Movement among the classifications will play a big role on which teams will repeat as champions, and which individuals will take the podium. Marist, St. Pius and Athens Christian all seek repeats in their respective classes, but with St. Pius's rise from AAA to AAAA, defending Class AAAA champion Marist will have stiff competition.

 Class AAAAAA will crown a new team champion after Shiloh graduated many from its dominating performance a year ago. The Generals scored 80 points to win state, 39 more than second-place finisher Brookwood, who scored 41. Jeremy McDuffie, a Duke football-signee, decided to focus on football rather than continue on with his track career for his senior season. As a junior, McDuffie anchored Shiloh and won the Class AAAAAA high-point award and scored more team points than any individual in any classification. He won the 110 meter hurdles (13.83), the 300 meter hurdles (37.57) and the triple jump (49-00.00). Grant Swinton also ran great races for the Generals and now runs at Western Kentucky.

 Mountain View will look to improve upon a 29th-place finish in 2014. Junior Jalen Virgil won his preliminary races in both the 100 and 200 meter dash with times of 10.59 and 21.68. Virgil also anchors Mountain View's 4x400 meter relay team which placed first in its preliminary race.

 The Brookwood Broncos used the 1600 meter and 3200 meter races to earn valuable points last year. Josh Ingalls has since moved on to run at Princeton, but senior Miles Yapp returns after placing sixth in the 1600 meter and second in the 3200 meter. Yapp is an Oklahoma State-commit and won the prelims in both races at the sectional meet.

FOR THE TAKING...

 The field is wide open in Class AAAAA since Mt. Zion Jonesboro has dropped to AAAA. Stephenson placed second last year and should contend for its first title since 2002. Junior Denzel Harper returns after winning state in the long jump with a 23-00.00. Harper ran the 110 meter hurdles in 14.68 at the prelims besting his 15.16 at state last year which placed him sixth.

Southwest DeKalb looks primed to compete after finishing in 27th in 2014. 

The Panthers will rely on sophomore Terryon Conwell to rack up the points. Conwell finished first at the prelims in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter with times of 10.62, 21.36 and 48.13; the fastest preliminary times in the entire classification. He also was a part of Southwest DeKalb's 4x100 and 4x400 teams that smoked the prelims. The Panthers' 41.30 4x100 time topped Creekside's 41.36 that earned the Seminoles the state title in the event last year.

 The shot put will feature Jamel Dabney of Gainesville who threw 53-04.00 in the preliminaries, which was good enough to top Ethan Womack's championship throw of 52-00.25. Womack looks to defend his title this year and tossed 52-04.50 to finish second behind Dabney in the prelims. Blake Jones of Harris County blew away the field in the discus with a throw of 161-06. Last year's champion, Colton Quinones, won state with a 163-05.

RIVALRY RENEWED...

Class AAAA featured the closest finish for the team title in the state of Georgia with Marist edging Carrollton 67-66. Marist seeks its third consecutive title, but they will have to welcome rival St. Pius and Mt. Zion Jonesboro into the fold. The Golden Lions are coming off back-to-back titles at the AAA level while Mt. Zion Jonesboro is the defending AAAAA champion. 

Marist made hay in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs last year with recent graduates Daniel Navarro (UGA) and Michael Thurston (Columbia) both finishing in the top three for both events. This year the torch has been passed on to Frank Pittman who placed first in both events in this year's prelims. The junior ran a 4:16.91 during the 1600 meter which was nearly three full seconds faster than last year's state champion Andrew Coggins' time of 4:19.62 in the 2014 finals.

Carrollton's Trent Terrell played a big role in the Trojans' second-place finish, but Terrell will only participate as the anchor of the 4x400 meter team. The defending 200 meter dash state champ and third-place finisher in the 100 meter dash in 2014, has taken on a reduced role. Niesheem Thomas will replace Terrell in the 100 and 200 meter races. The sophomore placed fourth in the prelims in both events with times of 10.93 and 22.10. Cortney Brown (400 meter), Eli Payne (800 meter) and Will Gordy (1600 meter) all placed in the top five during the prelims.

St. Pius blitzed past the competition in Class AAA outscoring Cedar Grove 97-58 for the Golden Lions' second-straight title. Five events saw St. Pius grab the top spot on the podium. Austin Sprague and Andrew Anastasiades both dominated the 1600 meter last year, finishing first and second. However, Sprague is now at Furman while Anastasiades runs at Mercer, leaving a void for the Golden Lions to fill. Stephen Martinez and Nik Calia finished sixth and eighth in this year's prelims. The pair ran to third and fourth place finishes with Martinez recording a 9:28.32 and Calia a 9:52.36 in the 3200 meter.

Mt. Zion Jonesboro captured its first team state title in track and field since 2000 last season. The Bulldogs have lost a lot off their championship team, but Kirklin Varnado is back for his senior campaign. Varnado placed fifth in both the 200 meter and long jump in 2014. He took second in the 200 meter and fourth in the long jump at this year's prelims. Varnado saw his most success in the 100 meter dash where he placed first a 10.83.

Ninth-place finisher Sandy Creek will sport one of the fastest teams in the event this year. Marvin Hubbard finished second in the 100 meter final last year and enters as this season's favorite after posting a 10.79 preliminary time, edging teammate Eric Swinney's 10.84. Hubbard also claimed first in the 200 meter dash. Swinney and Hubbard are a part of the defending 4x100 state champion relay team that ran a 41.67 in the prelims this year and a 41.27 in the finals last year.

Cedar Grove looks to establish itself as the team in Class AAA now that St. Pius has departed. At the prelims, the Saints finished first in six events. Israel Spivey gives Cedar Grove a shot in the arm with his speed as he posted a 10.88 time in the 100 meter dash, a first-place finish. Darius Freeman took the 200 meter with a 21.69. The 4x400 meter relay team won state last year with a time of 3:20.35, nipping second-place Henry County's 3.20.97. In this year's prelims, the Saints put together a time of 3:20.70, nearly two full seconds ahead of McNair.

The Saints should score some points in the triple jump and shot put as both of last year's top performers have improved. Joseph Comer leapt 46-07.50 improving from last year's 43-10.75 in the finals. Johnny Thomas has improved his shot put from 46-06.50 to 50-11.00 entering the finals.

Lamar County captured its first ever boys state championship in track and field after holding off Westminster 77 to 74.5 The Trojans broke the Class AA state record in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 41.51. All four runners from last year's team however have since left and will give way for others to step up. 

Fitzgerald has emerged as a team that can crowd the podium as they did so in the preliminaries. Six events were topped by Purple Hurricanes. Greater Atlanta Christian also had a strong showing in its preliminary events with four going in favor of the Spartans. Auburn football-signee Darius Slayton ran a 10.52 100 meter dash, the fastest preliminary time by 17 hundredths of a second.

The Class A-Private title belongs to Athens Christian. The Eagles have won four consecutive state championships, the longest streak since Landmark Christian won seven titles spanning from 1996-2002. The Eagles scored the most lopsided victory of the championships with a 119 to 63 advantage over second-place Our Lady of Mercy. Aside from the Athens Christian dominance, Our Lady of Mercy's Christian Coleman stood out with state records in the 100 meter and 200 meter dash with times of 10.38 and 21.10. The Tennessee standout also was part of the 4x100 team that set a state record with a time of 41.88.

Athens Christian brothers Justin and Josiah Brooks finished first and second in the 400 meter prelim with times of 48.30 and 48.95. The brothers finished first and second in the finals last year. Athens Christian received another one-two finish in the prelims with Richard Jubinor (38.59) and Demarcus Evans (39.31) pacing the 300 meter hurdles. Josiah Brooks (46-01.75) and Demetrius McWhorter (44-02.00) combined to form the Eagles' third one-two finish in the preliminaries with their triple jump scores.

Hancock Central's path to repeat in Class Public-A will be difficult with Mitchell County and Dooly County ready to contend. Mitchell County's McKinley West topped the prelims in both the 100 meter and 200 meter while last year's runner up Dooly County placed first in the 4x100 relay.