Triumph and Heartbreak: 2A State Meet Recap

NCHSAA State Championship

Learn to expect the unexpected in cross country - especially when the conditions are unusually bad, as they were on the soggy Ivey Redmon course Saturday. So when we named team and individual favorites in the lead-up to the championship, we should have known that something would happen to cause the results to deviate from pre-race expectations. I don't think anybody could have predicted the combination of events we saw, though, as one favorite held true and two others left disappointed. Check out our play-by-play recaps below, and be sure to watch the videos to see for yourself how each race developed!


Skip to Girls Recap


2A Boys Recap

Normally, a race starts out with several contenders and then people gradually drop back, leaving just a few to compete for the title. In this race, though, guys kept joining the lead group, and the battle didn't clarify until the last 800 meters or so. After the first 800 there were three runners trying to create separation from the field: Josh Weirich (CATA), Casper Duell (Dixon), and Dakota Mendenhall (Forbush). At the mile mark, they were joined by Brevard's Noah Graham, and that foursome had a roughly 15-meter lead on the chase pack. That's where the lead runners for two of the team contenders, Science & Math and Durham School of the Arts, were located, with Carrboro's #1 not too far behind them, setting the stage for a 3-way team battle.

In the middle mile two more runners bridged the gap to the lead pack, with Frank Kenny (NCSSM) and Thomas Little (DSA) making it a total of 5 runners there (Duell had dropped back slightly to lead the chase pack). DSA had its second in the bottom of the top 10 and a third not far back, putting them in a strong position, but there was a pack of 4 Science & Math runners gaining on them. Carrboro still had solid overall position with 2 in the top 12 (although the Jaguars were a bit spread out behind that), and Smoky Mountain was starting to move into the team battle with a group of runners moving forward.

In the tough final mile the lead pack finally began to string out as one by one guys fell off the pace. In the end, it was just Kenny and Graham left to battle it out, and they did just that with a spirited final stretch that saw the Science & Math senior just get by for the win. Little held off Mendenhall for third place, while Duell rallied from the second group to take 5th.

The team battle was equally exciting, as Science & Math's pack kept closing the gap on DSA's top 3 through the last 800. The Unicorns ended up with their 2-5 runners right in the middle of DSA's 2-4, with six combined runners from the two teams separated by only 11 seconds. With their pack in front of DSA's 5th runner, it was enough for NCSSM to take a 4-point win and preserve their now 3-year championship streak. After Durham School of the Arts there was a big gap back to 3rd-place Carrboro, with the Jaguars just barely holding off that late charge from Smoky Mountain.


2A Girls Recap

Though she entered the race as a heavy favorite, Brittany Stanley (Mt. Pleasant) seemed content to hold back a little in the early going, and she made no attempt to separate in the first mile. Instead, she first broke away going into the long downhill stretch beside the road, leaving Kaitlyn Stone (West Stokes) and Amanda Hickey (Carrboro) to run together. Behind them came Lake Norman Charter teammates Mariah Howlett and Izzy Eveley, and that's how the front 5 stayed all the way until the final 800. With their lead pair in the top 5 and another pair in the 20's, Lake Norman Charter was off to a good start, with Mideast powers Carrboro and Durham School of the Arts needing to make up ground. Another contender was emerging, though: after a conservative start, Brevard had three runners right in front of LNC's 3rd and 4th, plus two more running in the vicinity of the Carrboro and DSA 4 and 5 girls. By the time they reached the 2 Mile mark, Ava Findley had led her Blue Devils teammates into contention for the title, while Lake Norman Charter was showing signs of fading.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan for Stanley until disaster struck in the final 800, when she fell while still holding a commanding lead. The Mount Pleasant senior was unable to finish the race, which is heartbreaking considering how she had dominated the classification all season; we hope she will get the chance to race again this fall, and of course we look forward to seeing her succeed again in track season. Her distress opened the door for Stone and Hickey, and the Carrboro senior stepped through it emphatically, taking the title with a massive kick down the final straight. Stone found herself holding off Howlett's closing charge for second, with Evely in 4th and India Godlock (Polk County) rounding out the top 5.

The team battle really started to heat up just outside the top 10, when Brevard saw their first pair cross the line - Eliza Witherspoon had joined Findley over the final mile. Just one minute later, the Blue Devils had their 3-4 in front of Carrboro's 3rd runner and their 5th just in front of the Jaguars' #4, and that was just enough to seal an unlikely double upset. Brevard edged Carrboro by just 2 points after finishing 2nd in their regional behind Lake Norman Charter, who ended up in 3rd place (only 6 points out of first and 4 points from 2nd). That was by far the closest 3-team battle of the entire championship, as well as the most surprising winning team!


More NCHSAA State Meet Coverage