Green Hope Cross Country

The2^nd big invitational of the year for the Falcons was the FridayNight Lights race on September 7^th in Kernersville.  The race is well-known for being a fun nightrace with lights lining the course for the varsity races.  The first race of the day was the boy andgirls combined developmental race which was supposed to be a 5K, but wasshortened to a 2 mile race due to a lightning delay to start the night.  The Falcons jumped out towards the front nearthe start and the boys 5 runners put themselves in the mix for the teamtitle.  There was no room for error,though, as there were only 5 boys in the race to earn a team score.  The boys team was made up of all 9^thand 10^th graders and they ran tough in hot weather.  The boys finished 2^nd and were ledby freshman Davis Cuffe.  The girlsbattled in the huge race, but team scores were initially difficult to determineas the girls were mixed with the guys. In the end the girls pulled out a convincing team victory as LarissaZhang raced to a 2^nd place finish.       

The2^nd race of the day was the girls JV race.  The girls expected to be in the mix withChapel Hill and Weddington.  The Falconswent out conservatively, but worked up throughout the race.  Rebecca Robinson made a huge move earning a 2^ndplace (21:25) finish and the Falcons pulled out the runner-up trophy.  

TheJV boys followed the girls and knew they would be up against a very strongWeddington program.  While the boys werein the mix early for the team title, they would eventually bring home the 3^rdrunner-up finish of the day for the Falcons. Ben Cale ran a strong 2^nd half of the race to finish with atime of 17:48  This marks the boys 2^ndrunner-up finish in the first two invitationals of the year. 

Thevarsity girls were unsure as to what to expect, but hoped for a top 5finish.  The girls were curious to seehow they would stack up with the teams in our region and conference and theyended up besting all of them.  The teamwould admit, though, that this was not the best race for the Falcons, but onethat will hopefully serve as a stepping stone for later in the year.  Kelsey Vogel once again led the ladies with atime of 19:58 as the girls finished 5^th out of 39 teams.

Thefinal race of the night was the championship boys.  The boys expect to be very good this year,but there is a little bit of an unknown aspect to the team as 6 of the top 7runners graduated.  With one of the topthree runners out with an injury, the Falcons will need to step up and rise tothe challenges in the next month.  Onthis night, Thomas Vo ran a very good early season race finishing in 9^thwith a time of 16:14 and was followed by Reed Blackman (19^th,16:29).  The boys matched the girls andfinished 5^th out of 39 teams. 

Overallit was a very good night for the Falcons as they competed against a huge fieldof teams.  The next big invitational is theWolfpack Invitational on Saturday September 15^th.