The morning of the 2014 Georgia High School Association cross country state championship in Carrollton was bitterly cold. Temperatures hovered around 32 degrees as the runners exited their bus.

“It was really exciting to be coming to state after we won regions,” senior Alex Casado said, “but it was nerve-wracking to be set to run first in less than 40 degree weather.”

While Casado and the other 13 Starr’s Mill runners hoped to do well in the race, many of them were also depending on the race to make them stand out on their college applications.

“I knew that this was my last season, and it was going to be the last impression,” senior Kevin Hilinski said. As far back as August, Hilinski was already thinking about this race. “I stepped up my summer training, and I ran 50 miles per week in preparation.”

All 32 of the boys’ AAAAA teams ran at 7:45 a.m.  Seniors Josh Warren, Casado, and Hilinski, juniors Reed Livingston and Nick Bryant, sophomore Joshua Tysor, and freshman Jordan Jones represented the Panthers.

The boys’ varsity placed third. There were 228 runners overall. The Mill has never had a boys’ cross country team finish in the top three at state competition, coach Chris Kesterson said.

The race started with a bang, literally. The starter made his way to the center of the field, raised his gun, and off they went.

Warren was the fastest runner for the boys.  After winning the individual award for placing first at regions, he hoped to finish his season strong.  He ended his high school cross country career placing 12th overall in the 5K run with a time of 16:57.

“I felt great about how I did,” Warren said. “And I’m very happy with how my season went.”

Warren plans to run cross country in college. He hasn’t found a college he wants to attend for sure, but he is looking at Georgia Tech and Valdosta State.

Casado, who has consistently ranked second behind Warren all season, finished 34th and had a time of 17:36. “I ran all the time for extra practice,” Casado said. “And I ran my hardest at state.”

Placing 39th, right behind Casado, was Tysor with a time of 17:38. Next was Hilinski, who finished 46th and finished in 17:46. Bryant finished 51st and ran 17:49, only three seconds behind Hilinski. Livingston placed 83rd with a time of 18:18. Jones finished in the 105th spot and ended the team’s state experience with the time of 18:40.

The girls went off at 8:25 a.m. Senior Emily Sims, juniors Sarah Phinney, Sophie Handel, Tori Nails, and Hannah Fertig, freshmen Mary Valli and Makira Walton were the varsity team members.

“I think we all felt very confident for state,” varsity team captain Sims said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome of my last high school cross country race.”

Valli, the top runner for the girls, finished the state competition in third place out of 221 runners. According to Kesterson, the fact that Valli finished in the top three and is a freshman is unheard of.

“I can’t even believe it,” Valli said. “I will never forget this for the rest of my life.” She finished the race in 19:57, only 12 seconds behind first place runner Alyssa Hooker from Lakeside Evans.

Handel finished in 18th place with a time of 21:04. Phinney and Sims secured the 20th and 21st spots finishing with 21:10 and 21:13. Nails came in at a steady pace of 21:32 and finished 30th. Fertig placed 71st with a time of 22:18, along with Walton, who finished in 22:23 for 73rd place.

The girls’ times were good enough to capture second place.

“They’ve done the absolute best that they could,” Kesterson said. “That’s all I could have asked for.”