Green Hope Cross Country

The NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional cross country meet was held on Saturday, October 29th at Wake Med Soccer Park. The regional meet is the second of the three important postseason meets of the year for the Falcons. After two wins in the SWAC Conference meet, the Falcons were excited to see what they could do in the regional meet. The regional meet is a pressure-packed race, though, as only four of the 25 teams in the region qualify to move on to the state meet.

The boys were the first to toe the line in perfect conditions Saturday morning. It was fairly obvious that this would be a two-team race for first with Green Hope battling the Broughton Capitals for the top 2 spots. The fight for spots 3 and 4 would involve several teams, but the focus for the Falcons was on the top spot. As the runners approached the halfway point it was clear that the Falcons had taken it out fast and the big question was would the Falcons fall back, the Capitals rally, or could Green Hope hold the fast pace they set early?

As the lead runners approached the finish line, it was quickly apparent that this would be the Falcons’ day. Finn McBride ran the best race of his career to this point and finished as regional runner-up with a time of 15:38. Ian Delgado topped his previous PR with a time of 15:47 (5th place) and was followed by Peyton Barish in 6th (15:49). This marked the first time Green Hope has had three runners go sub-16:00 in the same race. Those three were soon followed by Daniel Vo (16:03), Reed Blackman (16:07), and Ryan Kemper (16:11) as all three ran career PRs. The overall team time of 1:19:26 (15:53 average) was also the best boys team performance in school history.

The boys edged Broughton, 44-50, for first place in the first of two huge battles between the two 4A state powers. The next and most important race will be the state finals at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 5, at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville.

The girls race had a different feel as the girls had no clear challengers heading into the regional race. While the girls expect to be in a close fight in the state finals with Cardinal Gibbons, the regional race was different. One of Green Hope's top 5 girls was held out as a precautionary measure, but the Falcons went for it right from the start. Three of the top 7 girls ran their career PRs, including seniors Samantha Taylor (3rd, 18:46) and Sarah Taylor (4th, 18:50), as well as sophomore Meg Penaganti (20:28). Joining the Falcons’ championship effort were Alessandra Rodriguez (10th, 19:17), Kelsey Vogel (13th, 19:32), Emily Jordan (16th, 19:47), and Morgan Peele (24th, 20:07). The Falcons easily won the team title with 45 points (2nd place Broughton finished with 102 points). They will battle for the state title at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 5, at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville.

Earning first team All-Region honors: Finn McBride, Ian Delgado, Peyton Barish, Samantha Kolor, Sarah Taylor, and Alessandra Rodriguez.

2nd team All-Region: Daniel Vo, Reed Blackman, Ryan Kemper, Kelsey Vogel, and Emily Jordan.