CROSS COUNTRY: WCDS girls emerge as the 1A state champions

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 30, 2016 1:45 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PLEASANT GROVE -- Robert Glass saw the hunger all season.

And Wayne Country Day enjoyed a glorious feast Friday morning.

Led by freshman Janae Jones' top-six finish, the Chargers claimed the 2016 N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 1-A team state championship -- one year after bringing home the state runner-up trophy.

"They ran a smart race, did what they set out to do and each one of them did exactly what they were supposed to do to win," Glass said. "They had that hunger and knew what it felt like. They put the time in, they worked hard this year to get there. We did go with an attitude that were just as good as anybody else."

Indeed.

Jones ran the difficult 5k course at Hagan-Stone Park in 22 minutes, 45.17 seconds. Teammates Gray Young (22:55.75) and Ashton Gupton (23:07.00) crossed the line eighth and ninth, respectively. Sophie De Araujo claimed 10th in 23:15.19.

All four runners each earned all-state accolades due to their top-10 finishes.

Katherine Eltz (14th, 23:38.57), Natalie Bailey (24:19.47) and Hayden Nielsen (23:34.69) rounded out the Chargers' historical performance. Glass said although no one recorded a PR (personal record), they handled a challenging layout in strong fashion.

"That's an awesome course, but it's not the flattest course," Glass said. "There are a few up and downs, though. For all seven of those girls to run under 26 (minutes) is absolutely wonderful. To have four all-state runners is quite a feat."

Glass' squad emerged as the first-ever cross country team state champion in WCDS athletics history. The school has secured state crowns in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, baseball and men's soccer.

"Very exciting," an ecstatic Glass said of the accomplishment.

"The oldest person on our nine-runner team is a sophomore. That gives us three more years."

WCDS edged runner-up Halifax Academy 23-30 in the team portion of the standings. Wayne Christian, led by Paige Court's second-place individual effort, collected 32 points. Court ran a time of 21:56.57 seconds.

On the boys' side, the Chargers amassed 45 points and shared fourth place with Hickory Christian in the team portion of the event.

Halifax and Woodlawn scored 16 points apiece for first place, but Halifax was declared the state champion due to having the best fourth-place time among the two teams. University Christian ended up third with 34 points.

"Our boys ran well," Glass said.

Cole Atwood garnered all-state recognition with a fourth-place time of 17:59.68. Atwood entered the competition on the heels of receiving the Coastal Plains Independent Conference runner-of-the-year award.

"Cole did tremendous," Glass said. "It was a fun race to watch. He ran really hard and was up against very good competition. He's the kind of kid that a coach loves to have. He put in the time, he put in the effort.

"His work ethic is by far one of the best I've ever seen. He's got an awesome attitude."

Conner Bauer took 13th in 19:23.38 and Brandon Talton completed the team score with a 29th-place mark of 20:38.14.

Teammate Suraj Patel fell at the starting line, but recovered with a time of 21:22.96 -- good enough for 47th. Case Kermode (54th, 21:43.26), Noah Atwood (58th, 22:15.54) and Will Rose (60th, 22:27.81).

"He got tripped up," Glass said of Patel. "He was playing catch up most of the race. He did a good job, did what he had to do. (The boys) did absolutely wonderful. They exceeded expectations and they had never seen the course before -- none of them."

Cody Easom led Wayne Christian with a 32nd-place time of 20:40.97. He was joined by Eli Winders (49th, 21:28.88), Ethan Knighton (65th, 23:53.69) and Jaden Worling (86th, 32:04.94).