By Clint Thompson

THOMASVILLE – Thomas County Central’s boys and girls cross country teams may not have advanced to the state finals but they achieved season-best times on Saturday at the Class 5-A state sectional race in Lyons, Georgia.

“They did awesome. We raced in Lyons, Georgia, and it was the first ever sectionals that the state has had. It was a big deal,” Central coach Rosalie Wilson said. “They both ran the fastest times that they’ve done all season, average team times. We were really proud of that.”

Wilson said there were 30 full teams competing in the sectional race. Each team fielded seven runners. Central’s boys ran an average time of 18:08, their fastest time all season. The girls finished with an average time of 24:00.

“It was the toughest race. With the way they redid it, it was tougher than state has been in the past,” Wilson said. “You’re with a lot of those Atlanta-area teams that knock each other out, and they weren’t knocking each other out this time. Our sectional, especially was extremely tough. It got so congested at certain points on the course that the kids were just pushing on each other.

“It was fun to watch and a good experience for them to be in, too. It was definitely the biggest race, by a ton, that any of them have ever been in.”

Central also had five runners that qualified for all-region honors in Class 5-A. They included senior Cadence Curnalia and sophomore Emma Grace Vealey on the girl’s side, with sophomore Mason Tillman, sophomore Brody Jennings, and senior Dylan Thompson on the boy’s team.