Stephens County Cross Country Update 

By Stephens County High School Cross Country Assistant Coach Griffin Stephens

The Stephens County High School cross country team competed in the North Georgia Championships 2026 Meet on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at East Jackson High School in Commerce. This is Head Coach Trey Jenkins and Assistant Coach Griffin Stephens first year coaching the program, and they are incredibly excited about the foundation being built.

The boys’ team was led by junior Seth Stonecypher, who finished as Stephens County’s top runner with a time of 19:52.44. This was a significant improvement from last year’s performance at the same meet, where Stonecypher ran 22:44.

Sophomore Bo Blasingame followed with a time of 21:20.36. This is Blasingame’s first year running high school cross country, and this makes his performance an encouraging start to his first high school season.

Sophomore Emmit Kellar was next for the Indians, running 21:58.07. Kellar also made a significant improvement from last year, where he ran 27:38 at this same meet.

Our 4th guy was Phillip Richardson, a junior. He finished in 22:18.65. Richardson is also running cross country with Stephens County High School for the first time this season.

Rounding out the top five was sophomore Brady Halbert, who finished in 23:33.85. Like Blasingame and Richardson, this is Halbert’s first year running cross country for Stephens County High School.

The girls’ team was led by sophomore Kinsey Huff, who finished in 29:37.15. This is her first year running with Stephens County High School. 

Senior and returner Alexis Holland followed closely behind at 29:52.98. 

Freshman Cora Doud ran 30:31.12, as she was followed by freshman Cristine Hidalgo at 30:40.46, and sophomore Kaylyn Doud at 30:56.64.

As coaches, we feel like our program is moving in the right direction. We have made some significant improvements compared to where the team was at this point last year, and several of our returning athletes have made substantial jumps in their times at this same meet.

A lot of that progress comes from the work our athletes put in throughout the summer, where we placed a strong emphasis on building a consistent aerobic base, developing good training habits, and preparing our athletes to handle the demands of the cross country season. We are also excited about the number of first-year runners contributing to both teams.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am proud of the progress the athletes have made so far. We are looking forward to continuing to improve throughout the season and seeing what this group can accomplish as we move toward the championship portion of the schedule. Let me know if you need anything else!