Green Hope Cross Country

The Green Hope Falcons had high expectations heading into the state championship meet at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville, and they did not disappoint. While neither team came home with a state title, every runner gave everything he/she had out there and represented GHXC with an unbelievable amount of heart and determination. Both teams earned a state runner-up finish, as the girls repeated last year’s feat and the boys came through with their highest finish since their only state title in 2010.

The 4A boys race was the first race of the day. Those who follow cross country knew this would be a battle between Green Hope, Broughton, and Cardinal Gibbons for the top 3 spots, and it would turn out to be one of the most tightly-contested 4A races ever. The pace went out fast and the Falcons battled to the end, but when the dust cleared, Broughton edged Green Hope by one point (67-68) for the title with Gibbons finishing in third, six points behind the Falcons. While it was a disappointing result (the only time the entire year a North Carolina team beat the GH boys), the boys fought the whole way and have nothing to be ashamed of. Finn McBride and Peyton Barish earned All-State honors, and Nick Veilleux was honored with one of the two state sportsmanship awards handed out on the day. With six of the top seven runners back next year and loaded with many other very talented athletes, the boys are already chomping at the bit to get back to it.

Green Hope knew going into the race it would take something extra special to beat the Cardinal Gibbons girls. Green Hope's girls raced very well, but it was not to be on this day as Gibbons won the title 38-70 over Green Hope. The Lady Falcons finished far ahead of the rest of the field for the runner-up trophy. With this finish, the girls team has won three runners-up and six state titles in the last 9 years. Senior Samantha Kolor raced to an All-State finish, as she became the tenth Green Hope girl to earn all-state in the school's history. The Falcons will graduate three seniors, but are excited about what the future holds.

With the state meet completed, here is a recap of the season results:

• Boys Varsity 1st place, Girls Varsity 2nd place at Providence Invitational
• Boys and Girls JV 1st place Providence Invitational
• Girls Varsity 1st place Friday Night Lights
• Boys Varsity 1st place Knights Crossing
• Girls Varsity 2nd place Greensboro Invitational
• Boys Varsity 1st place Pirate Invitational
• Boys and Girls Varsity 1st place NC Runners Elite Invitational
• Boys and Girls JV 1st place NC Runners Elite Invitational
• Boys and Girls Varsity 1st place SWAC Championship
• Boys and Girls JV 1st place SWAC Championship
• Boys and Girls Varsity 1st place Mideast Regional
• Boys and Girls Varsity 2nd place 4A State Championship

Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a successful season. Best of luck to the seniors who will be moving on and to all of those runners returning next year—summer workouts will be here before we know it so be sure to never stop working!