Division II Class A Girls
The Team Race
Now I'm going to straddle both the individual race and the team race here. Even though Lauren Rutlin wasn't really in position to win this season, this race, like the DII Class AA open race, had a redemptive quality to it and not just because of what happened last season. Rutlin had not run over the 20-minute barrier since September 14th, 2019 and came to Hendersonville during the regular season and almost saw that number again. She ran 19:59 which is her second slowest 5k on her profile. It likely wasn't the confidence booster she was hoping for heading into qualifying but on the Friday of state, she ran a full minute faster to secure the runner up finish and a single digit score for her team.
With a strong supporting cast behind her St. George Independent School claimed their third title in as many years totaling 46 points to USN's 83. Only 6 points separated runner up USN and 5th place Columbia Academy. It'll be interesting to watch over the next couple of seasons if any of those team can make a run at the Gryphons who will graduate one. Between USN, Columbia Academy, Westminster, and Webb, only four seniors will be graduating with the Webb School of Bell Buckle brining back all seven. Both classes in Division II will return a lot of talent in 2022 and I'm looking forward to covering them.
Relive the drone footage from the DII Class A Girls Race here.