes or parents.  

It is time for 2021 POPE CROSS COUNTRY!!!!!!. REGISTER HERE 

SCHEDULE

PHYSICAL FORM Once completed upload to your student-vue account.

THESE ARE THE ONLY ATHLETES ALLOWED TO ATTEND WEIGHTS/TEAM RUNS

2020 Pope XC recap

Congratulations to SOPHIE BOICE and LOREL GOLDEN who have been selected the the prestigious ALL METRO XC TEAM . The Atlanta Track Club has sponsored this program for over 50 years and honors the top 22 athletes from the metro Atlanta area. This is quite an honor....Congratulations!!!! ALL METRO TEAM

Next up were the Lady Greyhounds, loaded with talent but more importantly mentally strong to any situation that should arise. As usual, undisciplined athletes took the pace out too fast but the Pope contingent apprised the situation appropriately. Temperatures were warming up with the 12:45 start time but our experienced runners moved up to their expected positions as the race progressed. Sophie came off of separation slope in 4th but made her way up the final hill with strength motivated by her season long disciplined training into 3rd overall. Lorel also had a great last 500 meters of the race to allow us to finish with a solid overall 3-4 punch. Not to be out done, Charlotte came through the rough conditions with an impressive 12th place overall finish. Rachel (23rd) , Isa (39th) and Catherine (52nd) continued their impressive season and the “Blue Wave” sealed the deal Pope was able to WIN the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP by a 60 point margin over the 2nd place team. Congratulations girls, with GREAT leadership, talent and intrinsic motivation to do the “little things” you made history in PHS folklore!!!

A glorious fall day awaited as our dedicated group of boys arrived at the State course ready for action. Numbers/chips secured and checked in at the line, we awaited to see what the Greyhounds could master with 4 of our 7 athletes new to the State meet procedure. Pope’s tradition of excellence had prepared these boys and they took off from the line with a vengeance. Races are recalled if an athlete falls in the first 100 meters of the race. Unfortunately Cater was pushed to the ground about 110 meters in but in solid fashion he jumped back up and continued. One thing about his group is that they draw strength from each other and finished with a 47 second split from 1 to 5!! Benny led the group, with Carter, William, Alec and Paxton finishing in the other scoring positions for Pope .  ALL return for the 2021 season! This is a hard sport but there is something special about this group and I cannot wait the approximately 30 weeks until we get to start practice for PXC 2021!!!!

WE made it to the REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!! With some recent virtual training the Lady ‘Hounds navigated workouts and maintained the focus in their training. Armed with some sleek unii’s, the ladies took off from the line with the purpose of winning a REGION title. Other teams took the pace out very aggressively, but our ladies showed their base training and prevailed. Sophie ran to a solid individual title with Lorel finishing 2nd (Individual State qualifier), Charlotte 3rd (Individual State qualifier) and Rachel 5th (Individual State qualifier) Isa rounded out the scoring for the Pope group with Catherine adding important depth in Congrats to our TEAM CHAMPIONS!!! At the state meet we will have to have ALL 7 athletes on point to finish off the team goal. #Keep the focus

The Varsity boys were up next in they fierce black uniforms reserved for varsity dominance. The boys continued to run smart and let the race come to them as other runners started off too fast. Benny built momentum throughout the race and finished 3rd overall (Individual State qualifier). Carter finished strong at the 4th position (Individual State qualifier), next was William in 6th (Individual State qualifier) and then Zane running strong through his injury in 9th. Finishing off the scoring for the boys varsity was Alec in 12th and Paxton in 14th. CONGRATS TEAM CHAMPS!! #5-PEAT

Our JV girls were next in line to strut their stuff and took off at the front of the pack. In only her first year of running Cassie finished solidly as the overall individual runner up. Sarah was just a step back in 3rd. Finishing out the scoring for the JV group were Claudia (6th), Maddy (10th) and Kaylen (11th). TEAM JV Runner-ups.

The Varsity boys were up next in they fierce black uniforms reserved for varsity dominance. The boys continued to run smart and let the race come to them as other runners started off too fast. Benny built momentum throughout the race and finished 3rd overall (Individual State qualifier). Carter finished strong at the 4th position (Individual State qualifier), next was William in 6th (Individual State qualifier) and then Zane running strong through his injury in 9th. Finishing off the scoring for the boys varsity was Alec in 12th and Paxton in 14th. CONGRATS TEAM CHAMPS!! #5-PEAT

In the last regular season of meet of the year our girls team was selected into the Championship division of the Coach Wood invitational. Athletes in this division are from the ELITE teams from not only Georgia but also Tennessee and Alabama. Mentally this is a challenging feat but our girls are getting used to this regiment and handle the competition with determination. Sophie continues to improve on her outstanding senior season as she PR’ed again with a 18:16 performance!!!! Lorel (19:00) and Charlotte (19:22..season PR) both continue their impressive seasons, along with Rachel (19:35) and Isa with a PR race of 20:24. Catherine, Mia and Sarah (30 second PR)continue to be close in the mix which will be pivotal once we get to the State meet!!!!! Continue the consistency ladies…you’ve been discipline and the best is yet to come 😊

The next race of the cold morning t Coach Wood was the JV Championship and our ladies were led by Maddie with a very impressive PR race. She was followed by Emma M (PR), Claudia, Kaylen (PR) and Emma J (PR). Rounding out the JV girls impressive squad were freshman Linsey (1:00 PR ), Sam and freshman Caroline (2:20 PR!!) Proud of this group of ladies and we used a mix of veterans and new athletes to prove POPE XC quality!!!

Next up for the Lady Hounds were the JV open race. Molly coming off several quality performances previously in this division again raced again to an impressive performance of 23:28. Another frosh, Kaylie, finished 2nd for the girls also finishing in the 23:00’s!!! Alice, Sophia, Brooke, Hannah and Lexi ALL finished in the scoring for Pope and ALL had PR or season PR races. Great job ladies…looking forward to having this groups of girls to move up to the Jv or perhaps Varsity squad in the future. #quality future!!!

Next the Varsity Boys came to the line ready to grab some PR’s and prep for the Region/State championships!!! Carter ran a very smart race and moved into the illustrious group of athletes who have broken 17:00. His 16:55 places him a few steps higher on the ALL time list and he is only a sophomore!!!! Another the strength of our BLUE WAVE continued with Benny, William (PR) and Alec (PR) all finishing with in 7 seconds of each other. Paxton and Michael (25 second PR) both finished close together with Connor (PR) and Parker (PR) just a few seconds back. WE need a group of 7 boys to be successful at Region and State. We are greatly impressed with what you have done this season but STAY DEDICATED as the best is yet to come.

Leading the JV boys were Lawson, Carter and Andrew with PR races and with all being just over 19:00, a challenge for an 18:00 performance is there at the Region Championships!!!!!!!! Aiden(PR) and Ian (PR) rounded out the top 5 athletes with a VERY IMPRESSIVE 7 seconds1-5 split!!!!!

In the JV open classification Aiden P led the way with another consistent performance of 19:07..sub 19:00 at REGION is a definite attainable goal. Next for the Hounds were Moe (PR), James ,Charlie (PR) and Bryce (PR) all in a tight group. Rounding out the scoring for the young Hounds imcluded Aiden I, Gabe (1:44 PR!!!) and John(PR).

A meet recap is coming but first a BIG THANK YOU to those that helped set up/break down the meet equipment. The heavy lifting was done by Thomas, John, Ben and Charlie. THANKS!!! GREYHOUNDS, you have great Booster club and parent support that are GRAT APPRECIATED!!! A meet recap is coming but the following athletes should be congratulated for their HUGE improvement at the Coach Wood Invitational….Caroline 2:00 Brooke 1:10 Rachel 1:26 Alex 1:53 Victoria 1:40 Darby 1:19 Tommy 2:08 Nicky 2:15 Cole 1:31 Kyle 2:00 Graham 1:15 Andrew 1:36 Hunter 1:08 Gabe 1:44 Charlie 1:07

After a week off for Fall break the Greyhounds came to Dellinger Park for the Cass Cartersville Invitational to shed the dust and get ready for the championship part of the season. !! The afternoon was a bit warm and the course is reputed to be slight long but this did not phase the quest for success!! The JV boys stared off the day with a TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP behind the smart race of Jacob who finished 2nd overall and broke 19:00 for the first time. Also running well for the Hounds were Sean (3rd), Parker (8th), Michael (9th) and Carter D. (11th) The Lady Hounds also WON the TEAM Championship behind Kaylen (3rd), Kylie (5th), Emma (6th), Kaylie (8th) and Rachel (10th).

Finishing off the afternoon, the Varsity squads took to the course and both teams finished 3rd overall. The Boys were led by Benny in 6th overall, followed closely by Zane (10th), then by Davis who ran one of his best races of the year in 12th. Next were Alec (13th) , Carter(14th) and William (15th) who finished in an impressive tight pack. Great work boys!!! With the top 7 varsity girls running the previous Saturday our 8-14 runners came to the line to represent Pope with great success. Sarah(10th) and Cassie(11th) finished shoulder to shoulder to lead the Hounds with great races by Anna (12th) Maddie (13th) Emma (18th)! Congrats LADIES!!!

With a great week of relaxation but quality training our Varsity ladies arrived at the Chattahoochee Hills venue in a thick fog determined to perform. The ladies offered no excuses and took off from the line against the most talented field they’d faced all season. Even without fresh legs they managed the incredibly fast pace though it is not how we usually race. Sophie finished in an incredible 18:19 which places her 3rd EVER for a Pope XC athlete. The elite performances continued with Lorel finishing in 18:53 and Rachel in 19:32. Charlotte was next for the girls then a tightly packed group of Catherine (20:14), Isa (20:33)and Mia (20:47). Proud of you all as we raced well while tired and finished 6th of 95 teams… 😊

 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

A challenge was thrown out to the Greyhounds this week and as a TEAM we bought in to run in an accomplished fashion.

The day started with a darkness delay but when the boys finally heard the gun, they set off on their goal focused mission. I knew as soon as they came through the 1 mile mark that things were headed in the right direction as the PACE was appropriate for all involved. 

The boys maintained their discipline and all TEAM members ran PR races!!!! In fact our 2nd wave of Davis (1st)/Connor (3) and Michael (7th) ran so well that they caught the first wave which forced meet management to have to go back and review the finish line tapes (with a little help from out Pope coaches/split timers) to obtain correct times. Having Benny run for a sub 17:00 minute performance with the next 4 athletes (William/Carter/Alec and Paxton) running within a window of 34 seconds will be VERY exciting for championship season. Congrats boys, you set a goal and it was attained.

#IveGotMySwagger Back….SH 😊

Next up were out #1 STATE RANKED Lady ‘Hounds. Reminded of the appropriate required pace was important as the 2nd wave was released at the wrong time interval which caused the waves to overlap. This did NOT deter the ladies as they knew what their splits were supposed to be and after concentrated practice knew what the “feel” should be and were disciplined in their work. Sophie ran a huge PR of 18:36 which places here top 5 all time for Pope XC. Charlottte (5th overall) and Lorel (6th overall) ran season Pr’s with Rachel maintaining her 4th place position and Catherine ran a 40 second PR to run in the 5th spot. The second wave of Isa, Mia and Sarah ran in a tight pack with all 3 running PR races only adding support to the 2020 Warpath Invitational TEAM Champions!!!!


Our JV teams also both WON their races with very impressive strong race performance. The boys took off with a crew of boys who are motivated to get the job done!! After sitting out last week with a soccer match, Jacob ran as if it had raced numerous times to win the JV boys race. Bailey also ran well finishing 2nd overall with Cooper(7th) , Carter (9th) and Liam solidifying the win.

With the depth of our team we truly have a group of varsity girls running for Pope in the JV races!! This week our JV girls won the meet overall with Sam, Cassie and Anna all finishing in the top 10 in the JV race. Emma M, Kaylen, Kylie and Emma J were the other top 7 scorers for the Hounds.

In the Open boys race we put 5 boys in the top 8 for a decisive win. Aiden led for the Hounds with a 2:30 PR, followed by Henry (1:40 PR), Luke, Jake and Noah. GREAT to see the solid training showing some results for the young Hounds!!!!

The Greyhounds took on the hills of the State meet course at Carrollton High School this weekend. To start the day, the boys took off in the varsity division. Benny began with the lead group with Carter slightly back with a great pack of William, Alec and Paxton just back a few seconds. Learning the particulars of the course is important as we will hopefully be returning in early November for the State Championships. Our boys finished 2nd overall in the varsity divisions with an impressive time split of 31 seconds for the first 5 athletes. This close finishing order will prove successful as we approach the Region and State Championships. PACING will be key when we return to these key meets and we will PRACTICE it from now until then to assure we give our best to the State course… GOAL is PODIUM!!!!

Next the Lady Hounds took off and while it was not our best performance of the year it was enough to still finish at the TEAM Runner up in the competitive field. Sophie placed second overall with a PR on the rough State course, Charlotte finished 9th overall with Lorel and Rachel doing with they needed to help the TEAM placing. Finishing together in the 5th/6th positions were Catherine and then Isa which is great for our finishing depth. LADIES, We need 7 in a tight finish group to do what we want to do at STATE!!!

After a short intermission, The JV squads took to the course in the heat of the day. Many of these athletes were running the tough course for the first time but the girls stayed in the mental game and placed 6th athletes in the top 10. WE perfected scored the meet with Mia (1st), Sarah (2nd), Maddie (3rd) Emma (4th) and Cassie (5th), Anna (6thth) and Kaylen (9th). Congrats ladies…glad to see the depth of the TEAM!!!

Our JV boys took off in the final race of the day with excitement and determination to succeed!!! Although a few of our guys struggled with their pacing their dedication can not be questioned!!! Parker ran a smart race and finished strong as 5th overall with Carter just back in the 7th position followed by Michael in 8th. Rounding out the scoring for the Hounds were Cooper and Moe. Be patient MEN your time with come…..PROUD of your determination!!!

Day 2 of the County Championships did not disappoint as the the up and coming 'Hounds prepared to stake their claim and prove that PXC will be successful in future seasons. Our JV boys took off at the gun and although they are not used to leading, William and Paxton set off in the lead as if they had done it numerous times. A sprint to the finish showed the dedicated work they put in with William finishing as the County Champ with Paxton just a stride back in 4th place. Rounding out the scoring for the JV pups included Parker, Jacob, Carter D., and Cooper. The future looks bright for our young groups of runners!! VIDEO (Mr Hanlon) OUr girls JV squad ran well and was led by Claudia, Maddie and Sarah. All girls either ran an overall personal best or season PR!!

The varsity races were next and in traditional CC meet tradition the competition was as competitive as any Region or State meet. The boys started off the and Zane ran tough to place in the top ten with Carter and Benny finishing with impressive PR races. Also scoring for the :Hounds were Alec, Connor, Davis an Sean. , Our future is bright with 4 of the top 5 varsity finishers in the County Championships being 10th graders!!!

Our highly competitive varsity girls team ran with the best of the best and cam up jsut short of the County Championship. Sophie ran a very smart race and was able to outlast the competition for an Individual CHAMPIONSHIP. Lorel (7th) , Charlotte (8th) Rachel (13) , isa (32), Catherine and Mia all ran well to pace our impressive Lady Hounds. The motivated girls will continue their hard work to be prepared for continued success as the season progresses.

Many of our JV Open athletes only began this crazy XC thing a short few weeks ago but today at the Cobb County Championships they really looked like they looked like experts and made Greyhounds Nation PROUD!!!!!! In the HEAT of the afternoon the JV boys showed off their hard work and secured the team win!!!! Moe started off in the lead pack and never surrendered finished impressively as the individual runner-up!!!! In his first high school XC race Andrew finished 4th overall with another first year runner, Ian, in 5th along with Lawson 7th, then with a very impressive kick Mick was 8th then finishing out the top 7 for the Hounds were Henry in 11th and Liam in 12th. Congrats boys on a great night of racing.


With big/lil sister gifts exchanged and bows in place the JV Lady ‘Hounds stepped to the line in the HOT summer sun with a mission and purpose!! The ladies got a great start and stayed mentally in the race as the race progressed even under the condition!!!! Sam took control of the race early and led to a substantial WIN, with a very close group of greyhounds finishing within a tight pack!!!!! Scoring for the included Kylie (5th), Linsey (8), Alice (14th ), Kaylie (15) Emma (17) and Lexie(21) rounding out the top 7 for the blue wave. Congrats girls on starting off the Cobb County Championships with your TEAM WIN!!!

In the first full team meeting of the 2020 season the Greyhounds arrived in their shiny new uniforms, full of spirit and ready to ROLL. First up were the boys and they toed the line in a very impressive army of men The varsity boys got out with Zane and Benny starting off in the lead pack with Carter just slightly back. The blue wave of athletes from the 4-10 positions all finished within 60 seconds of each other which is motivating for the future. This depth will be pivotal once we get to the championships part of the season. 

In the combined results of all raced (297 runners) our boys placed 5th out of 15 quality teams behind Zane (8th), Carter (14), Benny (15 and PR), William (30 and PR) and Alec (32) Davis (34 and PR) and Paxton (37) were in the 6th and 7th positions which added important points to other teams!! Continued work with these dedication boys will lead us to great success 😊

Our determined girls took off from the line and didn't even blink as they ran through ankle deep puddles and secured themselves a great start. Drawing on the strength of their teammates ALL our ladies ran in packs of "blue waves" to great success. Sophie battled up front briefly but pulled away to WIN for the second week in a row. Placing our next 3 athletes in the overall top 15 in the blended results is a great strength that teams will have a hard time competing against throughout the season. Lorel (5th) , Charlotte (9th) and Rachel (15th) were all within seconds of each other with Isa (27th), Catherine (3oth) and Claudia (37th) rounding out the top 7 positions. CONGRATS ladies on your second TEAM WIN in a row :) Looking forward to the CC Championships!

WE RAN A XC RACE!!!! The Top 12 athletes traveled to Jasper, GA to compete at the Pickens Peek. After 5 months of no racing but determined training the Greyhounds performed in GLADIATOR fashion The day started with a 30 minute delay after some weather damage to the trail but this did not deter the ladies as they were ready when the gun finally sounded. Sophie took the lead from the start and never looked back as she ran for a decisive win. 

Pope's strength lies in the TEAM aspect so Lorel (3rd) and Charlotte (5th) and Rachel (9th) continued the blue wave by finishing in the top 10 overall. Isa (13th)rounded out the scoring for the ladies with great additional team support by Catherine (15th), Maddie (18th), Claudia (19th) and Mia (22nd). TEAM CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

WOW…. After cheering our very talented girls’ team the boys did not disappoint. Knowing that we had numerous boys who had dedicated themselves to the necessary summer training, the coaching staff had high hopes for this young boys team. Zane started his senior campaign in high style with an individual runner-up finish. The rest of the team scoring was led by super-sophomores Benny (10th overall/21 second PR), Carter (13th /:54 faster over last year ), William (17th/ :51 PR) and Jr. Alec (25th/ :25 faster than 2019). Having strong support in the 6+ team positions is important in adding points to other teams. After our top 5 runners our boys led a 21 second blitzkrieg of Greyhounds with Davis, Michael, Sean, Parker, Connor and Jacob (FROSH) !!! Congrats boys on your TEAM Runner up finish…you make us PROUD!!!

ALL ATHLETES MUST HAVE THEIR OWN WATER TO ATTEND PRACTICE!!! 

GREAT WORK GREYHOUNDS!!!!

TIME TRIAL RESULTS

All XC athletes must have a Strava account. Set up your account on the Strava website and then search Pope HIgh School XC to be added to the team.  

Pope High school has adopted Sara Hall and Scott Fauble through ATC's cheer zone program. Please follow them on social media, welcome them to Atlanta and wish them GOOD LUCK in their quest to represent the USA in this summers Olympic games in Tokyo. #USA!!


Instagram - @sfaubs Twitter - @scottfaubs

Instagram/Twitter - @sarahall3

Mondays Flying 10's results!!

McNeil (avg) 1.16           Stellmach (avg) .995

Sage (avg) 1.195           Cameron (avg) 1.005

Ball (avg) 1.235           Cohen (avg) 1.07

Edjua (avg) 1.25           Eagan (avg) 1.075

Bradford (avg) 1.285           Hayes (avg) 1.09

Baylark (avg) 1.31           Stephen (avg) 1.115

Benson (avg) 1.31           Gutzmer (1 time) 1.14

Johnson (avg) 1.335           Sims (1 time) 1.15

Lewandowski (avg) 1.355           Morgen (avg) 1.155

Dixon (avg) 1.36           Nixon (avg) 1.165

Wednesday is a Sprint Holiday!

Get RESTED

Get RE-FUELED

Get RECOVERED

New Remind 101 numbers!!!


(we are only allowed to have 150 on a remind "class roster" so we have to use 2 classes, maybe a 3rd later)

Monday, January 20:  

Congrats to Joe Stellmach for having the fastest flying 15 and fastest average

Congrats to Sydney Ball-fastest flying 15 and Leah Sage-fastest average

Top 5 girls: Sage, Ball, Gibbs, Dixon Hess

Top 5 boys: Stellmach, Cameron, Hayes, Stephen, Zegers

2019 Pope XC recap

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE POPE XC TEAMS WHO BOTH MADE THE PODIUM AT THE STATE MEET. Boys were 2nd behind Cole (3rd), Will (4th) and KC (8th) Zane (15) AND the girls were 3rd behind Charlotte (12), Sophie (13) and Lorel (14). CONGRATS XC Greyhounds who finished the season is high form!!

Congratulations to the boys and girls teams who qualified for the STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS next week in Carrollton GA. The Varsity girls qualified as the 3rd place team behind Lorel's incredible 3rd place finish and Sophie finishing 7th overall!!! Isa, Rachel and Bella ran well to secure the team finish and move on...#HigherGoals:)

The boys finished as the REGION CHAMPIONS behind a very impressive 1-2-3 finish of Cole (Region Champion), Will (2nd) and KC (3rd). Securing the Championship were Zane (13th) and Alec!! Congratulations PXC!!! #IMPRESSIVE!!


LET'S GO!!!   TEAM HYPE!!!

The Pope XC teams had an incredible showing at the Coach Wood Invitational!! The Varsity Boys started off the day by placing 3, Yes, THREE athletes in the 15's for the meet. Fans this has never been done before so we definitely applaud Cole (15:10 School Record), Will B (15:36) and KC (15:42) for incredible performances. The rest of the varsity squad also ran well as Zane again ran in the 16's and pulled his training partner Nick to run under 17:00 as well!!! Alec, Carter, Conner, Bryce and Paxton all ran in the 17’s and added need support for our team as we move into the REGION Championships next week. 

Our lady ‘Hounds then took to the course and held firm in their defense of their high 6A high ranking!! Both Charlotte and Lorel ran in the 18’s with Sophie just a few paces back with a season PR. Rachel broke 20:00 for the first time and Isa had an incredible 1 minute PR to finalize the scoring for the Hounds. Bella and Sarah ran well in the 6th/7th spots with Mia and Anna adding on nice performances in the mid 21’s!!!! Our depth on the girls side will be pivot as we move on to Region and State. Congrats ladies!!

At the prestigious Wendy’s Invitational in Charlotte, NC the PXC team ran well in the cooler weather that hopefully is here to stay.

Cole battled to the line for an Individual Runner up finish..post race interview. KC and Will also ran in the elite front pack and came around the lake with STRONG finishes…KC 8th and Will 15th, Nick and Zane ran together and continued their consistent strong 4th/5th scoring positions for the Hounds. Our boys ran in the Championships division and finish 3rd overall or 3rd of 102 total teams in the combined results of the meet. Value these performances boys as what we have is special!!

The JV teams ran well with numerous athletes taking advantage of the GREAT weather. Our girls team for the varsity division was led by Charlotte with top notch JV performances turned in by Claudia, Ashley and Alice Big shoutout to MK and Sara for their huge PR’s!!! Top scorers for the boys JV team were Carter, Bryce, Benny, Conner, EthanS, Davis and Sean. Other Notable performances of incredible PR races were Ethan W and Jacob!!! Keep grinding Greyhounds!!! Thanks guys/gals for a FUN TEAM experience on our trip to Charlotte…LOVE spending time with all you quality kiddos!!!

On A HOT afternoon the Greyhounds ran at the Cass Cartersville Invitational at Dellinger Park. The JV squads started off the day with both boys and girls winning the TEAM Championship. The boys were led by Bryce, Alec, Paxton, Ethan and Parker. The girls were led by Mia’s WIN in the girls race with strong support from Catherine, Maddie, Emma and Kaylen.

The varsity boys did a workout in preparations for their weekend race ALL ran together at tempo pace yet still managed a 3rd place team finish. The Varsity girls showed their tenacity during the heat of the day to prove their TEAM readiness for the later part of the season!! With strong performances of Sophie, (Individual Runner-up) Lorel (3rd), Isa (6th), Bella (9th), Rachel (12) and Anna (15) our girls were able to WIN the TEAM Championship. Great job PXC…FUN day up in Cartersville 😊 

At the Wingfoot Classic, with an incredible 2-3 person deep cheering section throughout the entire course, the Greyhounds had one of their best performances of the year. With the top teams in the Georgia in the meet, all our athletes had to step up and perform under the lights in one of the most hyped meets in the state!!

Our freshman boys started off the day with an incredible group of spirited “pups” with Benny, Ashton, Liam, William and Lawson leading the huge team of frosh to a 3rd place team finish. Next up were the freshman girls with Claudia, Kylie and Emma scoring for the Greyhounds. Congrats Freshman you represented PXC well

Next our HUGE group of JV athletes took on the course as the sun started to set. After an injury in the early part of the season, Bryce was back in form leading the group along with Parker (PR race), Ethan , Michael (PR race) and Davis (PR race). Next the JV girls were up and were led by the incredible PR performances of Ashley, Anna, Mia, Emma D and Catherine!! Very impressed with the improvement of this group of athletes.

And just when you thought night couldn’t get any better the Varsity races started!! At this point in the night is was very DARK so safety was emphasized after one of our JV athletes was injured on the course because he could not see where he was going. With this in mind our Varsity boys started of the race with extreme caution yet measured competition/the course and moved up in the race to allow for ALL 5 boys to run career PR races!! Cole, KC and Will all joined the ELITE 15:00 club in leading the TEAM to a 2nd place overall in one of the most competitive meets of the year. XC fans this may have been one of the BEST performance ever by a Pope XC boys team!!

Next our hard working varsity girls stepped to the line and also didn’t disappoint!! Charlotte didn’t allow the competition to intimidate and ran to a PR race of 18:53 with Sophie, Lorel were just behind with consistent quality performances. With Rachel out of the lineup Bella stepped up as our #4 runner and ran to an almost full minute PR race!! Then Isa and Sarah ran shoulder to shoulder throughout the race to PR races for both runners!! We are where we need to be Greyhounds, Keep up the hard work!!

Trust me PXC fans when I say that this was a night to remember with quality performances and incredible spirit. THIS is what XC is all about!!! Set a new goal PXC, as the season is still yours to have!!

Calendar update Please check this calendar regularly for updates.  

Congratulations to the VARSITY teams who ran well at the Warpath Invitational on Saturday. Our top 7 boys ran to a 3rd place finish on wet course with 6 of the 7 athletes running personal best times. Cole, Will and KC all placed in the top 10...Zane broke 17:20 and freshman phenom Carter ran another great PR to solidify the team finish. The girls also ran well with ALL running season best times to place 5th overall in a field of 30+ teams.

The girls had our typical trio up front of Charlotte, Sophie and Lorel who were all top 20, with Rachel having huge Pr and Isa rounding out the scoring for the Greyhounds. The JV teams also ran very well at Warpath with numerous athletes inching up towards a varsity position. Our team depth Is important and will take us where we need to be later in the season. Warpath results

Also very proud of the JV group that went over to Milton to run a tough 5Kcourse!! With GREAT attitudes and a blue wave mentality the athletes took care of business. See the following video of our awesome open athletes :) Congrats to Liam (3rd), Ryan(4th), Vaclav (10) William and James for leading the young Hounds to a team runner up finish in the Open division!! The Open girls also competed well behind the determination of Alice, Moran and Charlotte, while the JV girls were lead by some great top 20 performances by Catherine and Anna. THANK you senior athletes for your great leadership at the meet!! Milton results pope results

On Saturday at the Cobb County Championships the JV girls started off the day for the running 'Hounds in impressive fashion. Claudia led the girls with an quality 6th place finish along with Maddie, Kaylen, Emma and Kylie. The JV boys race was very exciting as our racing “pups” placed 3 athletes in the top 10 to earn the TEAM runner-up trophy!! Carter ran another PR race to finish 2nd overall!! He had strong support behind him in Alec (9), Connor (10), Paxton (13) and a gutsy finish by Michael (15). VERY proud of this group and excited about what they can do in the future.

Our Varsity girls team then stepped up to the line and put THREE athletes in the top 9 athletes in the very competitive County meet that boasts numerous highly decorated athletes. Charlotte ran a smart race and finished 4th overall with Lorel (6th) and Sophie (9th). A strong group followed up our fabulous 3 in Rachel, Isa, Sarah, Sophia, Ashley and Bella. This depth in the 4 through 7+ positions will prove to be very beneficial as we move on the Championship part of the season!!!

Next, the varsity boys lined up against some the State’s best athletes and the race did not disappoint. Cole solidified his position as one of the top 5 best XC runners EVER at PHS with a remarkable 15:45 (4th overall) performance. KC and Will also ran exceptionally well at this early part of the season placing 6th/10th respectively. Zane and Nick maintained their positions as they ran in the 4th and 5th positions for the Greyhounds. Stay focused Greyhounds the best is yet to come. team splits meet results

The Varsity boys led off the day at BOA in a field of 350 runners with a 5th place finish behind the big PR of Cole (5th), KC (13) and WIll (15). Zane ran a great PR race with Nick and Carter just behind to solidify the Greyhound team!

The Varsity girls raced next with some impressive performances and placed 4th out of 40+ teams. Charlotte led the ladies with a great sub 20:00 performance (5th) followed by Lorel (10) and Sophie (17) with Rachel maintaining her consistency for the 4th scorer and Isa running strong to finalize the TEAM score.

Keep doing your thing Hounds we are on the right track :)

boys results girls results overall meet results

The Greyhounds started off their 2019 XC campaign with some impressive early season performances. The varsity boys started off the day with a GREAT pack of 3rd Cole, 4th Will and 5th KC followed by Nick and Zane who lead the boys to a TEAM runner-up finish.

The Varsity girls continued the blue wave going 4th Charlotte, 5th Sophie, 6th Lorel with Rachel and Ashley running well to round out the scoring. This was a great TEAM WIN for the Hounds and lends promise to the season with the great depth of runners in the 4-10 spots!!!!

After a very impressive BAAAHAA circle the JV athletes represented PXC impressively with each team placing as the TEAM runner-up. Paxton (4th), Ashton (9th) Benny, Charlie and Davis where the lead runners for the boys.

 AS the day progressed Greyhounds overcame the heat to run well with Claudia (2nd), Sophia (9th), Emma D, Emma M and Catherine pacing the JV girls team .

The future is bright but we must continue the dedication to a season long plan of hard work!!! GREAT kick off week GREYHOUNDS!!!  

Congratulations to the following athletes who either made the 2 mile time qualification or attended 10 summer practices. Please email Coach Monk if you feel there has been a mistake.

2019 Pope XC TEAM 





Greyhound Games


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