Warriors race through previous times hitting new personal records
After years in a competitive region, the NC Warriors cross-country teams entered new territory (5-AAAAAA). The varsity and JV Lady Warriors beat the Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs and Cherokee Warriors during their race on September 10. They lost to the Parkview Patriots which placed first in the girls’ varsity race and the Wesleyan Wolves which placed first in the JV race. Placing second in the Cherokee Classic race on September 3, the Warriors plan to work hard to qualify for the state championship on November 4 and 5 in Carrollton, Georgia.
September 13, 2022
The NC Warriors cross-country teams hustled through the season with the state championship goal in mind. Following the Cherokee Classic in Canton where NC finished in second place on September 3, the Warriors traveled to Allatoona Creek Park on September 10 with high confidence and energy. The Warriors hammered away to earn ninth place and beat the Kennesaw Mountain Mustangs in the girls’ races.
The teams ran on a wet course with drizzling rain, helping runners stay in their best condition by staying cool through the race and earning personal records (PR). Senior Alexis Christain and sophomore Sepidah Ghasemi, were previously placed in sixth and seventh place respectively during the Cherokee Classic. The Lady Warriors finished the September 10 race as Christain ended with a time of 21:39, earning a season’s best and Ghasemi with 21:34. The varsity boys’ runners also made a great showing as senior Kevin Pumillo finished the race with a time of 18:24 and freshman Peyton Lewis 19:05. Pumillo and Lewis finished minutes after senior Tyler Jones from Woodland high school. Jones won first place with a time of 16:31.
“The race went really well. The weather was perfect. Almost all our runners ran a season’s best. The boys and girls continue to gel as a team, the more they know each other, the more they can trust each other. The more they trust each other, the better they’ll race together,” head cross country coach John Huff said.
Freshman Grace Amah decreased her time from 28:42 to 28 minutes and senior Brenna Gresham reduced her time from 29:08 to 28:38. Freshmen Kennedy Tolbert and Cassidy Lumpkin shortened their times from 28:32 to 28:26 and 34:41 to 31:47.
The JV boys earned times ranging from 24 minutes to 27 minutes. Sophomore Sebastian Solis, the first to cross the finishing line amongst the team, set a PR of 25:20 to 24:34 and freshman Eric Shorter from 25:18 to 24:51.
After the race, the team returned to NC and cleaned the trail for their upcoming yearly Warrior Way 5k on September 17. The Warriors will run their next race at Kennesaw Mountain high school on September 21. The NC team plans to compete in the state championship in Carrollton, Georgia on November 4 or 5.
“This season is special because it’s been several years since the team from North Cobb has gone to state. We are a smaller, but [a]better team this year. Coming into this season, the goal was to make state with both the boys and girls. This is still the goal, though the girls are aiming a little higher,” Huff said.
