The No. 6 spot on our pre-season cross country countdown goes to Myers Park sophomore Mary Bonner Dalton!
Dalton started to emerge towards the end of cross country season, but on the track she exploded into a superstar.
She was 4th place at the 2020 NCHSAA 4A cross country state meet, a week after finishing 3rd in the NCHSAA 4A Midwest Regional. Her 5000m personal best of 18:44 was NC No. 2 among freshman last season.
At the Mount Tabor Mile in May, Dalton ran 4:58 becoming the 6th freshman in North Carolina history to break 5:00! Flashforward to the NCHSAA 4A state meet, where her and Maddie Huecker were set to battle for the 1600m crown. Although Dalton finished runner up, she ran 4:50 and smashed the North Carolina freshman class record by 6 seconds! Not only was it NC No. 1 all-time for freshman, it was US No. 33 all-time for freshman!
She refused to leave the NCHSAA 4A state meet without a title in hand, as she doubled back in the 3200m to try and win gold. She pulled away over the last mile from Molly Parker and took home the NCHSAA 4A 3200m state title!
She ran a NC No. 2 all-time mark for freshman in the 3200, after her 10:36 at the Weddington Invitational.
Although her cross country personal best is a little behind the rest of the top ten, Mary Bonner Dalton's track season proves she very well may be the girl to beat in the state!
| GIRLS 3200 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |||
| 1 | Mary Bonner Dalton | 9 | Myers Park | 10:51.78 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Molly Parker | 10 | Hoggard | 11:07.87 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Courtney Farishian | 12 | Cardinal Gibbons | 11:09.17 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Brianna Cottingham | 11 | Reagan | 11:17.75 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Linnea Maynard | 12 | Ardrey Kell | 11:24.71 | 1 | |||
