By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Leading start to finish, Watauga sophomore Will Bradbury crossed the finish line for the Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships a little more than 30 seconds ahead of second place harrier, Collin Anderson, a Pioneer junior. Bradbury’s 17:04 and Anderson’s 17:35 led a cavalcade of Pioneer runners, including four of the top six finishers and five of the top 10, and eight of the top 15.
In the women’s race, Watauga was even more dominant. Gwendolyn Anderson Brianna Anderson and Savannah Duvall finished 1-2-3, but only Freedom’s Katie Deacon separate the top three from Pioneers Virginia St. Clair, Andriana Rink, Rachel Cathey, and Sullivan McAulay in the 5-6-7-8 positions. To put an exclamation point on the Pioneer dominance, Janie Beach-Verhay crossed the finish line in 10th, giving Watauga eight of the top 10 among the 65 runners representing the six NWC teams.
Watauga’s top two finishers, Anderson and Anderson, were the only athletes to finish the 5000m course under 20 minutes, in 19:48 and 19:59, respectively. It was an accomplishment that head coach Randy MacDonough described as impressive given the weather. Temperatures had plunged in the late afternoon from near 40 to a reported wind chill of 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Watauga’s men’s team captured first place team honors with 23 points with its top five scoring runners finishing in the top 10. Alexander Central followed in a distant second place, with 77 points, and South Caldwell was third, with 91. The men’s division had 80 runners among the NWC’s six competing teams.
The Pioneer women’s team finished even closer to a perfect team score, with its top five scoring runners all finishing in the top six. Ashe County scored 65 points to finish second and Freedom was third with 73 points.
“I felt goo the entire race,” said top men’s fiinisher Will Bradbury. “It is really important in these cold conditions to get good and warm just before the race.”
Gwndolyn Anderson rushed “to get some clothes on” in the frigid temperatures before talking with High Country Sports and describing her race.
“The Freedom runner went out hard,” said Anderson. “You might even say she out too hard. She was comfortably ahead as she cam through the first mile, but Brianna and I just worked together to reel her in, managing it by the end of the second mile. I passed her going up the hill.”
Watauga now looks to run in the NCHSAA West 5A Regionals event on Oct. 29, hosted by Providence High School at Charlotte’s McAlpine Park. For those who qualify, the North Carolina state meet is Nov. 5, in Kernersville.
INDIVIDUAL MEN’S TOP FINISHERS
- Will Bradbury, Watauga 17:04
- Collin Anderson, Watauga 17:35
- Rylan Sedlacek, Hibriten 17:40
- Roman Sibaja, Watauga 17:47
- Colby Anderson, Freedom 17:59
- Sam Nixon, Watauga 17:59
- Noah Farmer, Ashe County 18:00
- Thomas Campbell, Alexander Central 18:07
- Parker Bowman, South Caldwell 18:16
- Eilliott Taft, Watauga 18:20
- Jadent Buchholz, Hibriten 18:28
- Zachary Zirkle, Alexander Central 18:28
- Maxwell DePriest, Watauga 18:37
- Jonah Norris, Watauga 18:37
- Sam Rex, Watauga 18:38
- Calvin Zwetsloot, Watauga 18:57
- Alex Gremmell, Watauga 19:17
Other Watauga men’s team runners included Silas Powell, Santino Wood, Miles Page, Davis Crymes, Kade Maiden, Elijah Healy, and Zeke Walker, all finishing in the top 30.
INDIVIDUAL WOMEN’S FINISHERS
- Gwendolyn Anderson, Watauga 19:48
- Brianna Anderson, Watauga 19:59
- Savannah Duvall, Watauga 20:27
- Katie Deacon, Freedom 20:51
- Virginia St. Clair, Watauga 21:03
- Andriana Rink, Watauga 21: 10
- Rachel Cathey, Watauga 21:14
- Sullivan McAulay, Watauga 21:16
- Sherry Billings, Ashe County 21:19
- Janie Beach-Verhay, Watauga 21:31
- Sydney Cate Townsend, Watauga 21:44
- Leah Kirksey, Freedom 21:59
- Sadie Buchanan, Watauga 22:00
- Emily Kania, Freedom 22:01
- Maddie Bollman, Watauga 22:04
- Abilene Dollar, Ashe County 22:25
- Ellary Smith, Watauga 22:30
