The Lady Purple Hurricanes found themselves in the state meet once again, led by seniors Lindsay Anderson -- who also qualified individually -- and Anna Ward.
Throughout the season, Cartersville coach David Matherne beamed at the luxury of having a couple of four-year runners on his team, including after Anderson and Ward finished one-two for the Lady Canes at the Georgia Highlands Invitational.
"My seniors really came through today," Matherne said. "I'm proud of Lindsay and Anna."
The longtime coach probably felt that way much of the year as his No. 1 runner, Anderson, closed out her cross country career superbly.
Anderson won the county meet for the third time in four years.
Her win prevented a repeat by Woodland's Ashley Barrera, who came onto the scene like gangbusters as a freshman -- she won the Region 7-AAAA meet as well as county -- before sliding somewhat in Year 2.
Barrera never approached the top form she displayed a season ago, but neither did the Lady Wildcats, who had to rebuild a lineup that put six runners on the all-county team in 2009.
With a young team, however, Woodland can continue to build and it still has a certified No. 1 runner in Barrera to build around.
Cass also showed that it has some key pieces in its efforts to become a much improved team.
The Lady Colonels best showed their potential when they won the Cartersville Classic at Tellus Museum behind Hannah Hood and Savannah Casey.
"I thought my girls ran well," Cass coach David Rawlins said following that win in September. "I was proud to see the two [top girls] running together, both Savannah and Hannah. That really did well for the team score."
Unfortunately, a couple of teams did not have the necessary number of runners -- five -- to record a team score.
Three girls suited up for the Lady Tigers while just one girl ran for the Lady Eagles, albeit a good one to have in Hallie Wachsmuth.
Below is the 2010 Daily Tribune News' All-County Girls Cross Country Team.
Lindsay Anderson, Cartersville
After somewhat relinquishing her spot as the top female runner in the county in 2009, Anderson regained her crown with fervor, winning the Bartow County Championships for the third time in four years and later qualifying for the state meet in Carrollton in November. Anderson ran a 21-minute, 19-second race for 30th place at state and won the county meet with a 21:04. A week prior to the state meet, she broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time since her freshman year as she turned in her best race of the season -- a 19:57 sensation at the Region 7-AAA meet in Dellinger Park. Anderson also won the Georgia Highlands Invitational with a 20:35, and finished ninth at the Cass-Cartersville Invitational with a 20:32, 14th at the Carrollton Orthopedic Clinic Cross Country Invitational with a 23:03 and second in the Pickens Preview with a 22:26.
Ashley Barrera, Woodland
Barrera came down to earth a bit last fall following a freshman year in which she set the bar amazingly high. Her best time of the season was a 20:34 at the Darlington Cross Country Festival, nearly 40 seconds off her best time in 2009 -- 19:55. She finished 17th at the Region 7-AAAA meet with a 20:36, just a year removed from qualifying for state with a region meet win. Barrera ran a 20:59 for 13th at The Run at the Rock; a 22:22 for first at the Cartersville Classic; and a 22:29 for 162nd at the Berry Invitational. With Anderson no longer in the fold, Barrera should make a return to the top of the county's list of girls runners and could very well use the 2010 season as motivation to get back to state.
Hannah Hood, Cass
Hood set a personal record in her final race of the season, placing 24th with a 21:07 at the Region 7-AAAA meet. She also ran a 21:27 to finish 20th at the CCI, giving both host schools two medalists as Cartersville's Anderson was the other. Hood placed 27th at Ridge Ferry with a 22:52; fourth behind teammate Savannah Casey at the Cartersville Classic with a 23:31; and 61st at the Mercy Invitational with a 24:30.
Dorie Brunzelle, Cartersville
Due to transfer rules, Brunzelle, a former Excel Christian runner, never had her name appear in any varsity races, but she won the junior varsity girls race at the county meet with a 22:31 and ran a season best 21:49 at the region meet, which placed her second. She also won the JV race at the Cartersville Classic with a 23:26. Brunzelle ran a 22:23 for fourth at the CCI and a 22:40 for second at the Ridge Ferry Invitational.
Savannah Casey, Cass
Casey helped her team form a pretty effective one-two punch in tandem with Hood as they helped the Lady Colonels to a surprising win at the Cartersville Classic at Tellus Museum, where the former finished in third with a 22:53. Casey added times of 21:58 (40th), a season best, at the region meet; a 23:38 (47th) at the Ridge Ferry Invitational; and a 23:54 (54th) at the Mercy Invitational.
Hallie Wachsmuth, Excel Christian
Even as the lone girl representing her school's cross country program last fall, Wachsmuth never wavered and carried that mantle quite well. She had a personal best of 22:05 at the CCI and added times of 23:42 (22nd, Region 6-A meet), 23:14 (40th, The Run at the Rock), 23:37 (78th, Darlington Cross Country Festival), 25:28 (74th, Ridge Ferry Invitational) and 24:02 (fifth, Cartersville Classic).
Talitha Cherer, Cartersville
Cherer broke out for her best race of the season at the region meet, where she finished in 22:33 for 22nd place. She also finished 97th with a 23:06 at the state meet; sixth with a 24:07 at the Cartersville Classic; 44th with a 25:47 at the Carrollton Orthopedic Clinic Cross Country Invitational; 96th with a 25:15 at the Berry Invitational; and 57th with a 27:10 at the Pickens Preview.
Kyra Gore, Cartersville
Gore left a strong impression in her first season of varsity, running a personal record of 23:53 for 39th place at the region meet and becoming a key member for Cartersville's state-qualifying team. She ran a 24:37 for 137th at state and added times of 26:20 (50th) at the Georgia Highlands Invitational, 23:54 (36th) at the Jessie Owens Invitational, 23:50 (sixth) at the county meet, 24:41 (10th) at the Cartersville Classic, 26:37 (49th) at Carrollton's invitational, 25:05 (93rd) at the Berry Invitational and 26:56 (50th) at the Pickens Preview. When the team missed its top runner in Anderson at Berry, Gore stepped in to finish first for Cartersville.
Anna Ward, Cartersville
Ward gave the Lady Purple Hurricanes two experienced leaders as another four-year runner alongside Anderson. She completed the region meet in a season-best 22:51 race at the region meet. Ward also ran a 23:05 for 96th at state; a 24:57 for 11th at the Cartersville Classic; a 25:19 for 99th at the Berry Invitational; a 23:17 for 17th at the Georgia Highlands Invitational; a 23:53 for eighth at the county meet; and a 26:57 for 52nd at the Pickens Preview.
Amber Fuller, Woodland
Fuller finished the season off with her best race at the region meet, where she ran a PR, 23:17 for 56th place. Her other times included a 24:37 for 67th at the Carrollton Last Chance, a 28:17 for 102nd at the Sharptop High School/Middle School Invitational, a 23:40 for 48th at The Run at the Rock, a 23:49 for 86th at the Darlington Cross Country Festival, a 24:19 for 54th at the Ridge Ferry Invitational, a 24:28 for ninth at the Cartersville Classic and a 25:12 for 299th at the Berry Invitational.
Honorable mention -- Cartersville: Elyse Hoganson; Cass: Jordan Drawver, Kayla Schular; Woodland: Meagan Gudger.