Tanis Baldwin lit up the Beeson Park course, and he still has two more years to continue his improvement.
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3A Boys
After a withering initial rush, it was Tanis Baldwin (East Henderson, right) that took control of the race, and he would never give it up. Behind him, the front wall of the field was led by C.J. Buck (Robinson), with Tanner Glackin (Weddington) and John Crossley (West Carteret) just behind him. Also tucked into that lead group was Jimmy Hollingsworth (Northern Guilford), while favored Chapel Hill had teammates Chris Reeder and Tima Karginov in great position. At the mile mark, Crossley had faded back just a bit, while Nick Tyrey (Cardinal Gibbons) had moved up into the top 6.
By the midpoint of the race, the front group had strung out into essentially a single-file line, with a few two-person battles here and there. Baldwin held a 30 meter lead and showed no sign of letting up, while Buck (#827 left) had Reeder right on his shoulder, and Glackin was being paced by Hollingsworth. The team race was beginning to take shape, and Chapel Hill had four runners in front of Cardinal Gibbons' second (and a fifth right behind him). At the two-mile mark, Baldwin had opened up to a 12-second lead, and it looked like Reeder was the only runner preparing to try to close the gap. Tyrey was all the way up to third, with Buck right on his shoulder; next came a five-man pack containing Glackin, Karginov, Hollingsworth, and Brad Viles (Chapel Hill). The Tigers were still leading, but Gibbons had caught up at the 4 and 5.
Over the final mile, Baldwin continued to pull away, and the East Henderson sophomore ended up posting the second-best time of the day (and fourth-best all-time at Beeson Park) with his mark of 15:28.30. The biggest riser was Crossley (right), who got all the way up to second with a furious final 800. Reeder finished third, with Buck fourth and Anthony Hughes fifth. The real drama was unfolding farther back, though, as an allergy attack had severly limited Karginov's breathing (possibly due to the dust on the course, which was fairly significant). He plummetted back through the field, and with him went Chapel Hill's hopes for a state title, as Cardinal Gibbons slipped past them by a mere 5 points.
3A Girls
Having watched them run together in nearly every major race this season, fans were not surprised to see Mary Grace Doggett and Sophie Ebihara (Cardinal Gibbons, left) pushing each other. The mild surprise was how early they took the lead, which has not been their normal tactic; nonetheless, the pair was well out in front after 800 meters. A three-girl pack had formed behind them, with Tristin Van Ord (Chapel Hill) leading Blake Dodge (West Carteret) and Natalie Andrejchak (Robinson). 5 meters back, you could find Rachel Bartolomeo (Cardinal Gibbons) and Melanie Hussey (Marvin Ridge), with Indy Reid-Shaw trailing another 5 meters back. That group tightened up in the approach to the mile mark, although the order did not change. One third of the way into the race, Gibbons had 5 girls in the top 12 of the race, but the battle for second place in the team scores had not yet taken shape.
By the time the field made its way back to the starting area and crossed the two-mile mark, it was clear that the only question for Doggett and Ebihara was how fast they would go. The pair kept switching places through the middle 1.5 miles, with one taking a 5-meter lead to force the pace while the other chased. That strategy had opened up a nearly 20-second lead over Andrejchak (#921 right), who in turn led Van Ord (#822, right) by 5 meters. After another sizeable gap, Dodge (#1010 right) led Hussey and Bartolomeo, while Mallary Price had moved up to challenge Reid-Shaw. With the field a little strung out, it was shaping up as a kicker's race, but who would be the one to take advantage? Cardinal Gibbons was still dominating the team competition, and now Chapel Hill was clearly in second place.
The final 800 brought few surprises, and it was Doggett who outlasted her teammate in the end, just barely missing a sub-18 mark. Andrejchak and Van Ord maintained their spots to the line, while Bartolomeo (left) was able to outrace a hard-charging Reid-Shaw for 5th place, keying the rout for the Crusaders. Chapel Hill maintained second place, while Hussey finished 8th to lead Marvin Ridge to a 3rd-place finish.