Warrior Cross Country fights for championship
Team members from across the county compete in the Cobb County Championships on September 9, 2016.
September 12, 2016
The NC Warrior Cross Country team took on the Cobb County Championships at Allatoona Creek Park on September 10, with sophomore Lindsey O’Neill clinching an individual first place win, while the Warrior’s grabbed no team victories.
The Warriors ran four teams at the event: junior varsity women and men (made up of freshmen and sophomores) and varsity women and men (made up of juniors and seniors). Each team competed in a 5K on the course.
The junior varsity women ran first, with a lineup of twenty runners from NC. Sophomore Lindsey O’Neill finished first place for the entire race, with a time of 21:05. Freshman Sydney Armitage followed soon after in seventh place with a time of 22:11. The junior varsity team won sixth place overall.
Sophomore Lindsey O’Neill finishes in first place for the junior varsity race.
The junior varsity boys showcased sophomores Zachary Mills and Rashan Alkins, who finished at 18:45 and 19:33, respectively. Mills finished in the top twenty as the eighteenth runner to cross the finish line. The boys earned seventh place overall, clocking in at an average time of 19:38.
The varsity girls, using only seven runners, brought home fourth place for NC. Junior Abby Jeske led the pack, finishing nineteenth with a time of 20:59. Junior Stefanie Garcia and senior Miah Dale stuck together to finish next with times of 23:17 and 23:19, respectively. The ladies had an almost five minute 1-5 split, but managed to finish with an average time of 23:34.
“I think we did really well and we pushed each other. I love the fact that we include everyone and help everyone succeed,” senior Krishna Oza said.
NC ran nine varsity boys at the meet, with juniors Matthew Terrill and Anthony Graham finishing with times of 18:53 and 18:57, respectively. Senior Ben Hays followed soon after at 19:22. The team placed tenth overall.
Though NC did not place high as a team, the meet allowed the majority of runners to “PR,” or beat their personal records.
“We had a lot of runners PR and get their season bests today, including our champion Lindsay, so overall it was a good meet,” Head Coach John Huff said.
The cross country team will appear next in the annual Warrior Way 5K on Saturday, September 17 at NC.
