CROSS COUNTRY: Forest Park boys, girls qualify for state tournament By Luke Strickland

DRUID HILLS — The Forest Park boys and girls cross country teams qualified for the Class AAAAAA state meet last weekend by finishing in the top four at the Region 4-AAAAAA cross country championships held at Druid Hills Middle School.

Forest Park’s boys finished second to Tucker High School to punch their ticket to the state meet. Javier Castillo led the Panthers with an eighth-place finish of 19:35.38. Joel Salgado, Khalil Floyd, Julio Muno and Jesus Milan finished 10th through 13th, respectively.

In the girls meet, Forest Park finished second to Stephenson by a mere 10 points. Jennifer Quintero earned an individual region title with a first-place finish of 23:16.90. Teammate Stephanie Escobar came in second place with a time of 24:33.65. Quintero and Escobar will be joined by teammates Itzel Braca-Moraes, Jessica Avitia, Sayda Avitia, Yareht Vega-Morales and Jessica Gonzalez at the state meet.

Two Drew Lady Titans will also compete in the state meet as individuals after finishing in the top six. Arianna Sulton came in third place with a time of 24:50.10, while Jessica Marshall finished in fourth place with a time of 25:14.90.

The 2016 GHSA Cross Country Championships will be held Nov. 5 at the State Meet Course in Carrollton.