Cuthbertson, Weddington Girls Impress At 'Speed Week'

Speed Week Invitational
Jason Creasy


Race Video

Photos

Results - Mitchell Timing


The 'Speed Week Invitational' featured the state's top teams in Cuthbertson, Weddington, Mount Tabor, and West Forsyth who tackled the two-loop course at McAlpine on Thursday night.  They ran a single race with boys and girls combined and rain started to fall just ahead of the gun going off.  The rain would subside during the race.

Alyssa Preisano of Cuthbertson led the charge throughout the race on the girl's side going through the mile in 5:42.  Mount Tabor's Joiner Evans sat just behind followed by Lillian Nasta (Cuthbertson) and a group of Weddington runners.  

Preisano lead the charge throughout the race mixed in with the boys, but Evans remained within striking distance as Nasta, Emma Jones (Weddington) and Stella Kermes (Cuthbertson) started to slowly close the gap to the front of the girl's field.  Grace Hanson and Elizabeth Ritter of Weddington also were closing in towards the front of the field.

Preisano was able to charge down the homestretch through the finish line leading what ended up being a close race in 17:57.  The first sub-18 of her high school career and the third-fastest mark in NC this XC season.  Not far behind was Evans who ran a big personal best dropping her time from 18:27 to 18:01 as Nasta and Jones finished just behind both at 18:02.  

Kermes was able to hold off Ritter and Hanson finishing with a personal best of 18:09 ahead of 18:12 and 18:13 respectively for Ritter and Hanson.  

GIRLS 5000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTPOINTS
1Alyssa Preisano11Cuthbertson High School17:57.801
2Joiner Evans10Mount Tabor18:01.20 2
3Lillian Nasta11Cuthbertson High School18:02.20 3
4Emma Jones12Weddington High School18:02.90 4
5Stella Kermes10Cuthbertson High School18:09.70 5
6Elizabeth Ritter11Weddington High School18:12.10 6
7Grace Hanson10Weddington High School18:13.10 7
8Audrey Wright11Weddington High School18:45.80 8
9Lillian Douglass10West Forsyth18:46.80 9
10Justine Preisano10Cuthbertson High School18:54.20 10


Cuthbertson would edge Weddington 30-39 in the team battle, but both teams improved on their team average on the year.  Cuthbertson ran a 18:26 for their 1-5 as Weddington finished with an 18:31 average moving both into the top 20 of the national team rankings based on season-best.  This is important as both programs hope to end their season at the Running Lane National Championships as a team.

13Cuthbertson High School (NC)827
1) Alyssa Preisano17:57.8074
2) Lillian Nasta18:02.2082
3) Stella Kermes18:09.70104
4) Charlotte Bell18:54.00283
5) Justine Preisano18:54.20284
Average Time: 18:23.58 Total Time: 1:31:57.90 1-5 Split: 56.40
6) Maggie Houp19:34.10644
7) Samantha Hoover19:45.70743


19Weddington High School (NC)1072
1) Emma Jones18:02.9085
2) Elizabeth Ritter18:12.10110
3) Grace Hanson18:13.10113
4) Audrey Wright18:45.80231
5) Alyx Beausoleil19:23.60533
Average Time: 18:31.50 Total Time: 1:32:37.50 1-5 Split: 1:20.70
6) Paige Starkie19:56.60877
7) Emma Gandossy19:59.80915


On the boys side, Chauncey Chen went out hard looking for a fast time on the flat McAlpine course, but on the second loop he was overtaken by teammate Isaac Clark as he, Ben Timberlake and Sam Bland would lead a 1-2-3 finish for the Warriors.  

Weddington would finish with a 16:02 team average on the day, but would jump their season best team average to a 15:54 as Clark, Timberlake and Bland were the teams 3-4-5 runners on time prior to yesterday.  They'll rank 21st in the country now based on 5K team average.

BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS
PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTPOINTS
1Isaac Clark12Weddington High School15:49.101
2Ben Timberlake12Weddington High School15:52.002
3Sam Bland12Weddington High School15:55.80 3
4Chauncey Chen11Weddington High School16:05.90 4
5Conner Inman11Mount Tabor16:19.80 5
6Connor Riley11Mount Tabor16:26.30 6
7Caden Townshend11Weddington High School16:28.10 7
8Wesley Haggstrom11West Forsyth16:31.00 8
9Mac Barrett12Mount Tabor16:37.40 9
10Joshua Washington12Weddington High School16:39.40 10