News
DeKalb Picks Up Two Top 10 Team Finishes in Class 4A State Meet
Clarkston sophomore Abenezer Woellore came in 8th overall in the Class 4A State Cross Country Championships. (Photo by Mark Brock) The Clarkston Angoras returned to the podium with [...]
Dunwoody Girls, Clarkston Boys Claim 2022 DCSD Cross Country Titles
2022 DCSD GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY COUNTY CHAMPIONS -- DUNWOODY LADY WILDCATS New champions were crowned on Thursday as the Dunwoody Lady Wildcats and Clarkston Angoras claimed the 2022 [...]
Chamblee Girls, Dunwoody Boys Win DCSD JV County Cross Country Championships
The Chamblee Lady Bulldogs capture the 2022 DCSD County Cross Country Championship. (Photo courtesy of Henrietta George) The Chamblee Lady Bulldogs won their first DeKalb County School District [...]
M.L. King Sweeps Team Titles at Final DCSD Cross Country Meet
Martin Luther King runners (r-l) Braylin Grier, Kamerson Sutton, C'Andre Reid and Omari Sawyer lead the way on the first lap of the final regular season meet in DeKalb. [...]
Clarkston Wins Third Boys Race of DCSD Cross Country Season
Clarkston's Abenezer Woellore pulled away on the final lap of the first varsity cross country race at Druid Hills Middle School on Tuesday to finish first and lead the [...]
Redan, Southwest DeKalb Win Cross Country Races at Arabia Mountain
Southwest DeKalb's Shamyah Wright (left) and Redan's So Wah (right) won the individual titles during Week 4 cross country competition at Arabia Mountain. (Photos by Mark Brock) The [...]
Clarkston Wins Second DCSD Varsity Cross Country Race of the Season
Druid Hills swept the individual titles at the first varsity race during Week 3 of the DCSD cross country season. Owen Blount (left) and Harley Martz (right) won the [...]
DeKalb Cross Country Teams Opened Season at First DCSD Meet
Clarkston's Abenezer Woellore (left) and Dunwoody's Claire Shelton (right) won the opening varsity races of the 2022 DCSD cross country season. (Photos by Mark Brock) Over 150 DeKalb [...]
Druid Hills Sage Walker Wins Class 4A Cross Country Title
Druid Hills senior Sage Walker became just the second Red Devil to win an individual state title with his 2021 Class 4A victory in 16:34.63. (Photo by Mark Brock) [...]
Nine DeKalb Cross Country Teams Qualify for State Meet on November 5-6
Druid Hills Sage Walker (left) captured the Region 6-4A boys' individual title in leading Druid Hills to the region team championship. Dunwoody's Claire Shelton (right) took third in the [...]
Lakeside Wins 19th DCSD Girls County Cross Country Championships Title
2021 DCSD Country Cross Country Girls Champions -- Lakeside Lady Vikings The 19th girls’ DeKalb County Cross Country Championships girls’ title was not easy for the Lakeside Vikings [...]
Druid Hills Wins First DCSD County XC Title Since 1965
The Druid Hills boys cross country team ended a 56-year drought with a win in the 2021 DCSD County Cross Country Championships this week. (Photo by Mark Brock) [...]
Lakeside Sweeps Thrillers in DCSD JV Cross Country Championships
The Lakeside Lady Vikings (top photo) and Vikings both pulled out one-point wins to capture the 2021 DCSD JV Cross Country County Championships. (Photos by Mark Brock) The [...]
Smiley, Ephram Clock Best Times in DCSD XC Finale at Arabia Mountain
A few scenes headed to the finish line on Tuesday at Arabia Mountain. (Photos by Mark Brock) Stone Mountain’s Layla Smiley and Tucker’s Yordanos Ephram won the girls’ [...]
Ephram Runs Second Fastest DeKalb Boys’ Time of the Season
Some of the action at Tuesday's meet. (Photos by Mark Brock) Yordanos Ephram clocked the second fastest time of the season in DeKalb County cross country meets this [...]
Tucker, Stephenson Capture Team Cross Country Titles in Week 4
Action from Arabia Mountain cross country course (clockwise from top left) includes Tucker's Yordanos Ephram (boys' winner), Lithonia's Jevon Terrell. M.L. King's Morgan Hughes (girls' winner), Stone Mountain's Ja'Mari [...]
DeKalb County Cross Country Third Meet Has Some Top Times for Season
Druid Hills Sage Walker led from start to finish in setting the best time of the season in DeKalb at the third DCSD meet of the season. Walker ran [...]
DeKalb Opened County X-Country Season at Druid Hills Middle on Tuesday
Dunwoody's Ethan Archibald (left) and Claire Shelton (right) swept the season opening varsity races this week. (Photo by Mark Brock) Two varsity races and one junior varsity race [...]
DeKalb Picks Up Three Top 10 Finishes at GHSA State Cross Country Meets
Junior Sage Walker (left) and Junior Sophie Shepherd led the Druid Hills' cross country teams to Top 10 finishes in the Class 4A Boys' and Girls' State Cross Country [...]
Nine DCSD Cross Country Teams Qualify for State Meets
Lakeside claimed the Region 4-6A girls' cross country title as part of 9 DCSD teams to qualify for the state meet on Nov. 6-7. (Photo by Mark Brock) [...]
History
DeKalb County Schools has made its mark on the cross country scene since the 1950s when state competition began with the boys. Since that time the county has brought home 20 state titles in boys and 5 in the girls’ competition.
The first team state title came in 1957 as the Druid Hills boys won the first of two consecutive titles (1957, 1958). Lakeside and the now defunct Gordon High lead the county with five state titles apiece. Lakeside won five titles in a seven-year span from 1969 to 1975, the only non-title years coming in 1971 and 1974.
Gordon won all five of its titles in consecutive years from 1981 to 1985. Clarkston (2014, 2015, 2016), Tucker (1965), Shamrock (1970), Lithonia (1972), Dunwoody (1974), Avondale (1977), Towers (1980) and Chamblee (1986) hold the other 10 boys titles.
Clarkston (2014) broke a 28 year drought since the last boys’ state title in 1986 by Chamblee and repeated the feat in 2015 and 2016 to win back-to-back-to-back state titles in the county for the first time since the five year run of Gordon. The 2016 title made Clarkston the third DCSD boys’ team to win three state titles.
The DeKalb boys’ teams have combined for a total of 126 top ten finishes (including the 21 titles). Lakeside leads the way with 33 top ten finishes followed by Druid Hills with 22 and Chamblee rounds out the teams in double figures with its 18 top ten finishes.
The county has 17 of its current 19 high schools with at least one top ten finish including Clarkston (5), Cross Keys (3, 2010), Shamrock (8), Gordon (6), Briarcliff (3), Sequoyah (2), Walker (2) and Henderson (1) combined for 23 of the top ten finishes before they were closed.
The county boasts 27 boys’ individual state champions beginning with Avondale’s Hugh Tankersley with the first individual state title in 1955. Gordon’s James Flack won titles in 1982 to 1984, during Gordon’s five-year reign as the team champ.
Walker’s Ricky Watson became the first two-time champion with state titles in 1971 to 1972. Avondale’s Chase Van Valkenburg (1976 to 1977), Chamblee’s John Boney (1990 to 1991), Lakeside’s Joe Thorne (2000 to 2001) and Leonel Ayala (2009-2010) of Cross Keys were also two-time state champs. Lakeside’s Davis Stockwell became the latest individual title holder with the Class 6A crown in 2014.
Boys’ State Titles (21)
- Lakeside (5) 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975;
- Gordon (5) 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
- Clarkston (3) 2014, 2015, 2016
- Druid Hills (2) 1957, 1958
- Avondale (1) 1977
- Chamblee (1) 1986
- Dunwoody (1) 1974
- Lithonia (1) 1972
- Shamrock (1) 1970
- Towers (1) 1980
- Tucker (1) 1965
GIRLS’ HISTORY
Peachtree High, no longer in existence, won the first girls team state title in 1979 and was followed by Chamblee in 1981 and Gordon in 1982 (giving Gordon a sweep of the two titles in 1982).
Dunwoody broke the girls’ 30 year streak without a state title by capturing the Class AAAAA state title in 2012, the school’s first girls’ state title in cross country. Dunwoody became the first girls’ team to win two state titles by capturing the 2014 crown and won their third in 2015 to repeat as state champions.
Lakeside also leads the county in top ten finishes on the girls’ side with a county high of 21 out of the 68 within the county. Druid Hills has ten top ten team finishes and Chamblee with its one state title has nine, along with Dunwoody.
Dunwoody’s Alex Cameron won the 2012 Class AAAAA individual title to run the girls’ individual title total to 17.
The girls’ first individual state title came in the inaugural season of the state competition in 1975 when Lakeside’s Kristi Hanna won the AAA title. Chamblee’s Emily Reese is the most notable girls’ champion with four state titles to her credit including the 2004 and 2005 Class AAAA titles and the 2006 and 2007 Class AAA titles.
Meghan Wetterhall of Lakeside was the last girl to claim a state title with her 2008 Class AAAA crown until Cameron claimed the Class AAAAA state championship in 2012.
DeKalb has three other two-time state title winners including Stacie Reich of Chamblee (1980 to 1981), Loreen White of Gordon (1982 to 1983) and Chamblee’s Allison Danford (1990 to 1991).
Girls’ State Titles (6)
- Dunwoody (3) 2012, 2014, 2015
- Peachtree (1) 1979
- Chamblee (1) 1981
- Gordon (1) 1982