Woodland senior McKenna Trapheagen celebrates winning the Region 7-AAAAA girls cross country individual and team titles Oct. 24 at her team’s home course.

RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS
STAFF REPORT

After posting the fastest girls time across all classifications at the cross country state championships, Woodland’s McKenna Trapheagen has been chosen as the Georgia runner of the year.

The senior was honored last week as the top girls XC athlete in the state by Atlanta Track Club and the Georgia Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Trapheagen and teammate Rylee Evans were also recognized as 5A all-state qualifiers by GATFXCCA.

Trapheagen won her second consecutive individual Class 5A state title Nov. 1, finishing with a time of 18 minutes, 27.67 seconds at Carrollton. It was the ninth-fastest time recorded at the course. Her time was 0.02 seconds faster than Richmond Hill’s Kayla Gholar, who won the Class 6A crown.

Over the course of her high school career, Trapheagen, who is expected to sign her National Letter of Intent with Georgia Tech Wednesday, helped Woodland win two state championships (2016, 2018) and finish runner-up twice (2017, 2019). She won her first individual state title last year.

Meanwhile, Evans placed ninth in 5A. She finished with a time of 20 minutes, 3 seconds. The sophomore earned several second-place finishes over the course of the season, including at the Region 7-AAAAA meet. She’ll be an even more important piece for the team next season following Trapheagen’s departure.