The men’s and women’s cross-country teams brought their seasons to an end on November 4, with the men’s team placing tenth in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) State Championship in Kernersville and one women’s team runner qualifying individually.
The men’s team started their season on September 8, competing in the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival in Kernersville, placing 11th overall. The team’s fastest runner was Declan Harden, placing 51st with a time of 16:48.50. Senior Jack Berreth was the Tigers’ second fastest runner, crossing the line with a time of 17:05.40, despite losing a shoe in the first mile.
“The beginning of the race felt like a blur of dust and adrenaline,” Berreth said. “I was caught in a massive pileup of hundreds of runners and remember looking down to see that my shoe had fallen off. I tried to look back and find it, but it was lost under the mass of the pack behind me. At that point, I had no choice but to give it my all for the team and finish.”
The men’s team later won the DC-VI conference on October 18, with five Chapel Hill runners —seniors Harden, Berreth, Simon Vizithum, Dylan Whitmire and sophomore Jackson Ruff—earning all-conference recognition by placing in the top 12. They ran times of 15:49.80, 16:21.20, 16:32.30, 16:40.70, and 16:44.90, respectively.
“I’m very proud of our accomplishments at the conference this season,” Harden said. “We saw nearly all varsity runners achieve personal records, and this ranked us as first place going into the regional competition.”
Vizithum called the win at the conference “the most notable event of the season” and commended his teammates for their performances.
“In general, our team peaked later in the season than we have in the past,” Vizithum said. “[That] set us up for running our best times during the most important races of the season.”
The women’s team placed third in the DC-VI conference, though junior Chloe Solum placed second overall with a time of 19:23.50, qualifying her for the state meet. Junior Kate Hinson-Hume, freshman Ichiho Hige, senior Ginny Watts and freshman Vivian Atkins placed 10th, 13th, 14th and 15th, with times of 20:41.50, 21:05.20, 21:13.90 and 21:18.40, respectively.
Many of the women’s team’s runners achieved personal records at the conference meet.
“The conference was one of the most significant events of the season,” Solum said. “Everyone really surpassed expectations!”
The men’s Tigers went on to win the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional Championship on October 28, improving from a second-place finish last season. Harden earned all-regional recognition, placing sixth with a time of 16:06.64.
The women’s team placed sixth out of 19th teams, but Hinson-Hume is confident that the team will advance next year.
“Everyone on our team showed great improvement in both times and strategy,” Hinson-Hume said. “The amount of hard work and effort that everyone put in throughout the season was clear, and it brought us just one place away from qualifying.”
The men’s team, as well as Solum, competed in the NCHSAA 4A State Championship on November 4, with the men’s team placing 10th out of 21 teams in total. The highest placements from the men’s Tigers were Harden, placing 41st, Berreth, placing 55th, and Vizithum, placing 66th, with times of 16:39.19, 16:50.52, and 17:00.41, respectively.
Solum crossed the line at the state meet in 65th placewith a time of 19:56.23.
This season also marked a change in coaching following Joan Nesbit Mabe’s retirement at the end of last season. George Nicholas and Ryan Watts, the new head coaches, have been praised by runners from both teams alike.
“Coach Ryan and George are the best,” Solum said. “I know we all feel super motivated and supported by them. Personally, George has been a huge factor of my success, and I’m super happy to have him as our coach.”
Hinson-Hume shared this sentiment, stating that the new coaches “have contributed to a more positive environment on the team and more athlete-led training.”
Overall, both teams are confident that next season will bring new records and higher placements.
“This year’s new runners have taken [transitional challenges] in stride,” Berreth said. “Getting to see their day to day improvement has been really impressive, and it makes me confident that the future of our team is in really good hands!”
