Green Hope Cross Country

Temperatures were predicted to be unseasonably warm for the SWAC Conference Championship on Wednesday, October 19, and it would almost reach a record high for the day. The 85+-degree temps kept times a bit slow as the sun took its toll on the runners. While times were not ideal, it would prove to be another great day for GHXC.

The first race of the day was the boy’s varsity race. Green Hope had a string of 9 straight titles end in 2011 and had not won a conference title since. The boys would not be denied on this day, though, as they scored a very low 33 points. They cruised to a 45-point win over second-place Apex Friendship and were paced by Ian Delgado (16:20), Peyton Barish (16:29), and Finn McBride (16:33). Joining Ian, Peyton, and Finn on the All-Conference team were Reed Blackman, Daniel Vo, Thomas Vo, Nick Veilleux, Ryan Kemper, and Alex Huml. With nine teams fighting it out for 20 All-Conference spots, the Falcons claimed a total of 9 on their way to the school’s 10th conference title.

The girls were heavy favorites to win their varsity race and they took charge right from the start. It was only a question of how low a team score the girls could post. With only one non-GH finisher in the top six, the girls managed a score of 19 points -- the second-lowest score in their run of now nine straight conference titles (and 14 in the last 15 years). Senior Samantha Kolor raced to the win and the conference MVP award with a time of 18:54. Sam became the sixth Green Hope girl to win a conference title. Previous winners include Mary Ann Rutz (2002), Jessie Rossabi (2008), Olivia Enright (2010), Mo McDonnell (2011-12), and Elly Henes (2014-15). Sam was followed to the finish by Alessandra Rodriguez (3rd, 19:21), Kelsey Vogel (4th, 19:32), Sarah Taylor (5th, 19:38), and Catherine Holbrook (6th, 19:47). Emily Jordan, Morgan Peele, and Meg Penaganti also earned All-Conference status.

The Green Hope boys have long dominated the JV race and it was clear they would have many runners at the front of the pack. Seven boys entered the race with PRs in the 17:00s, but the temps would slow times just a bit. Luke Bakley ran a great second half of the race to pull away from the GH pack to lead the Falcons to their 15th straight JV Conference title. In addition to Bakley (a junior), freshman Liam McBride, freshman Michael Taylor, junior Srikar Chedalavada, junior Matthew Kehn, freshman Sam Eyerman (9th), and sophomore Michael Biddle paced the Falcons to a perfect score of 15 points.

It was expected that the closest race of the day would be the girls JV race, but the girls followed the JV boys with a perfect team score of 15 points. Freshman Sophia Veilleux (1st) led the girls to their 15th-straight JV team title. She was followed by freshman Pragati Fisher, junior Jordyn Parks, junior Lindsey Eastwood, freshman Natasha Abramowicz, freshman Claire Miller, and sophomore Alex O’Sullivan.

So to sum up the day:

• 220 or so GH runners competed.
• The boys and girls won the team titles (10th and 14th overall respectively).
• The JV boys and girls won their 15th straight conference titles, each with a perfect score of 15 points.
• Individual titles were won by Samantha Kolor, Luke Bakley, and Sophia Veilleux.
• Coach Bochert and Coach Collins won Coach of the Year Awards.

Next up for the Falcons is the Mideast 4A Regional Meet at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, October 29. The boys race at 10:00 AM and the girls race at 11:00 AM. The top four teams in the regional meet will move onto the state meet on November 5.