AIKEN – “What a season.”
That was the sentiment from Nation Ford head cross country coach Sebastian Tellez after winning the 4A boys state championship at the Aiken Steeplechase on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Nation Ford boys finished with 69 points and had two runners make the All-State team with a 15th-place finish or higher. The team was small in number, which Tellez said was helpful in winning a title.
“We were so close together as a team,” he said. “The team bonding happened early in the summer. They believed in each other and trusted each other. They put in the work together. That is how we got it done. It was going to be competitive race. There are a lot of good teams here, but we knew what we could do.”
This is the seventh team state championship in school history for Nation Ford.
The Falcons were led by Sparsh Vaghani, who finished in 10th place in 16:17. He was followed by teammates Robert Saddler in 12th in 16:21, Alex Royall in 16th in 16:30, Alejandro Luna in 22nd in 16:42, and Richard Bailey in 24th in 16:43.
Catawba Ridge finished in third place with 117 points. The Copperheads’ Ryan Pierson led all local 4A finishers with a third-place finish in the 4A boys’ race in 15:48. He was followed by William Kowalski in 19th in 16:35, Tyler Merrigan in 20th in 16:35, Lincoln Smith in 45th in 17:21, and Ethan Broyles in 48th in 17:23.
In 4A girls’ competition, Nation Ford finished fourth as a team with 131 points. Greenville won with 89 points.
Haley Garcia led Nation Ford with a 10th-place finish in 19:09. Karson Woodring was 17th for the Falcons in 19:27. Eva Mabry was next in 22nd in 19:36 for Nation Ford. Madison Frazier was 47th in 20:39 and Brooklyn Cox was 58th in 20:57 to finish out the scoring for Nation Ford.
For Catawba Ridge, the girls’ team finished 10th with 247 points. Dorothy Artley led the Copperheads with a 23rd place finish in 19:37. She was followed by teammates Olivia Gillespie in 34th in 19:56, Karley Johnson in 48th in 20:42, Morgan Hartley in 82nd in 21:34, and Adele Beard in 94th in 21:57.
All runners that finish in the top 15 in each classification were named to the All-State team.
Allen wins 5A race for Fort Mill
Despite not winning a team title, the Fort Mill cross-country team didn’t come away empty-handed at the 5A state championships. Fort Mill had won the last three team state championships for girls and last two state team titles for boys.
Fort Mill’s Lauren Allen surprised her fellow runners as she sprinted the final 300 yards moving up from third to first to win the 5A girls’ individual championship in 18:27, winning by 1.65 seconds. Allen said her team practices those type of sprints at the end of races.
“We do 300s like we are training for these moments,” she said. “I was like I can do this. I had paced myself. I just sprinted for it. Passing them was the most surreal moment ever.”
The Fort Mill girls finished fifth with 180 points. Mauldin won with 56 points. Following Allen’s performance for the Jackets was Mia Zook in 13th in 19:06, Bailey Nolin in 18th in 19:29, Rachel Vinson in 74th in 20:49, and Charlotte Spatola in 82nd in 21:01.
The Fort Mill boys finished fifth as well with 133 points. JL Mann won with 74 points. Leading the Jackets was Hudson Haley in fourth in 15:44. He was followed by Owen Ware in 12th in 15:51, Liam Doheny in 27th in 16:27, Ian Zook in 44th in 16:41, and Jacob Audley in 56th in 16:50.
“I’m still very happy with it,” said Fort Mill head coach Lee Whitaker. “The competition in 5A this year is outrageous. It has been a tough week this week. We had a couple kids with the flu. We lost a couple of girls just this week. Lauren ran a masterful race. I am super proud of her. She has a big future ahead of her.
“We will be right back in the thick of it next year. We have a great feeder program; I don’t have any doubt the guys and girls will be right back in it.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
