Large numbers of North Carolina athletes competed today at one of two meets. The Footlocker South meet was held at McAlpine Park while the NXN Southeast Regional was held at WakeMed Park. North Carolina is very lucky to have both of these amazing meets right here in our backyard.
In Cary, NC at the NXN Southeast Regional, 2 athletes qualified to move on to Portland, OR for the NXN National Championships. Chris Colo of Marvin Ridge has had a breakout season, placing 2nd overall at the 3A state meet. Chris finished 5th overall in the race running a PR of about 25 seconds, finishing in 15:29.1. The top boys team from NC was Broughton HS. They finished 8th overall and were led by Reidy Jones' 13th place finish.
In the girls race, Laura Hoer of TC Roberson came in as one of the favorites after her 4A state title win over Carolyn Baskir. Laura ran 18:00 to finish in 6th overall. She led the TC Roberson Rams to a 6th place team finish as well. The girls of Green Hope finished in 5th place and were led by Maura McDonnell. Maura placed 21st overall and ran 18:33.
The Footlocker South Championships also turned out to be a great meet for NC. It was expected that names like Frazier and Hurysz would most likely move on. However, beyond them, it seemed to be a bit up in the air. Today, Blake Williams of Northern Durham proved he was ready for the big stage as well.
Jake Hurysz of Eastern Alamance has had an incredible season, going from a 15:57 last year at FLS to a 14:46 today and placing 3rd overall. Jake is coming off a huge PR in the 3200 as well, of 9:08. In his race, Jake hit the 1600m mark in 4:33, then came in around 9:30 at 2 miles. Jake looked to be getting caught towards the end of the 2nd mile but then actually moved up and came onto the lake in 3rd place. Jake told me he was playing a bit safe, knowing he felt pretty good and didn't want to push too hard during the 2nd mile. Jake's 14:46 looks to be tied with Ryan Hill for the fastest time in NC history on the course.
Wesley Frazier clocked the fastest time in state history on the girl's side as well with her 17:17. Wesley has had a stellar season, breaking records left and right. Word is she had a tough start and wasn't even in the top 25 until over 800m into the race. Wesley finished 6th overall in what proved to be a crazy fast race. The top 10 girls all ran 17:24 or better.
Blake Williams, the other NC qualifier, also finished in 6th place. Blake proved earlier in the season he could run with the best when he won the Maymount Invitational and then came back the next week and ran a solo 15:18 at McAlpine. Blake ran 14:52 and may have been the biggest surprise in the top-10 for the boys. After the race, Blake couldn't stop smiling, and rightfully so.
Large numbers of North Carolina athletes competed today at one of two meets. The Footlocker South meet was held at McAlpine Park while the NXN Southeast Regional was held at WakeMed Park. North Carolina is very lucky to have both of these amazing meets right here in our backyard.
In Cary, NC at the NXN Southeast Regional, 2 athletes qualified to move on to Portland, OR for the NXN National Championships. Chris Colo of Marvin Ridge has had a breakout season, placing 2nd overall at the 3A state meet. Chris finished 5th overall in the race running a PR of about 25 seconds, finishing in 15:29.1. The top boys team from NC was Broughton HS. They finished 8th overall and were led by Reidy Jones' 13th place finish.
