2024 Cross Country Championships

November 2, 2024

KERNERSVILLE – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association staged the 2024 Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex and crowned four Men’s and four Women’s Champions.

New meet records set; Devil Pups and Maroon Devils repeat

Women’s Results | Men’s Results

In the 1A Championships, the Lejeune Devil Pups and Swain County Maroon Devils each defended their 2023 titles, and the Maroon Devils have now won four consecutive 1A Women’s Championships.

In the women’s race, senior Arizona Blankenship won her second individual title as she won as a freshman in 2021. Blankenship crossed the line in 18:11.68, setting a new 1A NCHSAA Championship meet record in the process. The previous mark of 18:17.7 was set in 1999 by Hendersonville’s Ariel Glassman.

Swain County’s Annie Lewis finished in second place 35 seconds behind Blankenship, and Angelina Lomelli posted an eighth-place finish to bolster the Maroon Devils’ score.

Christ the Kings’ Nicole Alfers, the defending champion, finished in third place, and teammate Shea Roche took fourth. The Crusaders finished in second place in the team competition, posting 63 points. Cherokee’s Dvdaya Swimmer, the 2022 champion, came in fifth place.

In the men’s race, Lejeune posted 74 posts to slide just in front of Corvian Community, which scored 78. The Devil Pups were led by freshman Ralph Pfeil, who finished fourth, junior Matthew Barbabella, who finished 21st, and junior Jude Keller, who finished 23^rd.

Northside (Pinetown) senior Andrew Harding won the individual title with a time of 15:28.84, setting a new 1A NCHSAA Championship meet record by eight seconds. The record was set last year by Blake Nicholson from Christ the King. Nicholson finished in third place this year.

Hiwassee Dam’s Ethan Russell finished in second place with a time of 16:03.91. Swain County’s Carl Baird and Cherokee’s Ogana Swimmer rounded out the top five.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing outstanding sportsmanship in each of our State Championship events. The Association has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to award a pair of Sportsmanship Awards at each championship event, recognizing players who have demonstrated the ideals of outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the 2024 season. The winners of the 1A Cross Country NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards were Nicole Alfers from Christ the King, Annie Lewis from Swain County, Carson Williams from Corvian Community, and Jude Keller from Lejeune.

Brevard, NCSSM – Durham continues championship streaks

Women’s Results | Men’s Results

In the 2A Championships, the Brevard Blue Devils claimed the men’s championship, and the North Carolina School of Science and Math – Durham Unicorns took the women’s title. Seaforth finished as runner-up in both the men’s and women’s races.

In the women’s race, NCSSM–Durham won its fourth consecutive state championship as they swept the top three spots on the podium. Senior Catherine Parker won the individual title with a time of 18:42.38 and juniors Moira Furr and Helen Chen came in second and third, respectively.

The Unicorns scored 75 points to finish 15 points clear of Seaforth in second place.

Seaforth and Pine Lake Prep, which took third place, each had a pair of runners take home a top-10 finish. Seaforth’s Juana Jimenez and Emily Jump finished in sixth and seventh, and Pine Lake Prep’s Lyla Henneger and Maya Little took fourth and fifth.

In the men’s race, Brevard was the defending champion and has now won three of the last four 2A Championships. The Blue Devils were led by four top-12 finishes as Avan Hinkle finished in third with a time of 16:21.15 and Keaton Campbell finished just behind him in fourth. Leo Murray took sixth place, and Ezra Stubbs came in 12th. Max Bailey added a 16th-place finish for Brevard.

For Seaforth, Jack Anstrom won his third consecutive individual championship, running his best time in a championship meet with a 15:52.89, just 12 seconds off the pace of the 2A Course record. Teammate Will Cuicchi finished in fifth place, and Henry McFall came in 17th place for the Hawks.

West Stokes senior Zeb Mathis took second place with a time of 16:07.48 to lead his team to a fourth-place finish. Charles D. Owen took third place, led by a ninth-place finish by sophomore Brody Webb.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing outstanding sportsmanship in each of our State Championship events. The Association has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to award a pair of Sportsmanship Awards at each championship event, recognizing players who have demonstrated the ideals of outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the 2024 season. The winners of the 2A Cross Country NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards were Carolina Downs from NCSSM – Durham, Katie Leonard from Seaforth, Max Bailey from Brevard, and Sam Neil from Seaforth.

North Lincoln wins fifth straight; Orange men claim first title

Men’s Results | Women’s Results

In the 3A Championships, the Orange Panthers won their first Cross Country Championship in program history, and the North Lincoln Women won their fifth in a row.

In the men’s race, the Panthers were led by Myles Jermyn, who finished in sixth place, and Lucas Van Mater, who was just two spots behind in eighth. Orange senior Cyrus Neal finished in 12th place.

North Lincoln finished as runner-up, thanks to Juan Carlos Tinajero Jr.’s 10th place finish, Eli Rush’s 20th place finish, and Daniel Brown’s 22nd place finish.

Western Harnett junior Ethan Rich took home the individual honors with a time of 15:26.18. Keagan Saft from West Henderson finished in second place, and Noah Guerrero from Croatan took third. Eric Gillis and Jorge Clemente-Garcia – both from Jesse Carson – finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the women’s race, North Lincoln’s Olivia Ferraro and Bella Green finished in third and fourth to pace the Knights. Cambelle Reffner added a 12th-place finish, and Ella Myers came in 23rd.

North Lincoln won the 2A Women’s Championship in the 2020-21 Covid season and has now won the 3A Championship four straight times (2021-2024). On Saturday, they scored 56 points, 74 points better than First Flight in second place.

First Flight junior Morgan Miller crossed the line first with a time of 18:04.98. E.E. Smith’s Georgy Helmers took second place, and Swansboro’s Delany Horton came in fifth behind Ferraro and Green.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing outstanding sportsmanship in each of our State Championship events. The Association has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to award a pair of Sportsmanship Awards at each championship event, recognizing players who have demonstrated the ideals of outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the 2024 season. The winners of the 3A Cross Country NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards were Keira Cavanagh from North Lincoln, Clara Meads from First Flight, Ayden Lopez from North Lincoln, and Cyrus Neal from Orange.

Cardinal Gibbons, Marvin Ridge repeat; Asheville sweeps individual titles

Women’s Results | Men’s Results

In the 4A Championships, both the Marvin Ridge Mavericks men and the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders women repeated as NCHSAA Champions.

In the women’s race, the Crusaders earned their 15^th cross country championship thanks to four finishes in the top 12 places. Hannah Rae Shaffer led the way for Cardinal Gibbons as she finished in sixth place with a time of 18:14.12. Addy Mitchell and Maggie Whitham came in ninth and tenth, respectively, and freshman Kaitlyn Estep came in 12th.

The Crusaders tallied 62 points on the day, and Cuthbertson, which finished second, tallied 136. They were led by a fifth-place finish from freshman Colby McCollum. Marvin Ridge took third place, and Myers Park and Broughton rounded out the top five.

Asheville junior Sofi Alexander took home the individual title as she completed the course in 18:01.23, just 1.51 seconds in front of Ragsdale freshman Elle Dawson in second place. Hoggard sophomore Amelia Medlin finished in third place, and Addie Oversmith from Broughton took fourth by one second over Cuthbertson’s McCollum.

In the men’s race, Marvin Ridge’s four top-20 finishes netted them 68 points, comfortably in front of Broughton in second place with 96. Hoggard took third place, and Holly Springs and Riverside completed in the top five. Senior runners paced the field as each of the top sixth finishers was a 12th grader, including Marvin Ridge’s David Rivlin in fourth.

Teammate David Firestone came in 10th, and Michael Rivlin came in 13th.

Michael Haskin, a senior from Asheville, took the top individual spot as he ran a 15:21.71, about 1.5 seconds ahead of Philip Blum from Riverside. Connor Tyrrell, also from Riverside, finished in third.

The win is the second men’s Cross County title for Marvin Ridge.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing outstanding sportsmanship in each of our State Championship events. The Association has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to award a pair of Sportsmanship Awards at each championship event, recognizing players who have demonstrated the ideals of outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the 2024 season. The winners of the 4A Cross Country NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Awards were Ava Walters from Cuthbertson, Maggie Whitham from Cardinal Gibbons, David Firestone from Marvin Ridge, and Cam Kuss from Broughton.

Brandon Moree

NCHSAA News

Cross Country