Boys 1A Championship
Quinn Schneider (Woodlawn School) came into the race as a heavy favorite and hoped he would be able to break the field early on. Schneider's real focus was to score 1 point for his team so they could make it three straight NCISAA 1A State Championships. Schneider took the win as planned running 16:12 to win by 48 seconds. Woodlawn's biggest competition was Halifiax Academy, and their top guy, Jackson Harris, took 2nd overall with a new PR of 17:00. He came in 58 seconds ahead of 3rd place. Woodlawn's Zachery Lorch and Cole Attwood of Wayne Country Day had been battling it out throughout the race. But it was a big kick from Lorch who snagged 3rd place in 17:58 just ahead of Attwood. Halifiax's last two runners came in in 6th and 8th place without a Woodlawn runner in sight. But Tripp Berini crossed the line in 12th leaving the team battle up in the air from a visual perspective. The results were released and both schools had 16 points! It came down to a 14th place finish from Woodlawns 4th man Jackson Mcgeough breaking the tie! Halifax Academy's 4th came in 33rd place. Three 1A Team Titles straight NCISAA 2for Woodlawn School!
Girls 2A Championship
A big rematch from 2015 had surfaced between Ralene Kwiatkowski (Carolina Day School) and Melissa Zammitti (Davidson Day). Zammitti had had a better season so far with Kwiatkowski battling a few injuries. The gun went off and Zammitti assumed the lead with Kwiatkowski just behind. Freshman Olivia Sutter (Carolina Day) was a favorite we expected to see running with teammate Kwiatkowski, but she took a spill in the figure 8 loop and had some ground to make up. Kwiatkowski slowly made up ground on Zammitti before taking the lead. Zammitti let Kwiatkowski take control for a little bit, but stayed in contact with her. Once they got out of the woods and onto the lake Zammitti put a 5 second gap on Kwiatkowski and with a strong finish she was able to take down the defending champ. Zammitti clocked an 18:29 to win the NCISA 2A State Title for the 2nd time in her career. Kwiatkowski and teammate Sutter ended up coming in right with each other. Kwiatkowski ran 18:39 and Sutter at 18:42, a huge PR for the freshman. Carolina day showed complete dominance coming in 5th,6th and 7th to wrap up the team battle.
Boys 2A Championship
Luke Evans (Westchester Country Day) was the defending champion from 2015, but had a difficult task on his hand. Evans had been running very well this year, but Connor White (Christ the King Catholic) has had drastic improvement since his 11th place finish in 2015. The two went to the front early on and were side by side through the figure 8 loop. White said he saw his coach right after the mile marker and he told him it was time to make his move. White listened and he didn't look back. He broke Evans and his lead grew throughout the rest of the race. White clocked 16:12 to claim his first NCISAA State Championship! Evans held no for 2nd in 16:35. Will Sossaman took 3rd place and led Grace Christian to a team title over St. Thomas More Academy!
Girls 3A Championship
Sarah Bodmer (Cary Academy) was the 2 time defending champion heading into the race and hoped to make it three yesterday. Lindsey Ickes (FCDS) and Justine Cronk (Providence Day) took the pace out early as Bodmer hoped to relax during the beginning stages of the race. As they made it to the long woods stretch Bodmer made a big surge to gap the field. She gained a lot of ground on the rest of the field and did not look back as she crossed the line in 18:31. Ickes and Lilly Hallock (Charlotte Catholic) battled all the way to the line, but Ickes came out on top running 18:58 with Hallock in 3rd in 19:00. Athina Zodl (Cary Academy) had a big day running 19:09 for 4th place with freshman Sophie Spada (Charlotte Country Day) coming in just behind her in 19:11. Cary Academy placed their entire top 5 on the All-State team despite their #4 runner Lia Lathan falling after the start. They scored a low 35 points to take the NCISAA 3A Team title for the 2nd straight year!
Boys 3A Championship
Coleman Mitchell (Cary Academy), Ben Mitchell (FCDS), and Noah Dolhare (Providence Day) were the three favorites heading into the race. The three had a wild battle at the NCISAA 3A Outdoor State Championships last season in the 3200 and this had been a highly anticipated rematch. As the gun went off the three boys sat at the front and went through the first mile all together. Coleman and Ben broke off from Dolhare during the woods, making it a two man battle. They went through around 2 miles and Coleman broke away from Ben and things looked to be locked up for the Cary Academy Junior. But Ben bounce back and began to reel Coleman back in! But in the end he ran out of real estate as Coleman Mitchell held on to defend his NCISAA 3A Title in 15:35 with Ben just behind in 15:38. Dolhare hung on for 3rd in 15:59. Coleman Mitchell's Cary Academy teammates came in just behind in 4th, 6th and 10th leading Cary Academy to their second straight NCSIAA 3A Team title!