Powered by three individual qualifiers, North Carolina claimed the win in the seeded boys race at Foot Locker South.

Foot Locker South (McAlpine Park, Charlotte)

Coverage

• Results

• Photo Album by CoachSides

• Interviews:

  • Ben Huffman

  • Ian Milder

  • Patrick Sheehan

Highlights (All photos by Jeff Sides)

• North Carolina won the state vs. state competition in the boys seeded race, defeating Virginia 48-67 while advancing three individuals to Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.  Ben Huffman (Providence Day) led the way with a second-place finish in 14:44, #11 all-time at McAlpine and the top time EVER on the course by a North Carolina runner.  Ian Milder (Mount Tabor) came in close behind in third; his 14:49 ranks him 20th all-time and third for North Carolina.  Patrick Sheehan (Lake Norman) claimed the final qualifying spot, finishing 10th in 14:54 (#39 all-time and tied for 8th among NC runners).  Ryan Brady (East Chapel Hill) finished 17th and Tanis Baldwin (East Henderson) 18th to round out the scoring for Team NC.

• Kayla Montgomery (Mount Tabor) continued the recent trend of North Carolina girls coming up agonizingly short of qualifying for nationals, as she finished 11th in 17:22.  That time ranks her in the top 50 all-time at McAlpine, and 4th-fastest in North Carolina history there.  Though Montgomery was the last of the lead pack runners, with a 12-second gap behind her, North Carolina girls filled the second group: Grace Sullivan (Providence) finished 13th, Sydney Foreman (Ardrey Kell) 18th, and Bianca Bishop (Providence) 18th.  With Lily Anderson (TC Roberson) also breaking 18 minutes, finishing 24th, that was enough for Team NC to finish a distant second in state vs. state competition to Team VA, which had 4 individual qualifiers.

• There were other strong performances by NC runners in the Seeded Boys and Girls races:

  • Ralene Kwiatkowskit (Carolina Day) was the third-fastest 9th-grader in the race, clocking 18:09.

  • Blair Ramsey (Grimsley, 18:18) and Allie Castro (North Lincoln, 18:20) both had PR times, as did Corbin Boyles (Maiden, 15:41).

• Gil Gilreath (Northwest Cabarrus) finished 5th in the Senior Boys race, with Matthew Blivin (Jordan) just behind in 6th place.  Kataryna O'Neil (Mount Tabor) was the top finisher in the Senior Girls race, finishing 16th in 19:16.

• Nicholas Walker (Science & Math) ran 15:59 to finish 3rd in the Junior Boys race, with David Edwards (Cardinal Gibbons) 8th in 16:06.

• Jack Ratteree (Charlotte Latin) was 3rd in the Sophomore Boys race, running 15:47 in the process.  Maddie Ringenbach (Ravenscroft) ran 18:46 to finish 5th among Sophomore Girls, with Kayla Glova (Providence) running 18:53 for 9th.

• Eliza Witherspoon (Brevard) ran 18:41 to finish second in the Freshman Girls race.  Andrew Robinson (Asheville Trailblazers) was the top NC finisher in the Freshman Boys race, running 16:20 for 8th place.

Girls MileSplit Elite Gold or Silver Performances

• Seeded Race - Kayla Montgomery () 17:22.00; Grace Sullivan () 17:38.00; Sydney Foreman () 17:40.00; Bianca Bishop () 17:42.00; Lily Anderson () 17:52.00; Sophie Ebihara () 18:03.00; Mary Grace Doggett () 18:08.00; Ralene Kwiatkowski () 18:09.00; Blair Ramsey () 18:18.00; Allie Castro () 18:20.00; Eliza Dekker () 18:30.00; Caitlin Potter () 18:36.00; Malia Ellington () 18:45.00; Kayla Holder () 18:45.00; Callie Wynn () 18:46.00; Ellen Spencer() 18:48.00; Rachel Bartolomeo () 18:49.00; Hana Ratcliffe () 18:54.00; Brittany Stanley () 18:58.00; Megan Vaughn () 18:59.00; Savannah Pugh () 19:00.00; Hannah Zenker () 19:06.00; Becca Meshaw () 19:07.00; Rachel Von Cannon () 19:23.00; Emma Link () 19:27.00; Hannah Moerk () 19:33.00; Caroline Yarborough () 19:34.00;
• Junior/Senior - Carmen Davis () 19:23.00;
• Freshman/Sophomore - Eliza Witherspoon () 18:41.00; Maddy Ringenbach () 18:46.00; Kayla Glova () 18:53.00; Hannah Russo () 19:32.00; Marija Crook () 18:54.00; Anna Hetzel () 18:57.00; Ashley Smith () 18:59.00;Shawnda Martin () 19:04.00; Jena Metwalli () 19:36.00;

Boys MileSplit Elite Gold or Silver Performances

• Seeded Race - Ben Huffman () 14:44.00; Ian Milder () 14:49.00; Patrick Sheehan () 14:54.00; Ryan Brady () 15:10.00; Tanis Baldwin () 15:10.00; Philip Hall () 15:39.00; Corbin Boyles () 15:41.00; Ryan Speer () 15:42.00; Peter Hetzel() 15:42.00; Ryan Shannon () 15:43.00; Colton Lawson () 15:48.00; Wyatt Maxey () 15:48.00; Andrew Fea () 15:51.00; Brad Walter () 15:59.00; Dustin Sneed () 16:04.00; Chris Kelly () 16:08.00; Tim Coffey () 16:10.00; Collin Vilen () 16:19.00; Grant Rodgers () 16:20.00; Will Campbell () 16:23.00; Josh Mitchell () 16:25.00; Nick Erwin () 16:25.00; Luke Sumerford () 16:29.00; Collin Loy () 16:30.00;
• Junior/Senior - Nicholas Walker () 15:59.00; Gil Gilreath () 16:02.00; Matthew Blivin () 16:02.00; David Edwards () 16:06.00; Josh Rees-Jones () 16:05.00; Kyle Christ () 16:10.00; Blanton Gillespie () 16:13.00; Justin Burkey () 16:18.00;Jt Klimek () 16:15.00; Mitch Rees-Jones () 16:21.00; Robert Anderson () 16:18.00; Patrick Hunter () 16:19.00; Elijah Inuwa () 16:21.00; Andrew Garcia () 16:28.00; Jose Rosas () 16:27.00;
• Freshman/Sophomore - Jack Ratterree () 15:47.00; Andrew Robinson () 16:20.00; Alex Cornwell () 16:14.00; Nelson Russ () 16:15.00; Jack Cawley () 16:20.00; Jacob Franklin () 16:27.00;

Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional (WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary)

Coverage

• Results

• Photo Album by CoachGeorgeRJR

• Photo Album by Jon Fleming

• Interviews:

  • Broughton Boys

  • Elly Henes (Green Hope)

Highlights (All photos by Jon Fleming)

• North Carolina came up just short in both team competitions, as the Broughton boys and Green Hope girls both finished 3rd (the top 2 teams gain automatic berths to Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon).  Broughton had an excellent start and appeared to be in contention, but had a few runners fade over the final mile just as Severna Park (MD) was finishing strong.  Kudos to the Capitals for handling their disappointing results with grace and maturity.  Green Hope ran well, and was able to hold off an intensely competitive group of challengers (only 2 points separated 3rd through 6th places in the girls' team scoring), but the top two teams were just stronger from start to finish.  Marvin Ridge finished 11th in the girls' race, using the meet as experience and the basis for high goals for next fall.

• Elly Henes (Green Hope) had the top individual finish of any North Carolina runner, as her 17:48.1 was good for third place overall.  That time is 41st in the history of the WakeMeg course and 7th-best all-time among NC runners.  Henes is a sophomore, and the youth trend held up: freshman Sara Platek (Ragsdale) finished 11th in 18:10.4, and fellow 9th-grader Lexi King (Marvin Ridge) finished 19th in 18:21.9.  Jeremy Brown (Broughton) was the top boys finisher from our state, running 15:35.5 for 21st place; right behind him, Chris O'Brien (Raleigh Charter) had an excellent race, clocking 15:36.6 to finish 22nd.

• Marissa Bishop (Cary Christian) won the Open Girls race in 19:17.6, while Broughton's girls took the team trophy in that race (without their top 2 runners, who were in the championship).  Justin Dorner-Thomas was the top NC finisher in the Open Boys race, leading the Broughton second 7 to 4th place in the team scores.

• Green Hope won the Freshman/Sophomore Girls race, led by the 1-2-5 finish of Martina Savage, Gillian Hagenus, and Samantha Kolor.  Teammate Bryce Korabik finished 13th in the Freshman/Sophomore Boys race.

Girls MileSplit Elite Gold or Silver Performances

• Championship - Elly Henes () 17:48.10; Sara Platek () 18:10.40; Alexa King () 18:21.90; Theresa Enright () 18:36.40; Rebekah Greengrass () 18:46.60; Kayla Hall () 19:13.30; Alexia Noch () 19:18.60; Nicole Renwick() 19:21.00; Savannah Lips () 19:21.30; Katie Tomasi () 19:22.60; Megan Sullivan () 19:26.50; Sarah Taylor () 19:33.60; Reilly Caldwell () 19:35.20; Sarah Bodmer () 19:36.90;
• Open & Freshman/Sophomore Races - Marissa Bishop () 19:17.60; Caroline Parish () 19:32.00;

Boys MileSplit Elite Gold or Silver Performances

• Championship - Jeremy Brown () 15:35.50; Chris O'Brien () 15:36.60; Asher Smith-Rose () 15:44.20; John Dalton Rohr () 15:50.40; Will Sandin () 15:51.40; William Roberson () 15:56.90; Zach Boone () 16:17.00; Carson Ellerby () 16:24.30; Peter Millsaps () 16:26.90;