By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With two of the top three finishers in the Junior Boys division of Watauga-hosted Clash of the Classes cross country festival, Daniel Boone High School (Gray, Tenn.) cemented its place atop the team standings on Aug. 17.
Fisher Battel (10:06.18)of Daniel Boone edged out North Buncombe’s Michael Ferguson (10:07.33) to capture the No. 1 position, then Brock Wilhjelm of Daniel Boone HS overtook a host of runners from other several schools to finish No. 3 (10:55.58).
The Junior Girls race featured six girls in a lead pack for most of the race before Lake Norman’s Kasey Dingman put her proverbial pedal to the medal and sped away to a convincing No. 1 finish, in 12:04.58. Watauga’s Janie Beach-Verhay ran among the leaders for the entire race, finishing No. 6 (13:23.22).
After the race, Beach-Verhay expressed mixed feelings about her performance.
“The time wasn’t what I wanted today but we were dealing with a lot of mud on the course so it wasn’t ideal. That said, I competed well so I am happy with my race. I ran with the top six the entire race, so I held my position. At the very end, I tried to pass a couple of the girls ahead of me but they had a kick, too. I closed the gap, but couldn’t quite get them. Maybe if I had started by kick sooner but, overall, I am pretty happy with where I placed,” said Beach-Verhay.
As a sophomore in 2023, Beach-Verhay was the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference cross country champion, leading a Watauga-dominant performance that saw nine of the top 10 finishers wearing the Pioneer colors.
Watauga’s Calvin Zwetsloot crossed the line in the No. 6 position for the Junior Boys, leading a trio of Pioneers in the top 16 (out of 88 competitors), including classmates Zeke Walker and Elliott Taft.
Top Finishers in the Junior Girls race
1 247 Dingman, Kasey 11 Lake Norman 12:04.58
2 151 Honeycutt, Sadie 11 Daniel Boone High School 12:37.10
3 671 Rice, Amron 11 West Henderson 13:00.40
4 80 Hastings, Meghan 11 Ardrey Kell 13:20.28
5 492 Johnson, Emma 11 University School of John 13:20.57
6 520 Beach-Verhay, Janie 11 Watauga 13:23.22
7 362 Jackson, Chloe 11 North Buncombe 13:51.99
8 690 Bowles, Ryley 11 West Stokes 13:58.71
9 633 Malanowski, Kate 11 West Forsyth 14:04.18
10 381 Barron, Libby 11 Providence Day School 14:15.39
11 8 Homan, Joliene 11 A.C. Reynolds 14:20.84
12 4 Cochrane, Jill 11 A.C. Reynolds 14:22.98
13 559 Walker, Josephine 10 Watauga 14:23.81
14 82 Karadkar, Radnyi 11 Ardrey Kell 14:25.07
15 629 Burgess-Baldi, Dempsey 11 West Forsyth 14:40.00
16 87 Peck, Carson 11 Ardrey Kell 14:47.87
17 252 Mann, Phoebe 11 Lake Norman 15:10.15
18 5 Elliot, Cora 11 A.C. Reynolds 15:14.03
19 9 Lang, Julia 11 A.C. Reynolds 15:14.49
20 77 Campbell, Zephyr 11 Ardrey Kell 15:14.98
21 528 Collins, Bailey 11 Watauga 15:25.51
22 601 Perkins, Addison 11 West Cabarrus 15:34.87
23 201 Kraft, Addison 11 Hough, William A 15:38.03
24 695 McGee, Millie 11 West Stokes 15:41.66
25 546 Norris, Anna 11 Watauga 15:44.29
26 558 Townsend, Sydney 11 Watauga 15:48.72
27 446 Noble, Clara 11 South Caldwell 15:55.84
28 463 Easter, Lindsay 11 Surry Home Educators 16:03.51
29 634 Newsome, Hope 11 West Forsyth 16:11.45
30 494 Mathewes, Ruth 11 University School of John 16:25.59
31 391 Picard, Avery 11 Providence Day School 16:29.11
32 45 Salazar, Jocelyn 11 A.L. Brown 16:32.80
33 10 Long, Kate 11 A.C. Reynolds 16:33.35
34 244 Clark, Bailey 11 Lake Norman 16:42.93
35 83 Khwaja, Yasmeen 11 Ardrey Kell 16:46.84
36 385 Marrino, Erin 11 Providence Day School 16:58.07
37 659 Brown, Sophia 11 West Henderson 16:58.36
38 310 Jones, Alexis 11 McDowell 17:04.13
39 500 Robinson, Kiaya 11 University School of John 17:07.41
40 200 Iswarienko, Tessa 11 Hough, William A 17:24.96
41 541 Mckinney, Julia 11 Watauga 17:41.53
42 502 Tai, Emily 11 University School of John 17:56.31
43 536 Leyendecker, Maja 11 Watauga 17:57.43
44 593 Fennell, Ella 11 West Cabarrus 17:58.74
45 152 Indukuri, Raina 11 Daniel Boone High School 18:08.34
46 530 Freed, Iyla 11 Watauga 18:20.01
47 554 Smith, Cora 11 Watauga 18:21.14
48 441 Childers, Madison 11 South Caldwell 18:24.67
49 542 Moretz, Sydney 11 Watauga 18:27.03
50 133 Holtsclaw, Addison 11 Avery County 18:44.84
51 378 Adams, Claire 11 Providence Day School 18:52.87
52 46 Watson, Keylan 11 A.L. Brown 19:00.44
Top Finishers in the Junior Boys race
1 163 Battel, Fisher 11 Daniel Boone High School 10:06.18
2 369 Ferguson, Michael 11 North Buncombe 10:07.33
3 181 Wilhjelm, Brock 11 Daniel Boone High School 10:55.58
4 490 Wilson, Kaleb 11 Unattached 11:01.80
5 17 Coladonato, Julian 11 A.C. Reynolds 11:06.17
6 589 Zwetsloot, Calvin 11 Watauga 11:06.88
7 506 Harker, Harrison 11 University School of John 11:07.20
8 646 Douglass, Gunnar 11 West Forsyth 11:07.60
9 686 Merrill, Brady 11 West Henderson 11:13.68
10 23 Lawson, Zach 11 A.C. Reynolds 11:18.20
11 162 Ard, Nicholas 11 Daniel Boone High School 11:19.73
12 511 Mussard, Isaac 11 University School of John 11:21.17
13 172 Guinn, Mikah 11 Daniel Boone High School 11:24.03
14 450 Corpening, Bryce 11 South Caldwell 11:25.71
15 585 Walker, Zeke 11 Watauga 11:27.66
16 582 Taft, Elliott 11 Watauga 11:28.96
17 268 Duraipandi, Tarun 11 Lake Norman 11:30.84
18 215 Bennett, Jack 11 Hough, William A 11:31.35
19 372 Marsden, Jonathan 11 North Buncombe 11:39.37
20 412 Moore, Owen 12 Providence Day School 11:43.81
21 114 Morrow, Brayden 11 Ardrey Kell 11:47.36
22 16 Card, Eli 11 A.C. Reynolds 11:50.05
23 342 Allen, Jake 11 Mooresville 11:51.74
24 352 Hensley, Hayden 11 Mooresville 12:03.35
25 26 Rawlings, Alex 11 A.C. Reynolds 12:06.11
26 654 Reutinger, John 11 West Forsyth 12:07.64
27 400 Eustis, Daniel 11 Providence Day School 12:07.99
28 169 Dorsey, Mason 11 Daniel Boone High School 12:11.45
29 480 Mauser, Isaiah 11 Surry Home Educators 12:15.04
30 343 Allmond, Jake 11 Mooresville 12:16.08
31 99 Dreier III, Donald 11 Ardrey Kell 12:24.77
32 563 Anderson, Levi 11 Watauga 12:33.79
33 376 Quade, Jacob 11 North Buncombe 12:35.09
34 710 Nickless, Luke 11 West Stokes 12:37.04
35 619 Seugling, John 11 West Cabarrus 12:37.81
36 226 Montie, Nathan 11 Hough, William A 12:38.71
37 588 Wood, Santino 11 Watauga 12:39.29
38 271 Huntz, Deakin 11 Lake Norman 12:40.03
39 587 Womak, Holden 11 Watauga 12:41.19
40 574 McAulay, AJ 11 Watauga 12:45.30
41 102 Flynn, Brian 11 Ardrey Kell 12:46.91
42 405 Kahn, Cooper 11 Providence Day School 12:52.21
43 228 Patton, Luke 11 Hough, William A 12:52.69
44 703 Hartgrove, Hunter 11 West Stokes 12:53.60
45 656 Way, Matthew 11 West Forsyth 13:02.35
46 771 Webster, Carson 11 North Buncombe 13:02.87
47 456 Doria, Jacob 11 Surry Central 13:09.76
48 48 Beaver, Myles 11 A.L. Brown 13:10.94
49 282 Riggs, Nathan 11 Lake Norman 13:11.56
50 269 Goethals, Reston 11 Lake Norman 13:18.08
51 232 Weekers, Jack 11 Hough, William A 13:20.40
52 458 Hernandez-Mata, Hernan 11 Surry Central 13:27.32
