Watauga's Cali Townsend Wins Eye Opener In 17:45

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Watauga sophomore Cali Townsend gets a signature win at Eye Opener in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Saturday beating a strong field mainly consisting of South Carolina's best by 17 seconds running 17:45.  

On paper, Townsend didn't come into the meet as a favorite to win the International Race.  She ran 18:16 at Ivey Redmon as a freshman to place 8th at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships.  But if you looked at her freshman track season Townsend had proved to be on another level running 4:52 for the 1600m and 10:24 for the 3200m at the end of the season.

Her main competition in the field would be Sofi Alexander (Asheville) who was the NCHSAA 4A State Champion last fall.  With the reclassification both Asheville and Watauga would fall into the NCHSAA 6A classification as well as the 6A West region.  

Townsend said she expected to be up at the front early, but found herself with a lead over the field early in the race.  While being a new position for her on the high school scene, she stayed in her comfort zone and kept her pace and said she would push and use the downhills.  Eye Opener has some rolling hills throughout the course, but nothing compared to what she's used to training in Boone, NC.

Townsend would remain alone out front throughout the race and come through the line in 17:45, 31 seconds faster than where she ended her 2024 cross country season.  

Alexander would make it a 1-2 finish for North Carolina running 18:02, 37 seconds faster than her 2024 season debut at WNC Cross Country Carnival which she won.  

Townsend and Alexander's marks now sit third and fourth all time at Eye Opener.  For reference, last years fastest mark was by Ava Lindsey (Greenville Hurricanes) who ran 18:02.  Lindsey would go on to run 17:45 at McAlpine where she placed 14th at Foot Locker South Regional.  

After yesterday's performance, Townsend has proved she's a favorite to win her first state title in the NCHSAA 6A and is amongst the best in North Carolina.  She also puts herself in the mix for a NXN or Brooks XC Championship contention to qualify for a national meet later in the season if she can keep the momentum going.  

After the first two weekends where only a handful of top girls have debuted for the 2025 season, I think it's certain that this might be the deepest North Carolina girls have been up front potentially ever.  Next week will feature most at Friday Night Lights, where both Watauga and Asheville are scheduled to compete at.