Coming into this weekend, a lot of North Carolina teams had something to prove. For many this was the first big invitational of the season and for others this was the next on a long list of big meets.
There were two huge meets this weekend, the 2006 Seahawk XC Invitational on the UNC-W campus and the Eye Opener Invitational held in Spartanburg, SC. Chapel Hill, ranked 1st in both the boys and girls 4A polls, ran at the Durham Academy Invitational a long with a few other promising teams.
The 2006 Seahawk XC Invitational
On the girls side, Providence High came in the favorites and they proved their #2 ranking in 4A girls, by winning the Championship race. The Panthers put their top 5 girls in the top 25 of the race to score a team low 90 points. Not far behind them were the Green Hope girls and Pinecrest girls. Green Hope put their names on the map with a nice team race at the WNC CC Carnival in late August, while Pinecrest won the Jungle Run without their #3 runner. Don't count either team out at the 4A state meet in late October.
The girls individual race was won by Athens Drive standout & last years 4A state champ, Callan Fike. Callan was one of 2 NC runners to break 18:00 last year at McAlpine, so she is looking for to have another solid season. Right behind her, in a repeat of last years 4A championship race, was Andie Cozzarelli of Apex High School. Andi was the only other girl under 19:00 in the race, running 7 seconds off of Callan, in 19:52. Look for these two to battle all season.
The boys race was a runaway for the individual title but a very close one for the team title. Andy Wacker, of Pinecrest, proved his 15:24 at the Jungle Run was legit, but coming out and throwing down a 15:21. Word on the street is he took the first mile out in 4:40 and never looked back. "Andy Wacker showed he is the best in the state right now," said UNCW assistant coach Layne Schweir. Behind him was another top returner among 4A boys, Sam Mordecai of Broughton HS. Sam was the only othe boy to break the 16:00 barrier, running 15:53.
The Pinecrest boys looked to be the favorite coming in after a very impressive performance at the Jungle Run. One that put them on the NTN radar for the SE region said Brandon Miles, the region ranker. However, no one but Broughton knew what they had at this time in the season because they had not raced a big meet yet. Broughton won the meet with a better 1, 2 punch than Pinecrest. With Sam Mordecai placing 2nd and Logan Roberts 5th, that was a tough duo to overcome. Pinecrest had their 5th man in before Broughton, but only by 3 seconds. Both teams had their top 5 in under 17:30. Look for both teams to challenge Chapel Hill this season for the state title. But wait . . . of course I'm not done, there was also Enloe which only finished 10 points out of 1st place. Enloe, running without Jonathan Springfield, their top returner who is rumored to be out for the whole season, also had their top 5 under 17:30. It was quite a race for the team title and should be quite a race come late October. Right now there looks to be a solid 4 among the 4A boys. It is going to be exciting!
In the Varsity race, many smaller schools showed they can be contenders in their state meets as well. The Northwood boys finished 2nd behind 4A Southeast Raleigh. Northwood was not ranked in the first Coaches Poll, but look for them to jump WAY up after a good run at the Jungle Run and now a solid 2nd in Wilmington. White Oak will also receive some votes for the 3A rankings after a couple good invitationals and defeating top 5 ranked Sun Valley.
The girls Varsity race was very close, with Sun Valley(3A) defeating Forsyth Country Day(3A-Ind) by 4 points. Sun Valley proved they are worthy of their top 5 3A ranking, while FCDS turned some heads and deserves a higher ranking among Independent schools.
2006 Seahawk XC Invitational meet results
Eye Opener Invitational
There were 83 high school teams competing at the Eye Opener this weekend from 4 different states, SC, NC, GA, & TN. The biggest surprise was the 2nd place finish (note: Walton HS was not scored in any of the races, but would have won the boys race) by Mooresville HS. Why? They defeated last years 3A state champs and current #1 team, TC Roberson. Mooresville got out very hard from the gun and ran gutsy races along the grass course. TC Roberson has dominated the 3A class for some time, but it is not going to be the case this season.
The individual winner of the race was Ryan Hill of Hickory HS. Ryan is the 5th returner in the SE region this year after a very impressive 15:24 in last years Foot Locker Seeded Race. One of his main competitors this years FL South race should be the #4 returner, Jay Heller of Walton HS in Georgia. Jay and Ryan ran much of the race together, but Ryan pulled away during the 3rd mile to a very impressive 15:46. This is his 2nd big invitaitonal win this season, after winning the WNC CC Carnival on August 26th.
The girls race was dominated by two SC teams, with TC Roberson finishing in 4th, (again Walton was not scored and should have been 3rd) led by Caroline Kirby and Stephanie Chapman's 12th and 13th place finishes.
The top NC finisher was Marley Burns of Carolina Day. Marley has started out the 2006 XC season very well with a win at the WNC CC Carnival and her 5th place finish at the Eye Opener.
Durham Academy Invitational
Chapel Hill and Coach Ron Olsen stayed away from the excitement of the top 2 meets and ran a more low-key meet held at Durham Academy. Chapel Hill dominated both races as expected.
The boys placed their top 5 in the top 9 of the race. Taylor Gilland once again led the Chapel Hill team with his 16:22 individual victory. Miles Rampel, the #2 man, finished 2nd in the race with a time of 16:40.
The boys of NC Science & Math, a new member of the NCHSAA, may have been unknown among public schools before this meet. Look for them to be ranked in the next Coaches Poll as they ran well are led by a strong runner in Philip Curley (3rd in 16:56).
On the girls side, Chapel Hill took 5 of the top 7 spots, but not the individual victory. The race was won by Durham Jordan's Michelle Lutz, who recently won the Jungle Run race in 18:46.
Durham Academy Invitational Results
A solid weekend for NC teams. Congrats to all teams that competed.
-Coach Hovis
NCRUNNERS