Clarkston’s Thadde Barge is eyeing an Angora Invitational title.
A great tune-up for the upcoming region cross country meets is the Third Annual Angora Invitational set for Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Druid Hills Middle School Course.
Clarkston High is the host for the event which kicks off with the varsity girls’ race at 8:30 am followed by the boys’ varsity race at 9:15. The girls’ junior varsity race is set for 9:45 and the boys’ at 10:20.
Five cross country programs from DeKalb have entered including host Clarkston, Martin Luther King Jr., Redan, Southwest DeKalb and Tucker.
The meet currently has 84 girls and 95 boys registered to run representing 19 programs.
Clarkston is coming off a first place finish in the DCSD Cross Country Championships boys’ division and won the initial Angora Invitational in 2017. The Tucker boys were third at the DCSD Championships and are the defending Angora Invitational champs.
Tucker’s Yeshak Ergano (left) and teammate Zinabu Marcus (right) are running for a repeat in the Angora Invitational at Druid Hills Middle on Saturday. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Tucker slipped past Clarkston 32-36 for the title a year ago with five runners coming in the Top 10. The McIntosh boys’ finished third a year ago on the way to runner-up finish in the Class 5A state competition.
Tucker’s Yeshak Ergano returns after a Top 10 finish a year ago while Clarkston’s Thaddee Barge (third last year) and Firomosa Ibrahim (sixth) return as well. Barge (17:21.60) finished second at the DCSD Championships and Ergano (17:50.90) was fifth.
McIntosh girls’ won the title last year with all seven runners in the Top 10 for a score of 21. McIntosh finished second in the Class 5A girls’ state meet. McIntosh had swept the Class 5A boys’ and girls’ state meets in 2017.
Galloway was second last season and returns to compete again.
Class 7A schools Central Gwinnett and South Gwinnett are competing this year along with Class 6A Chattahoochee. Decatur is set to run in the meet and are coming off a third place in the 2018 Class 5A boys’ state meet and eighth in the girls’.
Other teams competing include Atlanta Classical Academy, Dar-Un-Noor Academy, Fayette County, Holy Spirit Preparatory, Mill Springs Academy, Notre Dame Academy, Our Lady of Mercy and The Weber School.