Blessed Trinity Wins First Boys’ State Championship

By CHASE OLIVER, Special To The Bulletin

Published: November 20, 2003

ROSWELL—On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Blessed Trinity High School Titans won the class AA state cross-country championship. This achievement marks the first boys’ state championship for the high school, which has been open for only three years. The final score at the championship meet was Blessed Trinity 64, Wesleyan 74, Greater Atlanta Christian 97, and Grady 121.

The Blessed Trinity team was led by Casey Gramling, who finished fifth in the state with a time of 17:04. Greg Johnson was the second finisher for the school. In his best meet of the season, Johnson finished eighth in the state with a time of 17:11. Chase Oliver completed the medal winners for Blessed Trinity by finishing as the 10th place runner in a time of 17:12.

At the state meet, the top 10 individuals earn medals and form the All-State Team. While Gramling, Johnson and Oliver led the way, the team title was won with the efforts of all seven runners. Josh Houser finished 20th in a time of 17:46, Brian Bobb finished 23rd with a time of 17:50, Asher Hannah finished 61st in 19:03 and Chris Diluzio was right behind in 62nd place with the same time.

Head cross-country coach Al Stasko noted that “the guys won it in their usual fashion. It was a strong team effort.”

The strong fan support for the state meet was inspiring for the team. Before the meet, the Johnson family had signs made for each runner wishing them good luck in the competition. These signs were placed in their yards for them to see when they got home from practice. On the Friday morning just before the meet, the girls’ team surprised the boys’ team by placing signs all over school.

The night before the championship, the runners and most of their parents went to Carrollton, where the meet was held. After a group dinner at a local restaurant, Will Bobb announced to everyone in the restaurant that they were dining with the soon-to-be Georgia state cross-country champs, and the team returned to the hotel where Asher Hannah decided to fire his teammates up by getting his head shaved into a Mohawk cut for the meet. And just for good measure, Oliver’s 7-year-old brother Jay got his head shaved as well to be a team mascot. With that kind of dedication, they couldn’t lose.

On Saturday morning, the team arrived at the course to find two busloads of fans. The girls’ team showed their spirit by wearing sequined top hats, feather boas, beads and other apparel in green and gold. Many parents of runners who were not even participating were there to cheer on the Titans, as well as assistant athletic director Helenanne Seaman who represented the BT athletic department. The spirit generated from all these folks certainly was a boost to the team.

As the runners finished, everyone knew that the score was close between Blessed Trinity and Wesleyan. Finally, the word came from the scorers’ tent that BT had won, and the cheering and screaming could be heard all across the course.