Boys Championship Recap

 

Girls Championship Recap

 

Photo Album

 

Meet Page with Results

 

 

Boys Championship

 

As the boys plunged across the muddy land bridge beside the pond, it was hard to tell who was in a good position.

One thing was clear: neither Chapel Hill nor Reagan had gotten a good start.

After the figure eight, as the runners approached the half-mile mark, Craig Engels (Reagan) had taken command of the race.

The chase pack was made up of Robert Mulherin (NCSSM) and teammates Mitch McLeod and Chris Reeder (Chapel Hill).

 

 

 

The runners disappeared into the woods, and with the mud (and at times running water) back there, who knew how they would emerge?

Engels showed up first, with Mulherin the only runner who stayed close enough to threaten his lead.

 

 

 

Then came the evidence of the changes that happened back in the woods.

Jacob Sears (Panther Creek) had climbed the ladder to end up in third.

He was followed by Dylan Morgan (South County VA), while McLeod rounded out the top 5.

 

 

 

 

Newly recovered Xiomar Ruckel (South View) led a hard-charging trio the line,

with Chris Reeder (Chapel Hill) and Robert Baraldi (NCSSM) within a second of him.

 

 

 

Completing the top 10 were Perry Cabean (Reagan) and Levi Rolles (NCSSM), who put his team in the lead at that point.

However, their 1A size caught up to them as the depth of Chapel Hill and Reagan overcame the up-front strength of Science & Math.

 

 

 

In the end, the Tigers prevailed over the Raiders.  Both teams had seen important runners suffer mishaps in the mud.

Science & Math finished third, with Panther Creek fourth and South View fifth.

 

 

 

 

Girls Championship

 

Two girls went straight to the front on the fast downhill start: Maura "Mo" McDonnell (Green Hope) and Dana Cox (Panther Creek).

They were chased, and then caught, by Anna McBride (Davie) and Carolyn Bethel (Hidden Valley, VA).

Indy Reid-Shaw of Orange trailed the front group, but lead the main pack, which was dominated by Carrboro's top 4.

 

 

 

 

McBride emerged from the woods first and made it to the crest of the final hill with the lead,

but 800m stud McDonnell kicked past her in the last 50 meters to take the win.

Bethel stayed close to the lead two all race, but after her there was a LONG wait for the fourth runner.

 

 

 

 

When they got there, the next two made it exciting: Tristan Van Ord (Chapel Hill) outdueled Kristen Henson (Reagan) by two tenths!

Newcomer Rebekah Greengrass (Panther Creek) rose all the way to sixth, with Reid-Shaw holding onto seventh.

 

 

 

 

Kathryn Hayes (West Forsyth) continued her strong season by powering through the muck for an eighth-place finish.

The top 10 was complete when Grace Morken (Carrboro) and Lauren Pollard (West Johnston) battled to the line.

 

 

 

Morken's finish signalled the opening of the floodgates (proverbially this time) for Carrboro.

With four runners in the next 15 places, the Jaguars brought home the team win in convincing fashion.

Despite having only McDonnell out of their top 7 runners, Green Hope finished second overall in a display of great depth.

Chapel Hill stumbled to a third place finish (one of their critical girls cramping up) that did not truly reflect their effort on the day.

Hidden Valley ended up in fourth place, with West Johnston fifth and Reagan sixth.