Notes -- Donuts, Chargers, Turkey Trot, Foot Locker

• Donut Run?
• Three runners competed in the Chargers Post-Season Tune-Up in Charlotte Saturday.  It was a 3200m race on a track, so not XC.  Madison finished 8th in a very competitive field, with 11:32.  Dustin Hickernell was 3rd in the Boys Open, with 10:36 PR, and Drew was just behind him for 4th and a PR, with 10:37.
• The Turkey Trot Thursday morning at the Greenway.  5K starts at 9am.
• The Foot Locker meet is next Saturday at McAlpine Park.  NCRunners coverage.  Watauga will have about a dozen runners there.
• Oklahoma State and Oregon won the NCAA D1 Cross Country championships.  One WHS grad's team finished 5th.
• NC PrepTrack survives, but with new web address.

Banquet tonight

The banquet is tonight.  Open at 5:00pm.  Food at 6:00pm.  Alliance Bible Fellowship on the 105 Bypass.
For more details check your e-mail or links in Monday post below.  It looks like things are going smoothly and there will be plenty of food (and events), but especially see Margie Mansure and Susan Anderson about gifts for coaches.
Thanks Dana and the rest of the team. 

Seniors

Let's take another look at the seniors who finished their high school cross country careers last weekend:
Madison Harman
Doria Kosmala
Josh Anderson
Bryan Brackney
Peter Vandenberg
Carson Nguyen

Notes -- Banquet Tuesday evening!

• The Cross Country Banquet is this Tuesday, November 13.
• NC Runners has their pesky rankings again.  This time, for runners returning next year, Watauga is 15th in the Girls 4A and 16th in Boys 4A.  (Access only to top 10s.)
• The college championships are coming up next weekend.

Expectations. A good season anyway.

It seemed that Watauga would get an individual 4A Championship this year and that it would make a serious run at a Boys team championship.  The team worked hard and had a good season, but it's hard to meet those expectations, especially with key injuries.

Brightest spots Saturday:
Michael Holland 37th 16:29.  That's a PR.  A great sophomore season.
Doria Kosmala 27th  18:56.  Also a PR.  A strong finish to her season.
Matt Osborne also PRed at 17:08.

Season-long excellence among runners: Josh Anderson, Bryan Brackney, Madison Harman, Kathleen Mansure, and others.  Four years of Darby and Peter.

It was fun to watch.  Now, the pressure's off, and it's time just to run for fun again for a while.  And if some freshman is heard talking about a state championship, who knows?  It could happen.

Cross Country banquet next week

Next Tuesday November 13!  (By the way, there's no school on Monday.)

Banquet planning.

Banquet sign up and foods.

Boys 11th, Josh 22nd, Madison 23rd, Doria 27th

Watauga finished 11th in the Boys team standings.  Boys results.  Girls results.

Here's NCPrepTrack's summary of the 4A results:
"--- 4-A: ---
Green Hope girls win 4th straight title. Providence 2nd.
Megan Sullivan (Broughton) 17:48.03. Pegah Kamrani (ECH) 2nd, 17:51.21.
Broughton dominates boys 41-111 over Cary 2nd.
Bakri Abushouk (Cary) 15:13.57. Dalton Nickel 15:31.92."

GoBlueRidge --
"22. Josh Anderson 16:15.09
37. Michael Holland, 16:29.07
73. Bryan Brackney, 16:52.53
93. Matt Osborne, 17:08.18
106. Drew Boyette, 17:26.16
109. Peter Vandenburg, 17:32.14
111. Carson Nguyen, 17:35.90"
and
"23. Madison Harman, 18:45.76
27. Doria Kosmala, 18:56.72"

NCRunners has complete results, photos, and video. Josh. 

N&O has photos and an article:
This photo of Abushouk , #56, leaving the pack is striking -- "opponents, in the rear view during a dominating wire-to-wire win."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/03/2460079/green-hopes-girls-broughtons-boys.html#storylink=cpy

From before the race:
GoBlueRidge
Watauga Democrat
Winston-Salem Journal on Darby's injury

State Championship, Foot Locker

The State Championship is Saturday in Kernersville.  The Boys run at 10:30 and the Girls at 11:30am.  It should be cool and dry.

Coach Mac needs to know by this Friday who would like to run at Foot Locker on Saturday, November 24.  This involves an overnight stay.  This is a big meet with teams and runners from all over the South (from Virginia to Kentucky to Texas to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).  Anyone can run.  There is no minimum qualifying time.  There will also be an Open Race for anyone 18 and up and a Masters Race for anyone 40 and up.  Foot Locker meet page.  NC Runners meet page.

Banquet November 13. 

Reviewing Regional -- the good and bad

Let's hope that Darby is running again soon.  But the day was far from a total disappointment. 

Actually, the Boys had a good day without everyone being at full speed.  Josh had a strong 3rd place and PR.  Matt and Carson PRed, while Michael equaled his PR.  Drew was just a few seconds off his best time.  Peter and Bryan cruised, and the team qualified.

An hour later, Doria ran an amazing 18:59 PR.  Lynde and Riley PRed.  Madison had a season best time.  For 2 miles, the Girls team was on track to qualify in a close contest, and Myers Park would be going home.  But we did not quite own the Championship, and Brooke Gordon and Myers Park were ready and deserve what they won.  Doria and Madison will represent the Watauga girls next Saturday.

GoBlueRidge -- "Middlebrook Suffers Leg Injury at Regionals": "was forced to drop out of the race after she paced the field through the first two miles of the race. The end result, T.C. Roberson senior Brooke Gordon won the individual title."  "Josh Anderson paced the Pioneers by finishing third in 15:50. Michael Holland was 13th in 16:43. Peter Vandenburg, an all-state runner last season (he finished eighth at the state meet) who has been battling a foot injury since last spring, was 20th (16:59); Brian Brackney was 21st (17:00)."
Charlotte Observer  -- "Providence Dominates 4A West Cross Country Regionals":  "both Panthers teams put it all together Saturday, taking three of the four championships at the NCHSAA 4A West Regional."

Read more here: http://obsprepspot.blogspot.com/2012/10/providence-dominates-4a-west-cross.html#storylink=cpy

NC Runners' photos:
Josh in the lead group with Maxey and Sheehan, Peter leading an early chase group, Josh gets 3rd, Michael fights for 13th, Matt and Drew, Carson finishing. (Brackney never in focus.)
Darby near the start,  Darby in the lead, Doria having a good day, Madison, Celia, Doria finishes, Madison,  Lynde, Riley and Kathleen.
Brooke Gordon's turn.

2 More Seniors

2 more seniors who have run their last Watauga Cross Country races (except possibly, post-post-season races):

Riley Dobbins  14 XC races in 2 years
Darby Middlebrook  Probably 40 XC races (and the 10 fastest Watauga 5K XC times)

Darby hurt, Boys qualify, Girls do not, Madison and Doria qualify

Boys -- Maxey (Providence) wins, in about 15:42, ahead of Sheehan (Lake Norman).  Providence wins easily.  Watauga gets 3rd and qualifies.

Girls -- Darby may be injured, and the team did not qualify.  But Madison and Doria did qualify as individual runners.  Brooke Gordon (TC Roberson) wins with 18:09, but Providence wins team championships.

Feed from NC Runners here.  Meet page.

Boys Results : Josh 15:50, just barely behind  the 2 leaders (15:43 and 15:44).  Michael 13th 16:43.  Peter and Bryan together 20th and 21st, 16:59 and 17:00.  Matt and Drew 30th and 31st, 17:14 and 17:15.  Carson not far behind, 38th, 17:23.
Girls Results :  Good for Doria!  She and Madison were 12th and 13th, 18:59 and 19:05.  Lynde 24th, 19:50.  Celia 36th, 20:37.  Riley and Kathleen 39th and 40th, 20:47 and 20:48.  Darby did not finish.
Team Scores :
Boys

3. Watauga 87 (3 13 20 21 30 31 38) 

behind Providence 55 and TC Roberson 74.

Girls

6. Watauga 124 (12 13 24 36 39 40) 

Myers Parks gets the 4th place spot.

Results starting at 10:46am or so

First results will probably be here, if anyone is reporting.  Boys 10:30, Girls 11:30.  Meet page for full results in the afternoon.

NC Runners' 4A preview:
Girls --

• "a "murderer's row" of teams to have to beat for a spot in the state meet."
• "Darby Middlebrook (Watauga) and Brooke Gordon (TC Roberson) . . . Sydney Foreman (Ardrey Kell)"  
• "If you see Mary Prouty and Sonia Payerpaj in the chase pack, that could mean Myers Park is on track to upset of one of the top 4 teams."

Boys -- 

• "If everything is going to come together for Watauga in this postseason, it has to start Saturday."    
• "Josh Anderson (Watauga) will either have to make the leap to stay with them (Maxey and Sheehan), or find himself in open territory between the leaders and the first true pack."  
• "You can judge Watauga's fortunes by the location of Peter Vandenberg; if his recovery from nagging injuries earlier in the season leads him anywhere close to the 16-minute mark, the Pioneers will be hard to beat in this race." 

Back home to McAlpine

Go Watauga!  It's the big one!  A lot of good teams trying to qualify for the State Championships.

GoBlueRidge -- "WHS XC at Regionals Saturday" :  Back to our "home away from home, McAlpine Park in Charlotte, for the Class 4A Western Regional Saturday."

Peter finished 2nd last year with 15:50, behind only the eventual state champion, Mark Blackmon.  This year Peter may not be at full speed (the NC Runners interview curse?), although his teammates will be.  Josh finished 5th with 16:00.  The Watauga Boys were 3rd, not far behind TC Roberson and Ardrey Kell.  From last years' post: "Anderson, Brackney, Pitts, Hickernell, and Seagle all PRed, while the Vandenbergs just missed."

Darby is running to win her 3rd West Regional Championship in a row.  She won last year with a time of 17:35.  Madison was 6th, in 18:46.  Both PRed on a slightly muddy course.  Hannah Barbour was 8th.  The Girls team finished 2nd, behind only Ardrey Kell.  From Honea last year: "temporary possession of the RAT."

A few photos from 2010 Regional:  Peter.  Josh.  Darby and Brooke.  Darby.  Madison.

NC Runners should be previewing 4A Regionals any minute now (2:30pm).

In the West, the weather will be fine.  And if it deteriorates early, advantage Watauga.  Weather Service.  Weather Channel.

Seniors

Let's take a moment to look at Seniors who are not running this weekend in the Regional.  Thanks for all the hard work!

Juliana Bond -- has run 26 XC races over 4 years!!
Emily Cheshire -- 9 races
Kaitlyn Herman -- 20 races
Lauren Lehr -- 23 races
Ann Littlejohn -- 20 races
Jordan Stokes -- 23 races

Noah Allain -- 23 XC races in 4 years
Cam Greene --  25 races
Ryan Hellenbrand --14 races
Dustin Hinkernell -- 20 races
Luke Johnson -- 24 races
Dylan Lewis -- 29 races!!  plus he might run Foot Locker again
Adam Patton -- 16 races
Avery Pitts -- 20 races
Justin Reagan -- 25 races
Graham Sloboda -- 11 races
Sam Weeks -- 5 races
Caleb Wysor -- 9 races
Nick Younger -- 21 races

(Some of these Seniors will run for Watauga in Track through the Winter and Spring, but this site will wrap up in November, until summer.)  Watauga team page.  

and thanks also to all who helped with the Valle Fair sales.

Another run on Saturday -- Parent to Parent 5K and 10K

Coach Mac passed this along, though he'll probably be at McAlpine Park.
The team has been invited to participate in the Parent to Parent Family Support Network 5K and 10K runs at the Greenway this Saturday, October 27.  "This is a charity race that benefits families in the High Country who have children with special needs. You can find out more at  www.parent2parent.appstate.edu." 

$30 for the 10k and the $20 for the 5k.  $5 more on Saturday, but for a good cause.   
The 10 K starts at 8:30am and the 5K starts at 9:00am.  This was not what the team was invited for, but there's also a 1 mile fun run/roll at 9:30am.
Here's a registration page. 
Hand-drawn map of the 10K.

Good luck to all runners, at the Greenway and at the Regional.

Saturday Regional Championship

• The races are at 10:30am and 11:30am on Saturday. 10:30am for boys and 11:30am for girls.  Awards at 12noon.  NCHSAA schedules (from NC PrepTrack).
• NC Runners has rankings, but don't bother.  The races are coming up in a few days.  Same course, same conditions, same time of year.  No guessing.
• We know McAlpine well.  Here's the video run-through of the Beeson course for the state meet.
• Get some rest.

One race down. 2 more to go.

• Coach Honea on the Conference Champions, and Watauga's 15 All Conference selections.
• Except for about 14 to 20 runners, the season ended Thursday.  Keep running.
• The Regional meet is Saturday, October 27, at McAlpine Park.
• 4A West competition: I-MECK, Southwestern (also mentioned at bottom here), MAC, Mega7 (Thanks NC Prep Track)

Conference Champions!

Watauga did win in Lenoir:  Boys results.  Girls results.  Congratulations!  Darby first and Josh 2nd.  Watauga girls won 10 of the top 17 and had 31 competitors.  Boys won 12 of the top 22 and had 34 runners.

GoBlueRidge -- "Pioneers Sweep NW3A/4A Championships" (Thanks, NC PrepTrack)

From another Conference meet: "“It was a good time for us to come together. Right now, we’re just trying to be there for each other and make sure we do the right things in training. But even then, everyone is entitled to a good day or a bad day and you never know what’s going to happen.”

One more practice this afternoon for all runners.

Valle Country Fair -- still chance to work or bring tables or a few other things.

Northwestern Championship, practice Thursday?, rankings and the future

• 32 degrees on the Greenway this morning.  Black dog cooling his belly in the frost.
• Northwestern 3A/4A Championships this afternoon in Lenoir.
• All boys run at 4:30 and all girls at 5:15pm.
• Directions to Lenoir Soccer Complex  (Map):  From Boone, take Highway 321 through Blowing Rock to Lenoir. Take a left at Nuway Circle (stoplight before Bo's), go about 0.5 miles and turn right onto Zack Forks Road, which will take you to the soccer complex (on your right) and the start and finish of the race.
• Don't expect the team home early.
• A reliable source tells me that there is a mandatory practice Thursday for all runners.
• NC Runners has their all class and 4A rankings up and Watauga does well.  The rankings are based on best times for the year, and Watauga has just run on some fast courses.  6 of the top 10 4A Girls teams are in the West, so the West Regional should be fun.
• Runners should be thinking about running in the Foot Locker races in Charlotte November 24.
• Cross Country banquet November 13.  Lots of opportunities and needs.

Volunteer for Valle Country Fair this Saturday

Volunteer for the Valle Country Fair in Valle Crucis this Saturday, October 20. 
"Valle Country Fair has been a successful fundraiser for Watauga Cross Country. Coach Mac roasts hot dogs and the team sells drinks, dogs & chips. Volunteers are needed to bring items to the school on or before Friday the 19th and work at the Fair Saturday October 20th."

Conference Championship Wednesday UPDATE

The Northwestern 3A/4A  Conference Championship meet is coming up Wednesday in Lenoir.  There will be only two races, Boys 4:30pm and Girls 5:15pm..  Only the 5 fastest times count (except the 6th and 7th fastest can block other teams' top 5 scores), but everyone runs together.  The top 3 teams qualify for the West Regional on October 27.  (Last year, all 7 teams qualified for either the 4A or 3A West Regional, so maybe it's more complicated than that, but low risk, in any case.)

2011 results and 2010 Girls and Boys results.  Lots of Watauga near the top.  Coach Mac: "The girls will be looking for their 26th championship in the last 28 years.  The boys will be trying for their 23rd out of 28."

The team will eat together after the meet, before coming home.  

That will be the end of the season for most of us, though we'll be paying attention for the Regional and State meets.  Foot Locker November 24.

United Way splits -- Girls

It was a flat, 3 lap course, without a lot of variation, besides occasional gusts of wind.  A cool day.  So a good chance to look at Coach Honea's splits.  See these graphs. 
Obviously, a lot of runners felt strong for the last km.  Also note the consistency of Jesse and Sidney's first 4 kilometers.
Apologies to all those runners excluded here and also, for the partly arbitrary groupings of runners here.

United Way splits -- Boys

Based on Coach Honea's splits, see these graphs.  Bryan really did finish with a 2:36 for the last kilometer (though it could have been a few or many meters short--who knows?).  Note that the scale is a lot different for boys than girls.  The boys' splits vary much more.  It's also interesting to see several fast runners with 2nd km splits faster than their 1st.
Apologies to all those runners excluded here and also, for the partly arbitrary groupings of runners here. Also, I know little about distance running, so these are not very educated observations.

Video of the state meet course

The State XC Championships will take place at Beeson Park, in Kernersville,  on November 3.  NC Runners has a video run-through.  7 minutes.

Watauga Grade 1 to 8 Cross Country results

GoBlueRidge has results for Watauga Schools Elementary and Middle School Cross Country races -- "County Meet Results".  As often can happen, the distances may be a bit off.

Congratulations to all the runners!

More on United Way,

Coach Honea on United Way meet.  He tries to interpret the Open race's results.

GoBlueRidge -- "Middlebrook, Harman Lead WHS at United Way Invite"

The Conference Championship meet will take place in Lenoir next Wednesday.

Elementary and Middle School races! And ASU meet Friday

It looks like the Middle Schoolers are racing this afternoon at the Greenway. And younger grades too.

On Friday afternoon, starting at 3:30pm, ASU is hosting the Blue Ridge Open.  Watch for a Vandenberg, if he's back to full strength.  There might be a lot of alumni running competitively this weekend, but one was spotted running non-competitively (except maybe against her dad) last weekend.

United Way results -- Lots of PRs

It was great day (and evening) to run.
Boys Championship:  Ben Huffman of Providence Day broke Ryan Hill's course record with a time of 15:11.  Watauga came in 3rd.  Bryan 14th with 16:13 PR, Josh 16:19, Michael 16:30PR, MattO 17:00 PR, Drew 17:01 PR, Luke 18:16.
Girls Championship:  Darby and Madison cruised to 1st and 2nd, and the Girls won their race.  (Kathleen and Lynde would have come in 4th and 5th, with the times they ran in the later race.)  Riley and Celia came in 13th and 15th with PRs, almost breaking 20:00.  Lily PRed by more than a minute and a half.  Shelby and Jordan got PRs also.
Boys Invitational: Carson is back!  He ran a PR17:17 for 4th.  Jacob was not far behind for 10th and his first time under 18:00.  Joe, ZackS, Dylan, ZackC, and Ryan all came in under 18:30.  Watauga was 2nd as a team.
Girls Invitational:  Kathleen and Lynde led the race with 19:37 and 19:39.  The team came in 2nd, as Jesse, Sidney and Carson all beat 22 minutes for the first time.  TaylorM and Brook both beat 23 minutes for their first time.  Watauga was 2nd.
Boys Developmental:  MatthewH, Justin, and CalebZ ran sub-19s, while Devin and Cam just missed 19:00.  The team was 5th.
Girls Developmental: Watauga came in 3rd in this race, led by Rachel.  Rachel, LaurenW, Savanna, Sophia, and Addie beat 24 minutes, while Grace just missed.  Barbara got a PR 25:24.
Mixed Open Race: 

News reports: 
Hickory Daily Record on Huffman -- "“It was just perfect weather and a real fast course. When I turned to come down the stretch people were yelling times at me and at the time it didn’t mean anything until I could see the timer and knew I was so close to a sub-15, I just told myself you’ve gotta go and just took off down the final straightway.”"
"Watauga won the girls’ championship with 59 points, with the Pioneers’ Darby Middlebrook (18:09.66) and Madison Harman (18:33.24) taking the top two spots.
“I was pacing one of my best friends, Madison, so I wasn’t all out racing it but it was fun,” Middlebrook said. “We have a really deep team and have looked good all year.”"
"Wednesday’s meets included 33 schools and more than 1,000 runners."

High School is closed (lack of water). Meet at noon for bus to the meet.

The high school (and Hardin Park School) is closed today, due to the lack of potable water.  The meet will still happen.  Coach Mac says to be at WHS at 12 noon and the bus will leave at 12:30pm.  (And see the schedule of races in post below.)

Only the Town of Boone is affected.  HC Press -- Boil your water, GoBlueRidge -- School closed, Watauga Democrat -- other county schools are not affected and ASU has its own water supply.

If you drank water, you are still not likely to get sick.  Not drinking it straight from the tap is just a reasonable precaution.  It is also probably not necessary to hoard bottled water (although it's a good idea long-term to have a small supply).

United Way Wednesday -- UPDATE 2012 schedule of races

It looks like TC Roberson is coming to the meet Wednesday.  It's on their schedule.  They may be focusing more on their next meet on Saturday however.

Schedule for 2012 United Way meet:

3:00pm     Open Race  All boys and girls together that are not in one of the other races.

3:45pm     Boys Championship Race   (Josh A., Bryan B., Michael H., Drew B., Will V., Matt O., Luke J.)

4:15pm     Girls Championship Race   (Darby M., Madison H., Shelby H., Celia J., Riley D., Jordan S., Lily W.)

4:45pm     Boys Invitational Race        (Zach S., Carson N., Jacob S., Joe W., Zack C. Ryan H., Dylan L.)

5:15pm     Girls Invitational Race         (Kathleen M., Lynde W., Jesse W., Carson M., Sidney W., Brook B., Taylor M.)

5:45pm     Boys Developmental Race  (Devin W., Justin R., Caleb Z., Cam G., Bill B., Zak H., Matthew H.)

6:15pm     Girls Developmental Race   (Rachel F., Sophia P., Savanna R., Addie M., Grace B., Lauren W., Barbara R.)

There are United Way events after the races, including a hot dog supper.  The team should arrive back to the high school at about 9:00pm.

Directions to Southside Park (1775 Southwest Blvd) in Newton:  Take 321 through Hickory to Exit 37 for NC Hwy 10. Go left on Hwy 10 (east).  Turn right onto Southwest Blvd/321 Business. Turn right (south).  Look for Southside Park on right.  Google Map.

Notes -- Wendy's, United Way Wednesday

• Honea has video: "the fifth place finish was the best in a decade. . . exciting sprints from Zach S. and Caleb Z."
• GoBlueRidge -- " Middlebrook, Anderson Pace WHS at Wendy's Invite":  "Luke Johnson turned in an eighth-place finish in the men's Junior/Senior Race (17:41); Zack Styron of the Pioneers finished 24th in the Freshman/Sophomore Race (18:01)."
• Watauga Democrat -- " Middlebrook Takes Second at Wendy's Invitational":  "Kathleen Mansure finished 27th for the Pioneers with a time of 19:25. Lynde Wangler was third for Watauga and 47th overall with a time of 19:57.  Bryan Brackney finished 42nd with a time of 16:42. Michael Holland was 44th with a time of 16:43."
• NC Runners has recap of Saturday's Wendy's races:  "Sydney Foreman and Darby Middlebrook took the early lead from the gun.  By the time they reached the mile mark, they were joined by Laura Miller.  [A]s they approached the 2-mile mark, it was Middlebrook and Miller in the lead.  Miller made a move on the back side of the lake, and she was able to maintain a small lead all the way to the finish, running 17:47. Middlebrook finished in 17:54."  Great photos.
• NC Runners combines all the results from all of Wendy's races.  Darby still comes in 2nd.  Myers Park and AC Reynolds are not too far behind Watauga girls. 
• Jefferson Post -- "ACHS Freshman Wins Half Marathon":  "Ashe County cross country runner Andrew Tedder finished a grueling 13-mile run, and outran every runner on the course."
• We're kind of glad not to see her, but Charlotte's Alana Hadley is the nation's #2 high school runner.  Darby and Sydney Foreman of Ardrey Kell are Honorable Mentions, along with several other NC girls.  Foreman kept up with Darby and Laura Miller for a large part of the race Saturday.
• United Way Invitational Wednesday.  Watauga was distracted by the big Chesterfield race in Virginia last year, but should be at full strength this year.  Asheville School, Providence Day, and Lake Norman will be there.
• Last year, students left WHS at 12:30pm.  The first race was at 3:00 and the last at 6:15pm.
• Directions to Southside Park in Newton:  Take 321 through Hickory until Exit 37 for NC Hwy 10. When you get to end of exit go left (east).  Go until you come to 321 Business (Southwest Blvd). Turn right (south).  Look for Southside Park on right.  Google Map.

Boys 5th and Girls 6th! -- Full results UPDATE

• Honea has Girls splits: "there was a lot to like about the results."  There were lots of PRs despite the heat.  Lynde beat 20 minutes.  The team's 6th place was won without Madison and Jordan.
• Darby's 17:54 was (approximately) the 8th fastest ever on the McAlpine course at this stage of the season.  You have to give a lot of credit to the winner Laura Miller (and anybody that outruns Darby).
• There were lots of PRs for the boys too.  Drew 17:11, Devin 19:52, and ZackS 18:01 all dropped their PRs by more than 40 seconds.
• The Boys' 5th place team finish was up from 11th last year.
• 568 runners in the Freshman/Sophomore Boys race and 481 in the Individual Girls race (though results here are separated into 2 categories).  It was not easy to pass with a steady pace.
• The Charlotte Observer focused on the Girls Open race: "Providence girls win in Open division at Wendy's Invitational."
• Watauga's top 7 will get to race again this year at McAlpine Park in the Regional Championship and (almost?) anyone can run in the big post-season Foot Locker South race November 24th.

Full results

• Boys Invitational:  Team 5th.  Josh 10th 15:54PR.
• Girls Invitational:  Team 6th.  Darby 2nd 17:54, Kathleen 27th 19:25PR.
• Boys Junior/Senior 
• Boys Freshman/Sophomore 
• Girls Junior/Senior 
• Girls Freshman/Sophomore

UPDATE 12:30pm -- First results from McAlpine Park

NC Runners feed:
Darby 2nd, "close behind" behind Laura Miller (17:48) of South Carolina.
The Invitational Boys' winner, Bakri Abushouk of Cary, ran a 15:05.
Invitational Boys: Chapel Hill beats Cary.
Invitational Girls: Carrboro wins big, with TC Roberson and Ardrey Kell 2nd and 3rd..
Non-Watauga races: Providence girls won Open Girls (we'll see them in 2 weeks).  In the Open Boys, a boy from Tennessee in the Open race won in 14:55.

Full results will be posted here, probably not before mid-afternoon.

No SAT results yet either.

More Wendy's preview

NC Runners previews runners and teams to watch.  Lots of Watauga.  (Meet page)

• Of course, they mention the Champ and Josh, but also "watch out for Peter Vandenberg, who has been battling an injury this season."
• Boys -- " If you want a dark-horse candidate, how about Watauga, whose boys have been a little banged up but also working hard; they have the talent to crash the top-5 party here."
• Girls -- " . . . Watauga, . . .  round out the contenders, and any of them could either sneak into the top 3 or finish 9th depending on how they run."  (And on SAT test-taking.)
• It's too bad that Anna McBride and the Providence  girls will be in the Open race instead of the Invitational.  There's still plenty of competition (to understate it).

My alarm's set for 5:00am.

PreConference Meet -- no results, Wendy's information

No results reported so far on the meet in Lenoir Wednesday evening.  Only underclassmen competed and some of them were running at training paces.  The focus is on Wendy's and the races that count soon after.
UPDATE  GoBlueRidge "WHS XC Has 4 Top 10 Runners at Lenoir"  "Zack Cole led the men's team with a fifth-place finish."


Wendy's 

Here's a look at the schools racing in the faster races.  The Watauga Girls will run against West 4A rivals Ardrey Kell, Myers Park, and TC Roberson, plus lots of strong eastern and non-NC schools.  The Providence Girls are not in the Invitational race.  The line-up is the same for the Boys, except Providence boys are in the Invitational.
Last years results:  Girls Invitational, Boys Invitational, Girls Junior/Senior, Boys Junior/Senior, Girls Frosh/Soph, and Boys Frosh/Soph
Map of course.  Here's a video run-through also.

Directions: (GMap)
Coming from the north on I-77...take Brookshire Freeway (I-277) exit east to Independence Blvd. Follow Independence Blvd. east (approx. 6 miles) until Village Lake Drive. Turn right onto Village Lake Drive. Travel on Village Lake Drive for less than a mile until it dead ends into Monroe Road. Turn left onto Monroe Road and McAlpine Creek Park will be less than a mile on your left (just before Railroad overpass).
And this from WendyV (last year): "Usually if you go past the entrance to the park on your left, you will find overflow parking on the left at a shopping center just up the road.  It is much easier to get in and out if you park there.  Most of the time volunteers with vests will tell you where you can park - the businesses that are not open on Saturdays.  After you park, you just follow the others down a bank and go to the right at the bottom.  After you pass the train trestle, you will keep walking and usually see Watauga's tent on the left.  The starting line and finish will be straight ahead."

Wednesday in Lenoir

There's a meet for some Watauga runners in Lenoir Wednesday evening.  All competitors run at 5:00pm.

Freshmen will get experience running the course where the Conference meet takes place in 2 weeks. Maybe a few upperclassmen will run also, if they cannot run at Wendy's.

Directions to Lenoir Soccer Complex  (Map):  From Boone, take Highway 321 through Blowing Rock to Lenoir. Take a left at Nuway Circle (stoplight before Bo's), go about 0.5 miles and turn right onto Zack Forks Road, which will take you to the soccer complex (on your right) and the start and finish of the race.

Wendy's preview and schedule

NC Runners will give Wendy's its full coverage.  Here's their preview.  They've also posted a schedule, and these are the races for Watuaga runners.

Coach Mac says to be on the bus at 5:45am Saturday morning.

10:00 am Women's Invitational Race (top 7)

10:30 am Men's Invitational Race (top 7)

12:00 pm Men's Individual Freshman/Sophomore HS Race

12:30 pm Women's Individual HS Race

1:00 pm Men's Individual Junior/Senior HS Race

Wednesday meet in Lenoir, Wendy's Saturday, and beyond

Wednesday -- Most runners will not be going, but there is a meet in Lenoir Wednesday, the Northwestern 3A/4A PreConference Meet.  Coach Mac says that all participants in that meet will run together at 5:00pm.

Saturday -- Wendy's in Charlotte.  There should be more information on the meet any minute now.  (The first SAT dates of the year are on the same dates as Wendy's and the State Championships.  Juniors had better start planning.  It could happen next year too.)

Wednesday, October 10 -- United Way Invitational, in Newton.  This is a big meet too, with lots of local teams.  It's not Wendy's, but several very good teams and some of the best individual runners in the state showed up last year, along with the NC Runners' coverage.

Saturday, October 13 --  There is a "to be determined" meet on the schedule.  Could happen.

Then on to Conference, Regional, and State.  Most runners are done after the Conference meet October 17.

One more look at the High Country XC Classic

A reminder that the team is scheduled to go out to the Watauga River area to run this afternoon.  They should finish later than usual.

Varsity Boys: Josh, Peter, Michael, and Bryan finished in the top 10.  Michael and Drew had the fastest parents, although Peter's father did not compete.
Varsity Girls: Darby, Kathleen, and Lynde finished in the top 10.  Riley was 11th and Celia (and Shelby and Doria) ran well ahead of Dunwoody's 5th runner to hold the lead in the team scoring.

Yesterday's wins, Monday run, Wendy's UPDATE

Watauga Democrat "Cross Country Teams Sweep": " 'After a while, I’m just going to get soaked. It was pretty fun' "
GoBlueRidge "WHS Sweeps High Country Classic"
Saturday was the last home Cross Country race for seniors.  Darby's won this race 3 times now, with a closer margin over 2 strong Ardrey Kell challengers in 2010.  Peter won it in 2011 and 2009, but is hurting this year (and still running strong races anyway).

Monday practice will be in the western part of the county.  Should be done a little late.

Next Saturday-- Wendy's, at Charlotte's McAlpine Park, is a great place to run your fastest time of the year and to watch a race also.  (Last year the bus left WHS at 5:45am Saturday morning to go to the meet.)

Wondering how cross country meets are scored?  With a few exceptions, a ream's score is the sum of its first 5 finishers' places in the race.  The JV Girls had the lowest score of any team all day, 26 points.  The top 5 finishers came in 1st (Jordan!), 2nd, 4th, 9th, and 10th.  So 1 + 2 + 4 + 9 + 10 = 26.   (Still don't see? See page one here.)  Hint: Lower is better.  15 is really, really good.  In big, competitive races, teams can win with seemingly high scores.  In 1999, the Watauga Boys won the state championship with (about) 81 points.

Results up, Great meet today, Soggy

There were teams from all over.  Watauga won all 4 team competitions and almost got all of the individual races.    Darby, WillV, and Jordan Stokes won.  Lake Norman's  Patrick Sheehan toughed out a win over Josh Anderson and Spring Valley's Connor McCormack in the last race of the day, the Varsity Boys. 

Full results are posted: Middle School, JV Girls, JV Boys, Varsity Girls, and Varsity Boys.

The rain stopped by the start of the early open race and only briefly reappeared to greet the Varsity Girls.

In the Middle School race, Watauga County's Two Rivers School's Grant Pilkington outran Lincoln Charter's Kenny Schild and the Perry and St. Clair boys.  M.L. Sprague was the fastest girl.

JV Girls -- This might be Jordan's first XC win, and Lily got 2nd.  Plus Jesse, Sidney, and Carson finished in the top 10, with SophieS and Brook 11th and 12th.  PRs today: SophieS 24:34, LaurenW 25:42, Hannah 26:55, Sylvia 29:01.
JV Boys -- Will, Luke, Joe, and Zak all finished top 10.  PRs today: Joe 18:49, Zak 18:50, Caleb 20:23, MatthewH 20:26, Bill 20:27.

Rain, maybe more to come, but no flood

It's raining a bit this morning (only 0.25 inches so far), with another band likely in a few hours.  Maybe that will not hit until 12 noon or disappear.

But there should not be a flood, which is especially good, because today's 5K course goes over a flood plain of the New River. Several times a year the bend below the Covered Bridge floods up to a foot or two high.  And the area between the parking lots and the course once had 2 streets of housing and a nursing home.  The houses were moved.  You can still see Anne Marie and Elizabeth Drives on the Google Map (so maybe Google's not that smart).

Also, at the back end of the course, by the river, you can see the remnants of an old dam that provided electricity to Boone during the early 20th Century.  There was a reservoir that covered much of the course. ASU webpage.  And a news article.

And this on the wetland pond near the parking.

A Look at Saturday's open races

In addition to the 4 high school races, there will be 2 open races.  At 9:00am, there will be a race for anyone on the same 5K course that the high schoolers are running.  At 9:40am, there will be a 2 mile race for middle schoolers.  That probably will be about the same course but without the loop on the left bank of the New River.

If they show up, it's likely that David Hegwood (Northwestern?) and Holly Quick (Watauga) will finish 1-2 again, as they did in 2011.  However, Holden Perry and M.L. Sprague (both Tailwinds) finished 3rd and 5th last year and will be contenders to win, if they're allowed to compete.  J. Ingersoll (Tailwinds) is a threat as well.

The Middle School race is harder to predict.  2011 results.  Lincoln Charter will probably bring their athletes again, but many probably will race in the high school races.  Galax appears not to be coming.  Several local favorites have moved up.  The winner will probably be a Perry.

High Country CC Classic -- Preview and Parking

Big meet Saturday in Boone, the High Country CC Classic (Mast Store!).  20 teams are signed up so far, so that means almost everyone in all the races will have a real race the whole way, with competing runners chasing them and competing runners to chase.  And the start will be crowded.

Visiting individual runners:
Watch Patrick Sheehan of Lake Norman.  He finished 15:49 for 10th at Wolfpack and has the 12th best time on NC Runners' mid-season list.  Josh is #17, for now.
Alex Cameron of Dunwoody (Georgia) is the fastest visiting girl scheduled for the meet, based on times so far this season (19:16 this season, 18:30 PR).
I was hoping to see a rematch from the Clash of the Classes of West Wilkes freshman Josh Hall against Joe, but Hall will probably be in the Varsity race for West Wilkes.  There should be lots of fast freshmen.  The Bhalla sisters, who won 2 of the Clash races, will be back.  Kathleen might have a good race with Sophia Bhalla, not far behind the leader and maybe Cameron.

Parking:  Here's a map centered on the Watauga County swim complex.  Parking for the meet is in the gravel lots along Hunting Hills Lane: (1) across from the swimming pool and playground; and (2) past the swimming pool and playground, across from the Armory.  If those fill up, maybe way back by the tennis courts also, but we want to leave room for swimmers, walkers, and baby strollers' cars too.
There could be some parking at the end of Intramural Fields Drive (Dale St. on the Google map), but the gate is often left closed.  The races' start and finish will be near there, on the left side of the covered bridge this time.  The big, fenced parking lot that belongs to Appalachian State University will be full of the college students' cars, due to the football game and all downtown.  (It wouldn't be surprising to see some rugby inside the course Saturday too, but they won't get up early enough to get the best parking.)

Volunteer at Saturday meet. Darby a Milesplit national Honorable Mention.

Volunteer for meet.  About the same opportunities as for Clash of the Classes last month.  Coach Mac is looking for 3 volunteers to help with parking, in addition to the other usual needs.

NCPrepTrack has a few interesting items:

• Darby Middlebrook is an Honorable Mention on Milesplit's 9/24 national list.
• Video of a Cross Country pile-up in Illinois, on a turn not too far from the start.
• This article on choosing a college focuses on runners, but is relevant for any student choosing a college.

Notes -- Next Saturday,

• The meet next Saturday will bring in teams from Georgia, Rock Hill, Apex, and Swain County, in addition to nearby favorites such as West Wilkes, Ashe County, and South Caldwell.  
• The Lake Norman Boys team is ranked #24 in NC Runners' recent all classes rankings.
• Open Race - 9:00.  Middle School Race 9:40.  JV boys - 10:30 am.  Varsity girls - 11:00.  JV girls - 10:00 am.  Varsity boys - 11:30.
• The 5K Open Race is only $5 and the 2 mile Middle School race is free.
• The ASU football game does not start until 3:30pm, but should affect parking even in the morning.

• Volunteer Monday evening.  I think the slots at the bottom are for 6:30-8:30pm, but add a note as you sign up.

NC Runners' mid-season 4A rankings

Just the mid-season rankings, 4A only: Watauga #4 and #7.  They're based on this year's best times, so advantage if you've run at McAlpine this year.

Notes -- Volunteers, Dylan!, alumni photographers?

• The team still needs volunteers for the soccer game Monday.  
• Also, thanks to Denise Foutz (and anyone else) for being ready to take some post-meet food to the Caldwell meet that was cancelled last week.  This is not an easy problem, trying to feed starving teenagers on the road.
• Shout out also to senior Dylan Lewis for running in the Monday race in Ashe with all the underclassmen.  It was muddy, not a PR-day, and he'd run the big race on Saturday.  It must have been good for the other runners.  For one example, although Joe could not catch him, Joe got a PR.
• Top NC 4A teams in local meet Wednesday at WakeMed course: Girls -- Green Hope beats Broughton.  Boys -- Broughton beats Green Hope.
• Know any recent grads who would like to take photos and report for NC Runners?  Maybe at High Country Classic or Wendy's?
• Don't forget about the open races at the September 29 High Country Classic.  Start training today!  "No frills $5 open race for anyone" (even parents) and  a free middle school/kids race.

Partial Ashe results -- Vandenberg wins UPDATE WHS results

Will won on a muddy course Monday, followed by Dylan and Joe, despite having taken a wrong turn on the course.  It sounds like it was a good time.

Goblueridge.net : "Vandenberg Leads WHS at Ashe County Meet:
"Will Vandenberg won his first race of the season."  Will 18:55, Dylan 19:03, Joe 19:10, and Ashe's Jonathan Nichols 19:13.
"Ashe County dominated women's race by posting a perfect score with 15 points. Mac Church paced the field by winning the race in 22:18."  Sophie came in 6th with 24:49, to lead the Watauga girls.  Addie, Grace, Lauren W, and Savanna rounded out the top 10.

UPDATE: Coach Honea posted times for the Watauga runners.  There are quite a few PRs.

Volunteer -- Pioneer Club tonight, and more

We still need a second representative for Cross Country to go to the Pioneer Club meeting tonight (Monday) from 7:00-7:45pm.  Thanks, Wendi and Bryce.  It should be a happy meeting.

There are even more opportunities in soccer concessions next Monday, 9/24.

On Thursday and Friday, September 27-28, Watauga High School will be closed for students for teacher workdays.  There will be a home meet at the Greenway the next day, Saturday, September 29.

Monday Meet at Ashe

The runners who did not race Saturday, and maybe a few who did, will be racing against Ashe County HS Monday.  They're expected to run all together in one race, boys and girls, and to arrive home fairly early.

Ashe's Glenn Bailey, 8th at state 2A last November, appears to have graduated, while the Rees-Jones brothers have moved away.  Look for a win by Will Vandenberg.

Where is the actual course? Probably at the high school.
Ashe County High School is just off US Highway 221.  Map. 35 minutes.

* Take Hwy. 421 South to Deep Gap.

* Turn left on Hwy 221 toward Jefferson.

* School is on right, directly off of Hwy 221.
Additional hint: It's at the foot of Mt. Jefferson, not far past the left turn to West Jefferson.

Review of Saturday's races

Coach Honea:  Girls comments and splits.  Boys with video.
"The girls were a close third overall, beating TC Roberson after finishing behind them three weeks ago."
"Boys were a surprising fifth, one point out of fourth.  This was in the middle of a hard month, and without any one having a particularly great race."  But lots and lots of big PRs.

The girls are not looking like NC's 16th best team, instead much better.   And the boys have gotten points from runners who have stepped up, especially Drew Boyette and Michael Holland.

NC Runners recap includes a good photo of Darby and Brooke Gordon.

Watauga Democrat -- "Middlebrook Leads WHS at Adidas Challenge"

Results coming in UPDATES -- 3rd and 5th!

 Boys Championship:   Surprise in the Boys also.  Cary's Abushouk came in 2nd, behind Cary Academy's Godwin (both 15:13!)  Watauga team 6th, led by Josh Anderson (14th, under 16:00 at 15:59!), Peter Vandenberg (16:35), Michael Holland (16:46, gotta be a PR), and Bryan Brackney (16:47).  Full results are gone, but will be back.  1:35pm
Full results available again-- Now Watauga is in 5th place.  Full results at NC Runners.
In case they disappear again -- Drew (17:28), MattO (17:34), Carson (17:36), Luke (17:58), Dylan (18:17).

Girls Championship:  Watauga Girls won 3rd place in the Championship race!  Good showing!  Darby comes in 2nd in a strong field, with an 18:02 (her best recorded September time ever).  Madison Harman 16th with 19:07.  Kathleen Mansure 19:45.  More Girls Championship results.
Eliza Dekker (17:44) of Durham Academy was the winner for the 2nd year in a row.  As NC Runners feed says, "big win" to beat Darby.  Also ahead of many girls from Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and NC.
Today Watauga finished ahead of TC Roberson, which got 4th. They beat us in Hendersonville.  But we'll see them again several more times this year.

Girls JV:  Watauga 9th.  Led by freshmen Jesse Wangler and Carson Middlebrook, and Sidney Wiswell and Juliana Bond.  Full results.

Boys JV II: Watauga 7th.  Led by Jacob Soulé, Ryan Hellenbrand, Zak Cole, and Zach Styron.  Full results.

Boys JV 2 mile (approx.):  Matthew Hellenbrand (12:38), Caleb Zimmerman, and Caleb Wysor.  Full results.

Girls JV 2 mile (approx.):  Watauga team 3rd.  Kaitlyn Herman (14:21), Taylor McKinney, Grace Bowling, Savanna Randle, Lauren Welsh, Addie McLure, and Maddie Allain.  Full results.

NC Runners meet page and the Adidias XC Challenge page.

One runner, Alana Hadley, in the open/college races last night reported: "Man let me tell u wakemed XC course is harder than u would originally think."

Photos (free for now):  The pillow pets have arrived. Girls JV warming up.  Boys strolling.

Complete results from Wednesday, Adidas preview

NC Runners has full results for the Wednesday meet:  Boys and Girls.  That's a good performance by South Caldwell's top runners: 17:30, 17:59, and 18:06 for Matthewson, Rice, and Craig.

GoBlueRidge -- "Pioneers Dominate Home Meet."  (Noted by NCPrepTrack.)

NC Runners has a preview of the Adidas/Wolfpack meet:
Girls -- "It will be interesting to see where three evenly-matched NC teams fall: Millbrook, Watauga, and young upstart Grimsley have all run well this season, but could have trouble cracking the top 10 against such a strong field."
Boys -- "Once again, the team battle could be very tight, and things likely will decided by the performance of the 3-4-5 runners rather than the top individuals. . . . Definitely do not count out traditional powers Chapel Hill and Watauga."

Wolfpack Adidas XC Challenge

These races Saturday include many of NC Runners' preseason top 15 teams, plus several strong Virginia teams.

Girls: #2 Cardinal Gibbons, #9 TC Roberson, #11 East Chapel Hill, and #15 Charlotte Latin.  Blacksburg was 2011 Virginia 2A champion.  Midlothian won this meet last year and was 3A state champion.  Ocean Lakes finished 3A #2.  Cosby 3A #8.  (Providence Girls are staying home, it looks like.)

Boys:  #5 TC Roberson, #6 Watauga, #7 Providence Day, #8 Cardinal Gibbons, #9 Cary, #10 Providence, and #15 Asheville School.  Blacksburg was 2011 2A champion in Virginia.  Midlothian and Ocean Lakes were 3A #8 and #10.

Directions and map:

Take the Cary 54 Exit (Exit 290) off of I-40.

Take the Cary 54 Exit (Exit 290) off of I-40.

Interstate 40 to Exit 290.  (It's almost right at the exit.)  Turn right (south) onto Highway 54.  Turn left onto Trinity Road.  Right onto Chatham Street.  Left onto Soccer Park Drive.

Take the Cary 54 Exit (Exit 290) off of I-40.

Yesterday and Saturday races UPDATE Monday in Ashe

Coach Honea has Watauga's results from yesterday's races. No official results posted so far.  Watauga wins over South Caldwell and Crossnore Academy.

Watauga Democrat "WHS Cross Country Teams Win Meet."

88 runners!

It was not the best day for a PR, on a hard (and maybe too familiar) course and running tempo.  But Kathleen ran a PR!  More to come.

Many of our athletes will be going to Cary tomorrow for the Saturday morning races.  Meet page.  Directions.

Coach Mac reports that some WHS runners will race at Ashe County HS on Monday, all together at 4:30pm.

Boys at 5:00. Girls at 5:30 this afternoon. UPDATE

There is a meet today.  My best source tells me it will be 5:00pm for Boys and 5:30pm for Girls, starting at about the Covered Bridge.  The course is being set up -- looks like 2 laps around the rugby fields before crossing the river and climbing the hill.  Make sure your runners make the turn back to the jeep trail, right before the 2nd bridge.

South Caldwell H.S. might show up--it's on their schedule. Fred T. Foard H.S. has it on their schedule, but it looks as if they might have done another meet yesterday.  It's not on St. Stephens' schedule at all.

Good luck to everyone who is running their first high school 5K.  You can do it!

Wednesday meet at Greenway

Last year's races started at 5:00 and 5:30pm.  2011 Boys and Girls results.
Lots of runners will be preparing Wednesday for the Saturday meet.

The team still needs another rep to attend next Monday night's Pioneer Club metting.  September 17, 7-7:45pm.

NCPrepTrack is a good way to check on last weekend's cross country meets around the state.

Notes -- Slow week but faster ones coming

• There are still just a few more slots to help with concessions tonight.  Thanks, volunteers!
• The Watauga Home Meet is coming up next Wednesday, September 12.  Many freshmen still have not gotten to run their first 5K race.
• The Adidas/Wolfpack race and overnight trip is coming up September 15.  Coach Honea last night: "If you are on the list to go to Raleigh next weekend, please confirm ASAP.  If you cannot go, there are people who would like the chance."
• In case you're curious, there is a big meet for many NC schools in Wilmington Saturday (including Ardrey Kell and Providence girls).  I'll also be looking at results from Myers Park Invitational (Myers Park, of course, and Providence Boys?)

Looking ahead to Sept. 29 Open 5K for coaches, parents, and others

One of the most disappointing things about yesterday's cancellation was that the coaches and parents race was cancelled.  But keep training.  The September 29 High Country CC Classic (Sponsored by the Mast General Store) includes an "Open Race - 9:00."  Also, "Middle School Race 9:40."

Last year's results.

Cancelled -- Tonight's meet. Practice as usual.

Coach Mac reports that "The Caldwell County Invitational has been canceled for this year.  It will not be made up.  The teams will practice after school today."

Tuesday meet in Lenoir -- Caldwell County Invitational UPDATE

The team competes in the Caldwell County Invitational Tuesday.  The meet has attracted lots of teams the last few years.  Last year's results.

UPDATE :  Last year, Watauga won against 2nd place North Lincoln, which again has strong teams.  It was especially close in the Varsity Boys, 47 to 50.  But it does not look like they're coming this year.  Too bad.


2:50pm bus leaves WHS
4:30pm Coaches & Parents Race -- It might not be too late to get signed up!  Ask Coach Mac.
4:45pm Middle School race

5:00--Boys Varsity Race 5K

5:30--Girls Varsity Race 5K
6:00--Boys Open 5K
6:30--Girls Open 5K
7:00-Awards 
Coach Mac has asked parents for sandwiches for the team after the meet. 
Directions to Lenoir Soccer Complex  (Map):  From Boone, take Highway 321 through Blowing Rock to Lenoir. Take a left at Nuway Circle (stoplight before Bo's), go about 0.5 miles and turn right onto Zack Forks Road, which will take you to the soccer complex (on your right) and the start and finish of the race.

Notes -- Upcoming meets, another H'ville article, Girls 4A West

• Happy Labor Day weekend!  Practice after early release today.
• There might be a Vandenberg running in this evening's ASU Covered Bridge Open meet at the Greenway, at 5pm and 5:45pm.
• Caldwell County Invitational -- Tuesday.  Coach Mac is looking for food supplies for sandwiches to feed the team after the meet.  Also, don't pass up the opportunity to run in the 4:30pm Coaches & Parents Race.  Tell Coach Mac soon that you want to participate.
• Another Hendersonville article in the Watauga Democrat -- "Boys Finish Second At Cross Country Carnival"
• Myers Park last night might not have been showing all their cards.  Their girls won easily anyway.  Preseason #5.
• Coach Mac informs us: "If you want to keep up with the meet on your smartphones you can go to http://live.milesplit.com  within two minutes after the last runner crosses the finish line you can see results."  There is now a link to this under Links, to the right.
• Wear your seatbelt! 

Volunteer September 7

Another chance to work football game concessions, September 7.

NC Runners profiles Watauga's Senior Boys, Darby #10

NC Runners this morning highlights Peter Vandenberg, Josh Anderson, and Bryan Brackney, including 12 minutes of video interview.

Also, these nationwide early season best times include Darby Middlebrook, with the 10th best time so far this year. Her 18:15 at Hendersonville was accomplished on a slow course.

Relay results

There will probably not be any official, complete results, but Coach Honea did post Watauga's.  (Thanks, Coach.)   GoBlueRidge will probably post a story (since they just reported results on WATA radio this morning). 

Each runner, whether part of a relay team or not, ran 2500m.  Coach Honea includes individual times.

Many of Watauga's runners did not make the trip, but the team still had 11 teams of 4 runners each.  South Caldwell won the Boys and Fred T. Foard the Girls.  Among Watauga Boys teams, Caleb Z., Travis, Joe, and Zack S. were fastest at 42:16, and 6th in the meet.  The team of Kaitlyn, Julianna, Sidney, and Brook led Watauga Girls teams with 52:08 and finished 7th in the meet.

Results -- not likely. Comments easier

Results for the relays at Alexander Central?  Maybe.  Probably not..

If you'd like to respond to anything here, it should be easier.  It is no longer necessary to do the word verification when commenting on this site.  Looked impossible to me when I tried it.  I was 0 for 3, maybe 0 for 4.

Wednesday meet at Alexander Central HS

For much of the team, there is a meet in Taylorsville Wednesday the Northwestern 3A/4A Relay.  It will be a relay race, so there will be Watauga teams competing against other Watauga teams, and of course against other conference teams.
(Is there really a meet Wednesday?  Not for Coach Honea.  "Wednesday – short hill repeats.   For most people, we will do loops . . . "  But don't worry.  There really is a meet.)

3:00pm bus leaves WHS
5:00pm meet begins
Supper immediately after meet
8:00-9:00pm bus returns to WHS

Directions to Alexander Central High School (223 School Dr, Taylorsville)   Map
(1) Take 421 east to Wilkesboro.  Go south on Hy. 16 at Exit 286A.  When you get to Taylorsville, Hy. 16 will go left/east, but go straight/south on Liledoun St and then left/west onto School Drive. (1 hour)
(2) Take Hwy 321 south to Lenoir.  Turn left onto Hwy 18.  Turn right onto Hwy 90 to Taylorsville.  Turn left at the first stoplight coming into Taylorsville.  Take a right at the next stoplight.  (1 hour)

Watauga County Schools get out early this Friday, but there will still be XC practice. (And an ASU meet at the Greenway starting at 5:00pm.)

There's another meet coming up next Tuesday, 9/4, in Lenoir.  A home meet September 12, and a BIG meet in Cary/Raleigh September 15.  The team will take only 48 athletes to the 9/15 meet.  It's another overnight trip.