Girls Race of the Year - NCHSAA 4A Cross Country State Championship
Talk about the best of the best all lining up on the same start line. The atmosphere at the 2022 cross country state championship almost felt different. Like everyone knew something special was going to happen. And all eyes were set on the deepest field of athletes, the NCHSAA 4A Girls.
Cuthbertson was hungry for another state title, but the likes of Cardinal Gibbons, Marvin Ridge, and Weddington all wanted to take down the defending champions.
Individually, it was as much of a toss-up as you can get. There were realistically at least 10 athletes who had realistic shots of taking home the title.
Stella Kermes, Mary Bonner Dalton, and Chandler Welsh made the moves with about 1K to go. Over the final loop at Ivey Redmon, Kermes and Dalton broke away making it a head-to-head battle that was must see. It was Kermes of Cuthbertson that had more in the tank on that day. She powered down the final 200m homestretch and pulled away from Dalton, finishing in 17:40.
Cuthbertson dominated, putting four in the top nine. They won handily, with 32 points, and a 49-point margin of victory.
Let's not even think about the fact that the 2023 race may top this one, as the top 8 finishers are all coming back.