Haven Honeycutt (Asheville) entered the 3200 doubling back from the Mile and was the 15th overall seed in the field. Honeycutt ran a 4:26.65 Mile, which will convert to a slight PR for 1600 meters. This was a very strong with a lot of guys like Gable Dershem (Cleveland), Noah Dolhare (Providence Day) and plenty of SC & GA talent as well. Patrick Spychalski (Wando) took the lead early on with Dershem, Honeycutt, Dolhare and Sam Thornton (Cardinal Gibbons) all in the lead group. Guys started to drop off as the race went on and it was just Dershem leading Spychalski and Honeycutt with 800 to go! Honeycutt held a PR from last outdoor season of 9:37.44, so this pace was certainly much faster than he is used to for this race. With a lap to go Honecutt was in 3rd as Spychalski made a move past Dershem and to my surprise Honeycutt went with him! Spychalski looked like he was about to gap Honeycutt slightly, but with about 150 meters to go Honeycutt roared by him and hammered it home on the homestretch! Honeycutt ran a 9:18.73 putting him at NC#6 so far this season in a year where the 3200 is insanely strong. Just a sophomore we certainly are going to see much more from Honeycutt over the next two and a half years. Dolhare was able to catch Dersham as well as they finished 3/4 in the race running 9:24.00 and 9:27.80. Sam Thornton the junior out of Cardinal Gibbons was the 19th seed and walked away with a 9 second PR and 6th place finish in 9:30.42 good for NC#10!
Honeycutt's breakout performance changes the whole aspect of 3A this season with Dershem returning as the runner up from last outdoor season and Melville 2-time defending indoor champion. It'll certainly be an interesting race at the NCHSAA 3A State Championship's and this certainly gives Honeycutt a ton of confidence and momentum for the rest of the season.