Congratulations to the Green Hope girls for winning the school's first ever cross country state championship by beating a very strong T.C. Roberson team. Roberson had won 10 of the last 12 3A state titles (including the last 5) before moving up to 4A this year. All year they were the heavy favorites to win the 4A title, but the Falcons ran a great team race at Tanglewood Park and posted an amazingly low 47 points to win the title.
One mile into the race the girls were not in the running for the team title, but a 5K is a long race and they methodically chipped away, working together on the hills and in the woods on each of the 2 loops to close the gap. Each of Roberson's first three runners finished slightly ahead of their Green Hope counterparts, but the Falcons' 4th and 5th runners finished ahead of Roberson's 4th. The win allowed the Falcon girls to complete the year undefeated against North Carolina competition - the 13 point margin was their closest of the year.
Helping the girls to the title were All-State finishers Olivia Enright (6th) and Erica Amatori (8th), along with Mo McDonnell (12th), Jessie Rossabi (13th), Lauren Colberg (17th), Lauren Riedle (45th) and Sarah Alexander (77th). The pack time of runners #1-#5 was an astounding 24 seconds.
On the boys side the team results were not as good as we had hoped, but Bryan Spreitzer finished a tremendous year with a state runner-up finish, erasing any doubt of his place as the top runner in GHXC history. Bryan ran a smart and strong race on a tough course, beating all but one runner in one of the strongest boys' fields ever. He finished with a time of 15:52, earning all-state honors. In Bryan's final fall in a Green Hope uniform he finished with titles at the 4-Runners Only Invitational, the ECU Invitational and the Tri-9 Conference meet, along with runner-up finishes at the Seahawk Invitational and the 4A State Championship.
Overall it was another very good year for GHXC, as the boy's team won the ECU Invitational, the 4-Runners Only Invitational and the Tri-9 Conference Meet (for the 8th straight year), as well as earning a 5th place finish (top NC team) at the Great American Race and a 6th place finish in the state meet.
The girls team's only setback of the year was at the Great American XC Festival, as they won the Seahawk Invitational, 4-Runners Only Invitational, Tri-9 Conference Meet, Mideast Regional Meet and finally the 4-A State Championship. Thanks for all the hard work, not only from the runners, but from the parents as well. Best of luck to the seniors. It is never time to rest, though, as the work should already be underway to have an even more successful 2010.