The streak is still alive as far as girls' and boys' cross country is concerned, as both squads will continue to run on past Sectionals and into the state week this Friday at Carrollton for yet another year.
 
With the boys advancing since 2012 and the girls since 2013, the last time the teams didn't make it Obama was President, and the top movie was about some boy named Harry Potter.
 
"They all worked hard out there, and it was a really good day," Coach Meg Mavity said. "I'm really proud of them."
 
It works this way – our teams had to place in the top 12 in the 24-team Sectional; the girls responded by taking 5^th and the boys 7^th. The Running Bears had individual successes as well, as Harris Bradford finished 7^thoverall in making the All-Sectional Team, Gavin Miles was 24th, Ellison Losin placed 17^th and Beatrice Jones 25th. The races were held at nearby Wesleyan in Norcross. 
 
Postseason is whittled down to simplicity as far as races – as HI competed in the girls' varsity race and the boys' varsity one with seven allowed to run in each. 
 
The boys' ran first, and besides Bradford's 17 minute, 14 second time over the 5K course, he had excellent help behind him in Gavin Miles. Gavin's 18:36 was over a minute faster than his time at the same course just five weeks ago. 
 
Cooper Knowles was our third runner across (19:44), while Bobby Spencer (20:01), and Henry Wood (20:33) completed the Golden Bear scoring. Tommy Smith and Gavin Campos also both ran well, with Campos in particular continuing to show remarkable improvement.
 
The Bears ran without #2 man Ethan Ganucheau, though Ethan is expected to be back this Friday.
 
Looking at the girls, Ellison's time was 22:29 and Jones came in at 23:19. Edie Coil continues to shine after recovering from an injury as she finished in 23:31. Romina Khademi and Brooke Hausmann were our final two scorers, while Cate Wassenaar and Blair Huber also ran well.
 
Up next is I-20 West to Carrollton, where the boys will run at 10:30 a.m. this Friday and the girls right behind them at 11:00 a.m. Last year, the girls placed 6^th at state while the boys were 17^th.
 
"Obviously, there will be a lot of great teams there, but we're looking to improve on those numbers," one of the coaches added.
 
Good luck Bears!