Week in Review: Great American, Wendy's, Hagan Stone Highlight

15:44.00 - Will Bunch (Chapel Hill)

15:54.00 - Mitch Mcleod (Chapel Hill)

15:55.00 - Asher Colburn-Hertzberg (Chapel Hill)

15:55.00 - Kyle Villemain (Chapel Hill)

15:56.00 - Bradley Viles (Chapel Hill)
16:09.00 - Chris Reeder (Chapel Hill)
16:25.00 - Paul Noah (Chapel Hill)
 

I think I can speak for everyone around the state when I say, "please represent NC at the Nike Team National Regional!"

Ardrey Kell's girls put 3 under 19:00, led by Kaitlyn Kramer's 18:03. They were in need of a #5, but I feel that they may have been missing some girls. Watauga also looked very strong as they had 3 under 19:00. If they could find a 4th and 5th runner in the mid-19's then they could be a very tough team come states. It seems like a great year on the girl's side when you see that Mount Tabor, Cardinal Gibbons, Watauga, Green Hope, Ardrey Kell, & Cary all have 2 or more girls under the 19:00 barrier.

Kramer is obviously back on her game after not running to her standard at the Providence Invitational. After wins at Wendy's and UNCW, she could possibly give Samantha George a run for her money later this season.

In the 3A boys race, Jay M. Robinson's Braedon Koerwitz popped onto the scene and defeated one of the 3A individual favorites, Chris Colo of Marvin Ridge. They battled the entire race with Koerwitz getting the win as they came down the final stretch. This was a big PR for Braedon and should be the confidence booster he needs down the road.

The Invite boys race was won by Blake Williams of Northern Durham but not as dominating as people may have expected. He ran 15:25 and Koerwitz went 15:26 in the other race. William Bass of Nash Central continued his solid season with a 15:32, with West Johnston's Chris Garrett right behind in 15:34.

The 3A race featured some of the top teams, Jay M. Robinson, Marvin Ridge, & Charlotte Catholic. MR came out on top and looked solid, with Robinson surprising Catholic for a 4th place finish. Another team that has been discussed a lot on the boards is Forestview and yes, they proved to be much better than people thought.

In the girl's 3A race, Carrboro (2A #1) and Charlotte Catholic went to battle. Carrboro edged Catholic in the end, 60 to 69. Weddington is solid and should be ranked among the 3A top 5. Then West Henderson and North Buncombe both proved they are better than some have been voting them. West Henderson had two girls just under 19:40 while North Buncombe had 1 under 19:30 and 3 under 20:30. Both teams could battle Catholic for 3rd place if they found a stronger 5th runner.

The Cary girls ran in the Open race instead of the Invitational and looked good in their race. They ran 18:53-20:04 for their top 5 which puts them right in the mix with many of the better 4A teams. What a great 4A girls state meet it's going to be!!! A surprise team in the Open race was Davie County as they had a strong top 4, but will need a better 5th in order to qualify for the state meet.

Hagan Stone XC Classic by jaholling

 

This race may just have been the coming out party for Reagan HS and more importantly, Forrest Lyerly. This guy didn't pick up running until last year and was focusing on the 800m. Now, he's been knocking out wins left and right all season and finally drops a 15:11 on the WakeMed course which was good for 2nd on the day. Forrest led Reagan to the top 4A team finish out of Broughton and Leesville Road and may have just made a statement as possibly 4A state champions. They will need to close the gap from #4 to #5, but Coach Catton is probably all over that.

Graham Crawford of Williams also made quite a statement with his 15:21 as that is faster than Koerwitz and Colo went at McAlpine during the Wendy's Invite. Should prove to be quite an event at the 3A state meet.

Samantha George went 17:53 to become the first NC girl to crack 18:00 this season. Wesley Frazier, formerly of Ravenscroft went 18:03 the night before in the college race. My guess is Sammy is trying to peak for Foot Locker this year, so a 17:53 should put her in a good place.

Bo Run Invitational

National Elite Performances

Coverage