Coming in at No. 2 on our boy's individual cross country pre-season countdown is Walter M. Williams High School's Ryan Motondo!
Motondo is coming off a junior season where he took home titles in cross country and on the track. He won the 2020 NCHSAA 3A cross country state meet and the 3A Midwest Regional. He ran his personal best of 15:34 at Hare & Hounds early in the 2020 season.
He posted some huge times on the track. He ran 1:57 in the 800m and 4:14 in the 1600m, proving he has some short distance speed to go along with the long distance expertise.
At the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3200m Motondo placed 5th in an absolutely loaded field and ran his personal best of 9:19. He went on to win the 2021 NCHSAA 3A 3200m state title in 9:22.
Motondo is coming off a season where he took home the two distance events in the 3A classification, and looks to do so again, if not more, in 2021. He finally got a taste of success last season, and I think that will only make him hungrier for more!
| 3A BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | Ryan Motondo | 11 | Williams, Walter M | 15:44.93 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Caden Townshend | 10 | Weddington High School | 15:48.47 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Wesley Larson | 12 | Weddington High School | 15:58.14 | 2 | |||
| 4 | Will Soule | 11 | Mount Tabor | 15:59.12 | 3 | |||
| 5 | Emil Arangala | 12 | Chapel Hill | 16:03.87 | 4 | |||
