As always, Coach Carpenter, of TC Roberson and his gang put on an excellent meet at Jackson Park. The initial numbers pointed out that there were about 1,200 athletes and 50 teams ready to start their season in the rolling hills of Hendersonville, NC.
The day began with Hickory\'s Ryan Hill, the #5 returnee in the Foot Locker South region, pulling away from Chapel Hill\'s sophomore sensation Taylor Gilland. Hill ran the 6th fastest time every run on Jackson Park\'s course, 5 seconds slower than his 3A West Region winning time from last year.
Chapel Hill\'s boys team, led by Gilland, proved why they are a powerhouse in NC. They had 6 runners run 17:06 or better, while scoring 54 points in the meet. This Chapel Hill team doesn\'t have the front runners that led them to a 12th place finish at NTN in 2005, but they may have more depth.
Multiple teams in the Championship race proved they are state title contenders this year. Some of the teams were: TC Roberson (3A), Cardinal Gibbons (2A), Charlotte Catholic (3A), Mooresville (3A), Providence Day (3A Ind.), and Hayesville (1A).
In the girl\'s Championship race, Chapel Hill\'s girls dominated the field. Ranked #9 in the SE region preseason ranking, their top 5 was only separated by about 20 seconds. Coach Olsen said, \"This is just a great group of girls.\" This team has big dreams this season, but Coach Olsen knows they need to take baby steps.
Carolina Day\'s Marley Burns won the girl\'s race by 2 seconds. The top 4 girls, were separated by 6 seconds as they came through the chute. Marley said, \"I\'m not fresh right now, as I\'m training hard. I was unsure of my finishing kick with about 400m to go, but I caught a 2nd wind, remembering how much I wanted to win this race.\"
Again, many teams started out the season strong. TC Roberson (3A), Green Hope (4A) , Cardinal Gibbons (2A), Charlotte Catholic (3A), Cary Academy (3A Ind.), Providence Day (3A Ind.), Carolina Day (2A Ind.), & Hayesville (1A) all look to be state title contenders.
Check out the results and pictures for a closer look.