This was the classification of repeat champions: a pair of 2-time champs, a 3-time champ, and a 4-time champ.
(All photos by Jeff Sides.)
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2A Boys
Defending champion AJ Tucker (Cedar Ridge) had to do a little digging early in this race, as the mad dash from the start left him behind the early leaders. Jaylee Smarr (Shelby, left) was the one setting the early pace, as he held the lead at the mile mark. The chase pack, closing hard on him at this point of the race, contained Tucker and his teammate Jared Buddington, as well as Corbin Boyles (Maiden), Andrew Fea (North Lincoln), and Derek Chavis (Central Davidson). A little farther back, the team battle was already shaping up to be close: at one point, in 5 consecutive runners, there were two Cedar Ridge guys and three from North Lincoln.
Tucker (right, #46) moved into the lead through the middle of the course, and was in first at the two-mile mark with only Fea (right, #40) on his heels. Chavis had taken possession of third place by this point, pursued by Buddington (right, #40) and Chris Boyle (North Lincoln), who had move up a few places over the second mile. Boyles (right, #130) and Smarr were trying to hang on to the leaders and have a shot to move up at the end. In the team battle, North Lincoln had moved ahead, as Ryan Shannon and Joshua Mosteller were one group in front of the Cedar Ridge pack, a 4-man group led by Noah Hanley.
Tucker pulled away steadily to the finish, closing out in 15:53 for his second straight title, with Fea second in 16:09. Chavis (left, #53), who had an excellent race, out-kicked Boyle for third place, but that still meant North Lincoln went 2-4. Boyles was able to move up into 5th place with a strong finish, putting Buddington (who also had a tremendous effort) into 6th. Early leader Smarr, who has set such an aggressive pace, held on for 7th. Shannon, who has been slowed by a hip injury, and Mosteller came in together at 12 and 13, lifting North Lincoln to a narrow win over Cedar Ridge, 44-50. This was the second straight championship for the Knights. Carrboro emerged from the chaos in the middle of the race to take third overall, relying on a 42-second split between their 1st and 5th runners.
2A Girls
The outcome of this race was never really in doubt in terms of team scores, but there was still some intrigue as far as the individual order of finish. As has been their strategy all year, Carrboro went out as a pack and did not push straight to the front, preferrring to stay together and move steadily forward over the race. The early leader was Arden Vessie (Corinth Holders, below left, #73), but by the 800m mark she had given way to Brenna Kate Grass (Swansboro, right). Brenna Kate opened up a 40-meter lead by the mile mark, and with Jessica Wallace (First Flight) in the chase pack it looked like the girls from the East Regional were trying to make a statement. Vessie was in second at the mile mark, followed by Wallace, Allie Castro (North Lincoln), Callie Wynn (West Davidson), Madison Simmons (Cuthbertson), and the first four Carrboro girls (Grace Morken, Maysa Araba, Helen Morken, and Alexa Phillips). Hana Ratcliffe (Durham School of the Arts) and Savannah Pugh (Croatan) were tucked onto the back of that very large first group, and this was a sign of the fireworks still to come in this race.
Barring something incredible happening, the team title was decided by the two-mile mark, as Carrboro still had 4 girls in the top 10. By that point, the chase pack had become the lead pack, having first caught and then passed Grass over the middle mile. The first group was down to six, with Castro (left, #138), Wynn (#250), and Simmons (#84 tucked behind) battling the Morken sisters (#23 and #24) and Araba (#19). Grass, Wallace (#122), and Phillips were only about 10-15 meters behind them, with Pugh, Ratcliffe, and Vessie strung out a little farther back. In team competition, Cuthbertson and North Lincoln were trying to get into position to claim second place; at the two-mile mark, it looked like the Cavaliers had a very slim advantage over the Knights.
As attrition set in during the final mile, the lead group thinned down to four girls that rounded the final corner together. Araba was the first to shift gears, challenging her two-time state champion teammate Grace Morken, and the two waged a furious battle all the way down the final stretch (photo right). A late burst put Morken in first place for the third year in a row, and perhaps established the favorite for next year's 2A title. Behind them, Simmons outraced Helen Morken to the line, while Castro rounded out the top 5. Phillips came all the way up to 6th place, securing a complete domination for Carrboro, who scored only 30 points in claiming their fourth consecutive team title. Ratcliffe and Wallace also battled down the last straight, with Ratcliffe gaining the edge at the end. All hearts went out to Callie Wynn, who gave her all but broke down near the finish, although she courageously fought against her failing legs to get across the line (and I heard from the trainers later that she was going to be OK). A little farther back in the field, Cuthbertson had their 2 and 3 runners in before North Lincoln's, and also got their 4th across the line first, securing second place for the Cavaliers.