Lakeside 's Bowles finishes her career in style

One of Columbia County's most decorated cross country athletes finished her career in style on Saturday.

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Lakeside senior Anna Bowles earned her second consecutive state championship, winning the Class AAAA girls title in 18 minutes, 34 seconds in Carrollton, Ga.

"She was in the front pack for the front half, then she pulled away and was never really challenged," Lakeside coach Jerry Meitin said. "She ran a great race."

Joining Bowles near the top were teammates Katie Townsend and Sarah Bowles. Townsend finished fourth in 19:02, while Sarah Bowles was sixth in 19:12.

Entering the state meet ranked No. 1 among Class AAAA schools, according to gatfxc.com, Lakeside's girls squad finished third.

Marist won with 88 points, while Lakeside-DeKalb had 98 and Lakeside 103.

For Lakeside, Jasmine Payne was 45th in 21:05 and Jenny Lind 55th in 21:18.

Evans finished 16th and Greenbrier was 23rd.

For Evans, freshman Jackie Ramos led the way, finishing 29th in 20:40.

For Greenbrier, Gabby Lesieur had her team's top time, finishing 36th in 20:53.

On the boys' side, Lakeside finished sixth, Greenbrier 13th and Evans 16th.

For the Panthers, Shane Wilson was 16th in 16:48, Chase Fowers 17th in 16:51, and Sid Vaughn 21st in 16:54.

"Shane had battled an injury this season," Meitin said of the senior. "He was determined to make his final race a good one."

Greenbrier's Chris Wilder was 26th in 16:58, while Brandon Coombs finished 32nd in 17:11 and Reggie Redd 40th in 17:15.

For Evans, Jiva Fein finished 57th in 17:42. William Rabb was 63rd in 17:47, while William Latremouille ended up 88th in 18:09.

In Class AAA, Grovetown's Abigail Soderling finished off a strong sophomore season by finishing in the No. 121 spot in a field of 208. She finished in 23:54.

Special Photo

Lakeside's girls cross country team took third in the state, while the boys finished sixth. Anna Bowles won the state crown for the second year in a row in 18 minutes, 34 seconds.