Due to a previous commitment, I will not be at the state meet this year. However, NCRunners.com has photographers on site as well as one or two people taking video. You will eventually find results, photos, and hopefully video links from this page.
Also, if you would like to include a write-up on any of the races, whether you are an athlete, a coach, a parents, etc. please feel free to do so. I'd love to include your words here on this page, so please shoot me an email at ben@ncrunners.com.
4A State Meet
For the boys race, there were a few surprises. Patrick Crawford of East Forsyth turned heads as he finished first with a time of 15:47, beating other heavy favorites. Green Hope's Bryan Spreitzer was second in 15:52. Reidy Jones of Broughton and Blake Williams of Northern Durham both didn't have great races, finishing 7th and 8th with times of 16:08 and 16:09.
The team title was very close this year, very close. Sanderson won the title with 89 points, with Broughton only 3 points behind at 92 for runner-up. Broughton had 2 runners before Sanderson but 4 Sanderson runners finishing in the top 15 made up for their last runner and carried them to victory. West Johnson took third with 106 points, another close match which was followed by Mount Tabor with 106. Green Hope fell to 6th with 159 points, despite Spreitzer's strong race.
For the girls, Laura Hoer of TC Roberson took the individual title in 18:13, immediately followed by East Chapel Hill's Carolyn Baskir with a time of 18:14. The two leaders had over a 30 second lead before Millbrook's Samantha George finished in 18:48.
Going in, TC Roberson and Green Hope knew they would be battling it out for the state title. Green Hope was victorious with a score of 47 points, having their 5 runners in the top 15. TC Roberson took the runner-up with 60 points and 3 runners in the top 15.
Al Drago
3A State Meet
This race fanned out closely to what was expected. Sarah Rapp took the individual title with a time of 19:29, followed by Fike's Beth Hanson at 19:36, originally predicted 5th. Sarah-Jane Kerwin of Chapel Hill placed 6th in 20:00, passing other race favorites.
"For the first mile or so the top 10 girls were really clumped. It wasn't until after the first hill that we (the leaders) starting fanning out," said Rapp.
As expected, Chapel Hill won the team title with a score of 52 points, followed by expected Cardinal Gibbons as runner-up with 94 points. Marvin Ridge passed favored Weddington by 31 points. Also, North Buncombe squeezed by Charlotte Catholic for 5th place.
Jake Hurysz of Eastern Alamance looked strong as he won the individual title in 15:49. However, Marvin Ridge's Chris Colo finished second faster than expected in 15:57, followed by Isaac Presson of Ashville in 16:00. Closing the first pack was Sean Magee of Cardinal Gibbons with a time of 16:06.
The predictions were fairly accurate for the team scores. Chapel Hill took the team title with 54 points followed by Cardinal Gibbons with 102 points. Third went to Eastern Alamance, leaving fourth and fifth to a very close match. Marvin Ridge got fourth with 141 points, leaving fifth for Charlotte Catholic with 151 points.
This was a very interesting race to watch. Although favored Chapel Hill took the title, Cardinal Gibbons sent a strong message that they aren't the only new team in 3A.
Sent by Al Drago
I counted as many as 15 runners jammed together as the pack approached the bottom of the hill (first pass). Fike's Beth Hanson nudged ahead slightly followed by Sarah Rapp of Gibbons. Just before the left hand turn towards the hill, Hanson has her right foot stepped on and her spike ripped off. Hanson surges over the hill and leads at the mile. Rapp catches Hanson as the leaders roll down the hill to begin lap two. Megan McLeod of Tuscola is a solid third followed by Chapel Hill's, Tristan Van ord. Hanson surges at the two mile mark and builds a 15M leader lead and seems to have the race in hand, however, Rapp is not done. A huge push with 500M to go is enough to hold off Hanson with Jamie Vezolles of Charlotte Catholic nipping McLeod for third. What a race!
Sent by Tom Griffith
2A State Meet
Results: Boys | Girls
North Henderson's Caitie Byrd wins the individual title in 19:43, beating Topsail's Zatha Loewen by less than one second. The two girls ran 19:43.74 and 19:44.48. Wilkes Central's Chase Miller won the boys competition
Carrboro's Girls win with a point total of 45 points, placing 3 in the top 8. East Lincoln's boys pulled off the victory by 11 points over Central Davidson.
1A State Meet
Results: Boys | Girls
Carol Blankenship of East Wilkes dominated the field with a win by over 1:00. Carol dropped an 18:59 on the Tanglewood course! Matus Kriska of Mt. Airy won in 16:34, 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
The Robbinsville girls came out of the mountains and won the meet, their first state title as a team. Led by sisters Tacey and Faith Trammell who both scored top-10 finishes. Gray Stone Day's boys won the boy's state title, their first, and were led Dalton Wally's 2nd place finish.