Weeks: Consistent efforts lead Rosewood boys to team title

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 16, 2013 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

astevens@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Cool temperatures, rain drops and a difficult course didn't alter the recurring theme of dominance for a pair of Carolina 1-A Conference cross country teams on Tuesday afternoon.

Rosewood's boys and Princeton's girls continued their respective strong seasons in the season-ending conference championship meet at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.

The Eagles placed four boys in the top 10 and finished with a team score of 38. Rosewood's boys won every conference meet this season.

"We've just got so many that are right there together pushing one another," Eagles' head coach Travis Weeks said. "I run with them every day so we pushed our minds this year to get past that mentality that three miles is a long way. With this course you have to maintain a good pace and slow yourself down when you're going down hill and then speed yourself up going up hill."

Spring Creek finished second with 53 points and Princeton was third at 64. North Duplin (98) and Hobbton (101) rounded out the team scoring.

The Gators' Allen Coor was the top male runner with a time of 18 minutes, 35 seconds. Teammate Gage Abbott finished second in 19:06.

Rosewood's Dalton Farmer crossed the line in third place with a time of 19:09. The Eagles' Noah Grantham (20:29), Dylan Cuddington (20:32) and Jacob Johnson (20:39) were eighth through 10th, respectively.

The Bulldogs' Hunter Mitchell (19:18), Jose Moreno (19:18) and Matthew Edwards (19:38) finished fourth through sixth, respectively.

Ryan Miller (21:51) was the Rebels' top male runner in 16th place. Alex Palacio (22:31) finished 18th.

Despite having runners battling sickness and injuries, Princeton compiled a team score of 38 to claim the girls' meet.

"Even though the girls won, they were still disappointed," Bulldogs' head coach Mark McLamb said. "They've been used to winning in a little better fashion and they weren't happy with their times which makes me happy that they're not happy with just winning. They're looking at their performance.

"With all those issues and still be able to win the conference championship, it's a good thing."

Rosewood was second with 48 points. North Duplin tallied 50 points and Hobbton had 75.

Neuse Charter's Sara Stephenson won the girls' race in 22:39. North Duplin's Genesis Orellana ran second in 23:02 and teammate Haley Thurston (23:41) was fourth.

The Eagles' Ashley Duran finished third in 22:13 and teammate Bryanna Lee (24:02) was eighth.

Amber Johnson (23:41) led Princeton with a sixth-place finish. The Bulldogs' Altheia Balagia (23:45), Chelsea Hawley (24:08) and Abby Rubio (25:37) were seventh, ninth and 10th respectively.

Rosewood and Spring Creek return to action Oct. 22 at the Wayne County Championships at Waynesborough Park.