Published: 01:00 AM, Sun Nov 01, 2009
Terry Sanford girls eke out cross country regional win
By Paul Shugar
Staff writer
HOPE MILLS - The Terry Sanford girls huddled together, hands clenched like Miss America's crown was on the line.
Many were thinking about the places they had left on South View's 5,000-meter course Saturday morning. Because after their coaches crunched the numbers, the early belief was the Bulldogs had lost the 4-A Eastern Cross Country Regional to West Johnston by one or two points.
What Bulldogs coach Doug Foster forgot, though, was to drop the individual runners from schools that didn't field complete teams. Terry Sanford had won, edging the Wildcats 48-50, and the girls greeted the surprise like they had won the lotto.
"You see their shirts," Foster said. "One team, one goal, one meet at time, well, now there's only one meet left."
Quite a few Cape Fear region runners will head to next Saturday's state meet at Winston-Salem's Tanglewood Park. Pinecrest's boys and girls teams qualified along with South View's boys. Five individuals also punched tickets, and the Patriots' Lexie Schustrom and the Bulldogs' Chase Christianson took the girls and boys individual titles, respectively.
The only hard-luck squad was Jack Britt. The top four teams qualify for state, and the Buccaneers' boys and girls both placed fifth, missing fourth by two points each. The good news is four Britt runners were among the top five individuals not attached to qualified teams, earning them state trips.
Terry Sanford's girls will head to Winston-Salem as a possible contender for the championship crown. The team hadn't beat West Johnston and its tough one-two punch up front all season. But only 44.93 seconds separated the Bulldogs' top five - Cory Catlett (sixth), Artrailia Lesane (eighth), Abigail Ancherico (11th), Karen Leonard (13th) and Katlyn Adkins (14th) - powering the team victory.
"This is my 13th year here, and I've never had five girls under 20 (minutes)," Foster said.
Schustrom took the lead right after the start, averaging 5:59.9 miles to win in 18:38.07. She collapsed after crossing the line on a muggy day, not knowing the next closest runner was more than 7 seconds behind her.
"I'm in better shape than I've ever been," Schustrom said. "But if this course had been 50 or 100 meters longer, they would've got me. I was toast."
Deja vu boys champion
On the boys side, Christianson followed the same pattern he used last week to win the Mid-South individual title on this course.
Around the 2,000-meter mark, the Terry Sanford senior powered to the lead and never trailed again. He crossed the line in 15:45.85, averaging 5.04.5 miles.
"I felt everybody start slowing down, and I thought that, 'I've got to go this minute,' " Christianson said. "I wanted them struggling to stay up with me."
The plan worked with the next runner coming across 11.87 seconds behind him. Two West Johnston runners followed Christianson, lifting the No. 3 team in the state to the team championship with 33 points.
South View (83 points) couldn't keep pace as the Wildcats' top five were among the first 12 across the finish line. The Tigers' top five struggled a bit to hold together, but only 1:09.17 separated the pack.
"The kitchen sink, the bath tub, we threw everything we had at (West Johnston)," South View coach Jesse Autry said. "But when you have a top five like West Johnston has, they have a great chance at the state championship."
Staff writer Paul Shugar can be reached at shugarp@fayobserver.com or 486-3513.
4-A Eastern Regionals
BOYS TEAM SCORES (Top 4 to state)
West Johnston 33, South View 83, Hoggard 102, Pinecrest 124, Jack Britt 126, New Hanover 149, Terry Sanford 159, Ashley 236, Clayton 272, New Bern 325, Smithfield-Selma 355, E.A. Laney 386, Cape Fear 391, Southeast Raleigh 423, East Wake 458, Garner 470, J.H. Rose 487, E.E. Smith 498, Richmond County 516, Purnell Swett 531, Scotland 561, Hoke County 645, Pine Forest 659.
BOYS INDIVIDUAL
1, Chase Christianson (TS) 15:45.85; 2, Chad Massengill (WJ) 15:57.72; 3, Eric Baldwin (WJ) 16:02.39; 4, Blake Shelton (H) 16:12.92; 5, Kenny Hinman (SV) 16:19.80; 6, Chris Garrett (WJ) 16:20.09; 7, Joe Cotto (JB) 16:25.52; 8, Connor Mang (SV) 16:31.54; 9, Alex Beaudette (JB) 16:34.46. 10, Ben Schoeneman (WJ) 16:41.00.
UNATTACHED BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS
1, Christianson (TS); 7, Cotto (JB); 9, Beaudette (JB); 16, Ryan Rudisill (C) 16:53.87; 17, Clyde Wilson (JB) 16:54.11.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES(Top four to state)
Terry Sanford 48, West Johnston 50, Pinecrest 72, New Hanover 149, Jack Britt 151, Clayton 162, Hoggard 193, South View 236, E.A. Laney 303, Southeast Raleigh 330, Lumberton 334, Harnett Central 362, J.H. Rose 366, Cape Fear 392, Smithfield-Selma 421, Ashley 422, East Wake 463, Purnell Swett 534, Scotland 540, Richmond 587.
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL
1, Lexie Schustrom (PC) 18:38.07; 2, Ashley Matthews (WJ) 18:45.80; 3, Kelly Montague (WJ) 18:53.09; 4, Danielle McKee (JB) 19:03.68; 5, Shelby Howell (NH) 19:06.12; 6, Cory Catlett (TS) 19:06.49; 7, Michelle Bailey (G) 19:28.03; 8, Artrailia Lesane (TS) 19:35.35; 9, Ashley Brock (PC) 19:38.80; 10, Jennie Cunningham (PC) 19:44.39.
UNATTACHED GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS
4, McKee (JB); 7, Bailey (G); 12, Esther Fisher (JHR) 19:48.93; 18, Catie Simmons (C) 20:03.65; 19, Charity Lacky (C) 20:13.07.