North Carolina State Meet Ready To Go After Season Spills Into 2021

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

A cross country season that for some started seven months ago will conclude this weekend at the North Carolina Cross Country Championships .

The meet in Kernersville will be held with smaller fields, split into section finals, and held over two days starting Friday. 

North Carolina delayed cross country season last fall and didn't get started until after Thanksgiving. Then there was a three-week vacation break around Christmas and a near-constant threat the season could be called off any day. 

"It was hard," Ardrey Kell senior Murphy Smith said of the holiday break. "One thing we wanted to make sure we were careful of was COIVD (guidelines). We made a big deal about making sure you're cutting off contact with a lot of people. Keep your circle tight."

Just Thursday, on the eve of the championships, 4A East boys runner-up Millbrook High learned it will have to cancel its trip to state because one of its runners has tested positive for COVID-19.

Since Jan. 1, conference championships and regional meets have successfully produced a list of state qualifiers. 

"We won (our conference meet), but I was thinking afterward, 'Did we win the 2020 or the 2021 conference title?' Mount Tabor coach Patrick Cromwell said. 

For the bulk of the season, which consisted primarily of dual meets or small invitationals, the meets in North Carolina operated with a maxiumum limit of 28 runners per race. The number was raised for the conference and regionals meets, to 50. 

On Friday, the 4A schools will go in the morning; 2A is in the afternoon. The 3A and 1A schools will run Saturday. 

The number of teams qualifying to state per classification was trimmed from 16 to 12.  Just eight unattached individuals advance from the regional.

The finals for each classification are seeded, with the fastest runners grouped together. 

The most significant meet in terms of quality came Dec. 19 at the CRC Holiday Invitational. It was the only real opportunity for the best teams in the state, and across classifications, to go head to head. 

In the boys race that day, Chapel Hill (3A) edged Weddington (3A), 64-66. North Lincoln (2A) was third.

In the girls race, Weddington beat Cuthbertson, 38-56.

Fortunately, the mild winter weather has not been a limiting factor. The biggest achievement is that the season will finish.  

Neighbor to the north, Virginia, is set to begin the cross country season in February. The initial practice date is Feb. 15. The state meet is the end of April. 

North Carolina regional highlights (Jan. 15-16)

4A STATE MEET RACE ASSIGNMENTS

4A East - Hoggard and Millbrook tied at 56 points, with  Hoggard winning a tiebreaker. Cardinal Gibbons third. Hoggard went 1-2-3 on the way to 20 points. Laney and Cardinal Gibbons finished second and third.

4A West - Murphy Smith won in 15:47.3 to lead Ardrey Kell to the regional title with 29 points. Mooresville Senior was second with 68 points and Lake Norman was third with 78.  Ardrey Kell's girls put four in the top seven for 25 points. South Mecklenburg was second with 69 and Hough was third with 82.  

4A Midwest - Boys top three was close: West Forsyth 69, Myers Park 71, Ronald Reagan 76; Sisters Gwen and Bronwyn Parks led Ronald Reagan to a score of 35 for a win against state qualifiers Myers Park (42) and West Forsyth (64). 

4A Mideast - Soph Zack Gilbertson of Pinecrest won in 15:40.1. Cary (46), Green Hope (48) and Panther Creek (89) advanced to state. Carmen Alder of Pinecrest, seeking her third state title this weekend, won in 17:25.1. She'll have to run at state out of the slow heat. Panther Creek and Apex went 1-2 and Pinecrest squeaked in with the third spot. 

3A STATE MEET RACE ASSIGNMENTS

3A East - DH Conley won the top spot with 45 points and will be joined at state by Cleveland and West Carteret. Topsail sisters Kaitlyn Obremski and Makayla Obremski led their team to a dominant win with 24 points. West Carteret and New Hanover advanced to state.

3A Mideast - The Chapel Hill boys and girls swept the team titles and will be among the state meet favorites. Northwood and Northern Guilford locked up the second and third boys team spots. For the girls, East Chapel Hill and Northern Guilford advanced.

3A West - Watauga got the sweep. TC Roberson and Asheville will also send both of its teams to state 

3A Midwest - Weddington boys scored 43 points to beat Mount Tabor and Cuthbertson. On the girls side Cuthbertson was impressive with 29 points to beat Weddington (35) and Marvin Ridge (65). 

2A STATE MEET RACE ASSIGNMENTS

1A STATE MEET RACE ASSIGNMENTS