On Nov. 8, Paideia’s Cross Country team slithered its way into the GHSA Cross Country State Championships. After placing second out of 13 teams in the sectionals meet, the Pythons gained entry into the state championships.
The championship event began with the boy’s 5K. Paideia boy’s Cross Country co-captain, Ben Walton-Scott ’25, outperformed his competitors and received a top 20 placement out of almost 200 participants. Walton-Scott talked about his experience during the Championships: “We lost some of our best guys last year so we weren’t expecting to get on the podium, but we got fourth which is a huge accomplishment considering the young team we have.” His performance in this event began the team’s run to the top, with the girls 5k race following shortly after. In the girl’s 5k race, girls captain Sisi Elkinson ’25 medaled placing ninth out of 162 competitors and receiving all stated recognition for her top ten placement. “Going into the season, we knew we were facing some tougher competition because we were in a new division. We knew we wanted to get on the podium as a team. We knew we were good at running hills and pulled through on our goal to be on the podium. I’m so proud of this team,” Elkinson said.
Though it is the team’s first year in the Class 1A-3A Private division, both the boys and girls teams placed fourth overall in their respective state division.
