WCDS runners dominate CPIC conference meet

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on October 18, 2016 9:57 AM

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As Wayne Country Day cross country coach Rob Glass pressed the air horn at the start line, history was officially made.

On Monday, the Chargers hosted the first Coastal Plains Independent 1-A Conference Cross Country Championship under the new conference alignment. The rearranged conference includes WCDS, Greenfield, Wayne Christian, Pope John Paul II, Community Christian and Freedom Christian Academy.

WCDS -- under the guidance of Glass -- christened the annual meet by sweeping first place in both the girls' and boys' race.

"I'm extremely proud," said Glass, who was named CPIC Coach of the Year. "They put in the time and the effort. There were a lot of them that were here last year that realized what state runner-up was and how close they were to the end goal there."

Due to Hurricane Matthew, WCDS' course was slightly rearranged. Glass said there were 10 trees lying across the trail, so he and others had to cut a different route to go around the debris.

WCDS' Cole Atwood -- with a long stride and unbreakable pace -- finished first in the boys' race and was declared CPIC Male Runner of the Year.

His time of 17:28 was a personal best and 42 seconds faster than second place.

"There was a lot of mud back there, and I was sliding a lot," said Atwood, referring to the lasting effects of Hurricane Matthew. "But I got my best time today, so I guess it didn't slow me down too much."

The top eight runners of each race were declared All-CPIC. Along with Atwood, two other Chargers were named all-conference -- Connor Bauer (19:09) and Suraj Patel (19:31). Bauer finished fourth while Patel finished sixth.

For the boys' race, WC finished fourth. Eagles' runners Eli Winders (19:37) and Cody Easom (19:46) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, and also earned all-CPIC honors.

In the girls' race, WCDS not only finished first but had five runners achieve all-CPIC.

Janae Jones (22:15) finished third, followed by Gray Young (22:47) and Ashton Gupton (23:05). Katherine Eltz (23:42) and Sophie de Araujo (23:44) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

"Well, last year I was one person away from making the all-state team, so I worked really hard this past year," said Young, regarding her expectations for the race. "And my goal this year is to make the state's team, so hopefully that works out."

WC placed second in the girls' race, and had two all-CPIC performers. Paige Court (21:39) finished second and Natalie Rheingruber (23:29) crossed in sixth place.

This season, the WCDS girls have placed first in seven of their eight races. The boys have finished first in five competitions.

Now all the attention is pointed toward the NCISAA 1-A Championships, which will be Oct. 28 at Hagan Stone Park in Greensboro.

In 2015, the WCDS boys finished fifth at the state championships and the girls finished runner-up. But with a sweep at the CPIC Championship, the Chargers are looking to parlay the momentum into a possible state title.

"That's what we want - we want to peak at the end," Glass said. "If we can get better at the end, that's what the goal is."