Taking the No. 5 spot on our cross country pre-season countdown is Weddington junior Caden Townshend!
Townshend really emerged as a superstar last season mid-way through the 2020 cross country season when he ran 15:29 at the CRC Holiday Invitational to take the win.
He was 3rd at the NCHSAA 3A Midwest Regional, helping Weddington take home the team title over Mount Tabor.
He finished runner-up at the NCHSAA 3A state meet in a fantastic race, finishing behind Walter M Williams' Ryan Motondo.
Townshend ran 15:27 on the track over 5000m. He ran a 3200m personal best of 9:29, and ended up finishing 3rd at the NCHSAA 3A state meet in the event. He ran a 1600m personal best of 4:23 at the NCRunners Twilight.
Townshend had a breakthrough sophomore season, and proved he is a big time racer that can run with the best of the best in the state. With a move up to the 4A classification, Townshend will be ready to lead this Weddington team to the top of the state.
| BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | Caden Townshend | 10 | Weddington High School | 15:29.40 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Miles Phillips | 12 | North Lincoln | 15:39.60 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Will Soule | 11 | Mount Tabor | 15:41.80 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Wesley Larson | 12 | Weddington High School | 15:44.30 | 4 | |||
| 5 | Emil Arangala | 12 | Chapel Hill | 15:48.50 | 5 | |||
| 6 | Jacob Scott | 12 | North Lincoln | 15:50.90 | 6 | |||
