The Streak ends, but The Trend continues

Nov 01, 2015

Thanks to Providence Day, we've gotten used to the idea that one team can win both the girls' and boys' 3A state titles - it happened the last 3 years, after all. So when Cary Academy extended the trend to the fourth consecutive year by winning both races on Friday, it didn't seem all that unusual. It should have, though: the last time that happened before 2012, when Providence Day won both titles to start their streak, was in 2002 (when Cardinal Gibbons was still in the NCISAA). Maybe it's a Charger thing? Providence Day and Cary Academy share the same mascot, and they're the only two schools in the last decade-plus to win both titles in the same year.

Of course, the wins by Cary Academy also signaled the end of the second-longest active title streak among the state's cross country teams. The Providence Day boys had won 5 consecutive 3A championships, tying them with Cardinal Gibbons and Broughton among public schools, and trailing only Green Hope's 6 straight (all of those streaks are on the line this weekend in the NCHSAA state championship). The wins were both convincing, too; Cary Academy girls won by 35 points over Providence Day, while the boys outscored Durham Academy by 49. To cap off a nearly-perfect day, the blue-and-yellow chargers also claimed both individual titles. Sarah Bodmer was able to pull away after the hill to dominate the girls' race, while Coleman Mitchell pushed past Miller Meares (NRCA) in the final mile for his win.