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Bulldogs sweep Regional

By By Addison Harvey
The Daily Reflector

Saturday, October 31, 2009

High school cross country teams from five different conferences gathered Saturday morning at H. Boyd Lee Park to compete in the 3-A Eastern Regional race, and Nash Central High School came prepared for victory.

The Bulldogs finished first in the boys’ and girls’ team standings and Nash Central’s William Bass won the boys’ race, posting a time of 16 minutes, 19.87 seconds.

Bass, Tevin Richardson and Jeremy Judd led the regional champions by finishing first, second and sixth, respectively.

Following Nash Central in the boys’ team standings were West Carteret, White Oak and D.H. Conley. All four teams will move on to compete in the state meet next Saturday in Winston- Salem.

“Last year we made it to states, but this year we have had injuries and illnesses,” Conley coach Coleman Bailey said. “Repeating and going back to states and finishing only one point out of third today is an improvement from last year.”

The Vikings were powered by Blake Justice, who led all area runners with a time of 17:43.47 and earned All-Region honors. Mark Poczontek and Chandler Mullis also put up solid efforts for Conley, finishing 11th and 16th, respectively.

“Now that we have another week of practice and rest, I feel like we can run better at states than we ever have before,” Bailey said. “We have some of the stronger teams in the state in this region and that has helped us because we are used to being in tight races.”

Nash Central also dominated the girls’ meet, with three Bulldog runners finishing in the top eight. Wilson Fike’s Beth Hanson took first place in the girls’ meet with a time of 19:43.51.

Though no teams from Pitt County qualified for the girls’ state meet, South Central’s Alexis Jones did reserve her spot in states. Jones finished the race with a time of 21:22.19, good enough for sixth place and All-Region honors.

“Alexis ran really well today,” SC coach Scott Johnson said. “She has been improving all year and we are excited she has qualified for the state meet.”

The Falcons hosted Saturday’s meet. Conley will be the host next year with the event being held on the same course.

“We all came together to put this meet on,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t just South Central. Conley helped out, and the entire community of Winterville helped put this great event on.”

Boys’ team scores (top four)

Nash Central 57, West Carteret 89, White Oak 135, D.H. Conley 136.

Boys’ top three individuals

William Bass NC 16:19.87, Tevin Richardson NC 16:38.88, Brenden Johann WC 16:57.48.

Girls’ team scores (top four)

Nash Central 58, West Carteret 62, White Oak 109, Rocky Mount 109.

Girls’ top three individuals

Beth Hanson Wilson Fike 19:43.51, Caitlin Dorantich WC 19:55.30, Natalie Rich NC 10:15.20.