By David Rogers. LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Out of 212 middle school aged girls competing in the 2022 Middle School Cross Country Nationals on Nov. 5, at Louisville’s Tom Sawyer State Park, Watauga’s Cali Townsend finished in 10th place and secured All-American honors (top 25 finishers) in the process.
Cheyenne Thomas of the Red Sea Running Club (Tavares, Fla.) won the 4K event, crossing the finish line in 14:11.80. Townsend completed the course just 68 seconds behind in 15:19.20, a remarkable 6:09.2 minutes per mile pace.
Each of the Watauga team members competing at nationals in or near the top half of the field. Maggie Visser finished at No. 53 (16:31.5), Lainey Johnston at No. 69 (16:51.8), Sophia Stull at No. 71 (16:53.6), Lily Kimbrough at No. 94 (17:18.9), Noelle Bollman at No. 99 (17:24.5) and Carrie Bradbury at No. 118 (17:44.7).
Among the numerous middle school teams and running clubs participating, from Florida to Alaska, Watauga’s girls team finished in 5th place. Thomson Training, a professionally-organized running club out of Paris, Kentucky (suburb of Lexington), was the top team in the girls competition, with six athletes finishing in the top 30.
Watauga’s seven athletes were the only North Carolina girls competing at nationals. Ranked by state, the top five U.S. states represented were Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida and Tennessee.
Watauga’s two boys finish in top third of large field
Among the 190 middle school boys entered in the 4k national championship race, Watauga’s Andres Roman rose to the occasion at No. 32 (14:20.80), and Grady Gates at No. 68 (15:06.80). With only two athletes competing in the boys division, Watauga did not figure into the team scoring.
Watauga Noteworthy:
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- Sophia Stull was the fifth overall 6th grader
- Cali Townsend was the third overall 7th grader
- The girls team finished in third place among middle schools, fifth overall (including club teams)
- Andres Roman posted a PR for the 4k
- ALL of the Watauga boys and girls competing finished in the top 55 percent of runners
