Cross Country Carnival: Early Season Favorites Look Good

Aug 31, 2009

Photos: NCRunners.com photographer Ken Charnock took a lot of photos, you can find some on the meet's webpage, others you can find at his website, Charnock Photography

Videos: Championship Boys | Championship Girls (coming soon)

In the championship girls race, TC Roberson raced to the front and held on for 24 point victory over a very good Watauga team. Roberson was led by Laura Hoer with a time of 18:57.54, followed closely behind by her teammate, and 2nd overall, Brooke Gordon in 19:06.09. Brooke is a new addition to the TC Roberson team and is only a 9th grader.

Haylee Dawe of Charlotte Latin was the 3rd of this top trio that completely separated themselves at the front of the race. Laura, Brooke, and Haylee sped away from the field in the 2nd mile and then Laura was able to open up a small gap which she maintained to the finish. Haylee's time of 19:08 was 44 seconds ahead of the 4th place finisher.

Watauga's girls also looked good and proved they be ranked among the top teams in the 4A classification. Watauga was led by sophomore, Hannah Barbour, with her 4th place finish.

Let's take a closer look at the TC Roberson top 10 and the Watauga top 10 athletes.

NC T.C. Roberson
1) Hoer, Laura	2010	18:57.54
2) Gordon, Brooke	2013	19:06.09
3) Hope, Sarah	2010	19:58.91
4) Dubin, Zoe	2010	20:34.42
5) Arrington, Alyson	2011	21:00.42
Average Time: 19:55.48 -- Total Time: 1:39:37.38 -- 1-5 Split: 2:02.88
6) Harvey, Alexa	2011	21:13.83
7) Saunders, Tracee	2012	21:25.45
8) Affinito, Jen	2011	21:36.05
9) Lierz, S	2010	21:41.44
10) Morgan, Nichole	2010	22:55.61

2	NC Watauga
	1) Barbour, Hannah	2012	19:52.89
	2) Carringer, Amanda	2010	20:21.84
	3) Schneider, Kayla	2010	20:27.71
	4) Middlebrook, Hailey	2012	21:13.14
	5) Kosmala, Doria	2013	21:14.20
	Average Time: 20:37.96 -- Total Time: 1:43:09.78 -- 1-5 Split: 1:21.31
	6) Middlebrook, Dar	2013	21:31.71
	7) Brady, Lillie	2013	22:07.38
	8) Ruble, Molly	2012	22:12.14
	9) Forsyth, Ingrid	2011	22:29.09
	10) Harmon, Madison	2013	22:45.76

In the boy's championship race and in the boy's invitational, Chapel Hill's depth was dominating. They may have lost their #1 in Taylor Gilland, but Coach Olsen is now working with some remarkable depth. Will Bunch led the way in the Champ race with his time of 16:42, and the rest of the top 5 were all within 18 seconds of one another. Then, in the Invite race, 9th grader Bradley Viles won in a time of 16:48. Who knows where this team will be by the end of the year, but it looks like Coach Olsen is still blessed with plenty of talent.

NC Chapel Hill
1) Bunch, Will	2011	16:42.59
2) Colburn-Hertzberg, Asher	2011	16:48.13
3) Viles, Bradley	2013	16:48.16
4) Stott, Liam	2010	16:49.82
5) Villemain, Kyle	2011	16:51.17
Average Time: 16:47.97 -- Total Time: 1:23:59.87 -- 1-5 Split: 08.58
6) Hoerger, Jacob	2010	17:00.84
7) Mcleod, Mitch	2012	17:14.20
8) Noah, Paul	2011	17:14.77
9) Reeder, Chris	2013	17:15.45
10) Sutter, Scott	2010	17:15.59

Individually, Thomas Graham of Cary Academy and Jake Hurysz of Eastern Alamance looked very good as both sped to sub 16:00 clockings. Graham ran 15:39 and Hurysz 15:43 which was good for 2nd and 3rd.