Providence Day's girls take the team championship title while out-of-stater Maryville High crushes the boys competition.
The WNC Carnival has deep North Carolina roots, but representatives from both South Carolina and Tennessee showed a strong challenge to NC's home teams. The Jackson Park course ran fast overall on Saturday despite its hilly layout, so the times from this meet should compare nicely to those from the other 5K's around the state this weekend.
Boys Championship 5k
North Carolina showed some great performances on the individual level, but when the team scores were in it was Tennessee that was the top dog. The Maryville High School boys were a force that could not be overcome. With the top three scorers occupying spots in the top ten, the Red Rebels of Maryville left no room for next opponent Cary Academy to stick a foot in the door. Having all five scorers in the top 15 surely doesn't hurt their score, either. Although Cary Academy couldn't compete with Maryville, they still performed very well as a team, finishing nearly 50 points ahead of Dorman, who was the predicted runner-up. Watauga also made their way past Dorman to help put up a strong defense of the North Carolina turf.
On the individual scene, North Carolina's Jack Ratterree (Charlotte Latin) and Colin Mitchell (Cary Academy) flexed their muscles against the other top talent from Tennessee and South Carolina by stealing the individual champion and runner-up titles. Wynn Johnson (Dorman) finished shortly behind the NC duo to finish out the top three. With all three running in the low 16's on a difficult course, optimal conditions later in the season could uncover some sub-16 minute performances from these boys.
Girls Championship 5k
In the WNC preview based upon returning times from 2014, Morristown-West (TN) and South Carolina schools Dorman and Spring Valley were predicted to close out the top three team spots, but it was North Carolina's own Providence Day that rose to the challenge and came out on top. These ladies showed everyone that it doesn't take a top scorer to do well as a team when you can fight strong as a group. Cary Academy's girls also snuck their way into a third place finish thanks to two top runners followed by the support of their teammates. Of course, Providence Day and Cary Academy (who both use Chargers as their mascot) are opponents in the NCISAA 3A classification, and this outcome definitely adds even more interest to what was already predicted to be an exciting team race there.Though Morristown-West was predicted to cross the state border with a newly earned title, they fell short and settled for a second place finish.
Morristown-West's Makenzie Jones defended her individual title with a quick 18:15. With a time not too far from her PR on a course known to be very challenging, Jones is bound to run some faster times later this season. Anna Vess of AC Reynolds finished second as predicted, a slight bit after Jones had crossed the line. The two ladies battled back and forth over the 5k course, but Jones had the strength to open a gap over the last mile. Ralene Kwiatkowski of Carolina Day nearly matched her 2014 season best with her third place finish in 19:12, so soon she should make her return to the 18's (where she was in the 2013 season). Cary Academy's Sarah Bodmer also did well, setting herself up for a strong 2015 invitational season.
Boys Invitational 5k
North Carolina teams Northwest Cabarrus and AC Reynolds battled each other in a race to the podium, but it was Northwest who came out on top by a margin of two points. Though the AC Reynolds boys got all of their scorers in before Northwest, it was Northwest's top two boys taking third and fifth place finishes that gave their team the winning edge. Every point counts, folks! The Maryville boys finished out the top three, just missing AC Reynolds by 11 points.
Polk County all-star Sean Doyle topped the field of over 200 runners, just barely ahead of Hayden Alexander (Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy). The two fought to the line, and Doyle took the advantage by an ever-so-slight four-tenths of a second. Following behind the up-front battle by twenty seconds was Northwest's Coleman Beaver.
Girls Invitational 5k
South Carolina team Greer Middle College Charter took command of the invitational race, with their top runner leading the way with a first place finish. Just barely missing the opportunity to put a North Carolina team up front was Northwest Cabarrus, who scored only three points greater than Greer. The remaining spots in the top-five team race all belonged to North Carolina teams Swain County, Brevard, and Asheville Christian Academy, respectively.
The top ten of the invitational race was occupied largely by underclassmen, showing great promise for WNC excitement in years to come. Leading the way was Greer's freshman Morgan Summey with a commanding lead of 29 seconds. Summey was the only girl in this race to break 19 minutes, but not too far behind the mark was Eliza Witherspoon of Brevard. India Godlock of Polk County claimed third, while 8th-grader Rachel Lanter (Asheville Christian Academy) secured her 4th place finish in a time of 20:45. Expect to see this young girl go on to run fast in high school!