Warriors split Cross Country meet

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 17, 2007 3:22 PM

• Print
• Email

With the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference meet looming next Tuesday, Eastern Wayne's cross country team has been motivated recently by one word -- focus.

The Warriors have looked strong in the ECC this season, while prepping for the conference and regional meets in the coming weeks.

With temperatures in the low 70s and the familiarity of its home course working to its advantage, Eastern Wayne turned in another solid performance in a four-team meet with Charles B. Aycock, Wayne Christian and Wilson Hunt on Tuesday.

The Warriors' girls team prevailed with a score of 31, with Aycock finishing second at 48. Hunt ended the day with a team score of 49 and Wayne Christian earned a 113.

Aycock's Caroline Schlaeppi dominated the girls' race, finishing first with a time of 22 minutes, seven seconds. Eastern Wayne's Leanna Kirkland was second with a time of 22:58. Aycock's Lorena Estrada came in third at 23:16.

The Warriors had four runners finish in the top 10, while Aycock and Hunt each had three. Eastern Wayne's girls have yet to drop a conference meet this season.

"I'm tickled to death what the girls have done," Eastern Wayne's girls coach Sidney Myers said. "They've worked hard. They've ran together as a team. They've worked together as a team. That's what we were working for at the beginning of the year.

"They understand how important next week is. It doesn't matter that we were undefeated throughout the season. It all comes down to conference."

After placing four runners in the top 10, Wilson Hunt came out on top on the boys' side with a team score of 35. Eastern Wayne finished a distant second at 52, while Wayne Christian (73) and Aycock (76), were third and fourth respectively.

Hunt remains the only team in the ECC to have knocked off Eastern Wayne. Despite coming up short on Tuesday, Warriors coach Vince Beasley feels confident about his squad's chances heading into the ECC meet.

"I think the score doesn't really show where we are as a team," Beasley said. "The guys are running well individually. Our two biggest competitors are Aycock and Hunt, so this was like a preliminary conference championship race and it does help us focus."

Wayne Christian's Josh Magnus finished first on the boys' side with a time of 17:33, just ahead of Aycock's Nik Fredrick (17:57). Hunt's Bobby White was third at 18:06, and Eastern Wayne's Tim Wright was fourth at 18:08.

Boys

1. Josh Mangus WC 17:33

2. Nik Fredrick CBA 17:57

3. Bobby White WH 18:06

4. Tim Wright EW 18:19

5. Pierre Surrette WH 18:19

6. Zach Parrish EW 19:07

7. Ryan Cox WH 19:29

8. Manuel Perez WH 19:33

9. Dalton Denning CBA 19:35

10. Andrew Cummins EW 19:50

Girls

1. Caroline Schlaeppi CBA 22:07

2. Leanna Kirkland EW 22:58

3. Lorena Estrada CBA 23:16

4. Sara Schley EW 23:17

5. Kelly Gregorcyk EW 23:24

6. Katheryn Betts WH 23:43

7. Megan Hales CBA 23:48

8. Shannon Rouse EW 24:27

9. Maria Williams WH 24:37

10. Astin Barnes WH 24:43