MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County High cross country teams will begin their quest to return to the state meet when they compete in the Tift County Invitational this morning in Tifton.

Coach Mell Wier’s boys team has many of its top runners back from the 2006 team that finished third in the Region 1-AAAAA meet finished a credible 21st at the state meet.

Tyler Dismuke, the Packers top region finisher from a year, has decided to play football this year, but juniors Carlos Charles, Julio Perez and Marcos Gomez are back and all finished in the top 20 in 2006.

“We’ve got a couple injured that we’ll hold out (today),” Wier said. “But the guys will be OK. They have a chance to be better than last year.

“We should be one of the top four at region again. We’ve just got to keep working at it.”

Also running for the Packers this season will be freshman Jose Zunun; sophomores Russ DeMott, Taylor Huite, Ryan Sherling and Beau Weathers; and juniors Jebb Cato, Judd Cato, Thomas Griffin and Nic Price.

The girls, which lost Kristin Hall and Sarah Tyndall to graduation, will be led by sophomores Carly Banks and Morgan Hayes, who are veterans of last year’s team that was fourth in the region and 26th at state.

“They’re 1 and 2 on the depth chart right now,” Wier said. “That could change. But they are very dependable. They really make my job easy.”

Banks was sixth in region meet as a freshman last year. Hayes was 15th.

The rest of the Lady Packers are seniors Marissa Aldridge and Lindy Sanderson; juniors Alexandra Wisham, Brandy Warren, Abbey Taylor, Mary Smithwick, Laura Robinson, Maddie Qurnell and Carly Moore; sophomores Hanna Adair, Christina Craft, Carla Duque, Jaycee Eunice, Blanca Hernandez, Danielle Jenkins, Jenna Jones, Angela Moxley and Judy Rhodes; and freshmen Laura Hill Bannister, Karli Brown, Laci Webb and Lindsey Causey.

Aldridge and Jones also ran in the region meet last year.