By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

CONCORD — South Rowan cross country coach Tyler Downs watched three guys quickly separate themselves from the field that had gathered at Frank Liske Park for Thursday’s South Piedmont Conference Championships.

None of them were his.

Carson’s Jorge Clemente-Garcia and Eric Gillis were flying. So was Robinson’s Chase Tompkins. That trio was gone like the wind, and they weren’t coming back to hang out with the rest of the runners.

Downs didn’t sweat it. The goal from the first day of summer workouts was the team championship. His guys were in the giant pack of runners well back of the leaders. They all had work to do, but Downs was confident they would do it, and South could prevail, with five strong teams dispersing the points.

“I think we’ve got one of the toughest conferences in the midwest or the west,” Downs said. “So many great runners, great coaches and great teams. A key thing was that our guys ran extremely intelligent races. That first mile just killed some guys, you could see it in their faces, but our guys were still strong, were still holding something back. That showed in that second mile — and the third mile.”

Ethan Overby, South’s top runner, proved to be the fastest in the main pack. He ran 17:17 for fourth place.

“That was clutch,” Downs said.

So was South freshman Davis Kemp’s 10th-place finish in 17:45.

The team championship was still very much up in the air until three Raiders rolled in together to complete the scoring for South. Garrison Raper (15th, 18:25), San Noe (16th, 18:36) and Keaton Sloop (17th, 18:38) arrived at the finish line in a decisive group.

“Pack running, we talk about it and practice it every day,” Downs said.

It was tight. South’s 4-10-15-16-17 — 62 edged Robinson’s 2-7-9-18-28 — 64. Tompkins was runner-up, finishing between the two Carson speedsters. The Bulldogs placed three in the top 10.

“It was close enough that we didn’t know that we’d won right away,” Downs said.

Lake Norman Charter was third at 74.

West Rowan was down a key man and finished at 76. Luke Henson (6th, 17:29) led the Falcons. Jonathan Medina (11th, 17:53) and Wayne Hall (14th, 18:25) were in the top 15.

Clemente-Garcia, the Rowan County champ, won another major meet, recording an impressive 15:50 clocking. Gillis, second to Clemente-Garcia in the recent Rowan County Championships, placed third. Carson’s Chance Simmons ran a strong 17:25 for fifth place.

Carson’s other two scorers came in at 24 and 43, so the Cougars tied West for fourth at 76.

All of the top 20 runners came from South, Robinson, Lake Norman Charter, West or Carson.

East Rowan finished sixth at 137, with Northwest Cabarrus (207) and Concord (233) next.

Central Cabarrus could not post a team score.

Downs was honored as SPC Coach of the Year.

“We set goals before the season and two of them were county champions and conference champions,” Downs said. “Now we’re 2-for-2. The next two are the toughest — top four in the region, top 10 in the state. There are about nine teams with a legit chance to be in the top four in the region.”

Next is the 3A Midwest Regional at Salisbury Community Park. A minimum of four teams will advance, with a possibility of five, if 20 or more teams have five runners and can post team scores.

 

South’s Madalynn Gulledge, Hope Julian and Ethan Overby.

 

GIRLS

CONCORD — South Rowan freshman Hope Julian ran 19:30 to win the South Piedmont Conference Cross Country Championships on Thursday, but Lake Norman Charter’s girls dispalyed an overwhelming team.

The Knights placed five in the top 11 runners and posted a 26 score with a 2-3-4-6-11 sheet. Aimery Coffey was runner-up in 19:58, with teammates Emma Nelson and Mary Caroline Williams taking third and fourth.

Rowan County champ Carson led the Rowan squads and beat the Cabarrus squads, but was a distant second to LNC with a 71 score.

Emily Landaverde was ninth in 21:20 to pace the Cougars. Carson’s Kara Crotts, Karis Miller and Julia Burleson finished close together in the 22s for 13th, 14th and 15th. The fifth scorer for the Cougars was Lexlyth Sotelo, who finished just outside the top 20.

East Rowan edged South Rowan for third place by a point. Sadie Featherstone was eighth in 21:15 to lead the Mustangs. Iyanna Lynch Berry was 12th in 21:55, and Morgan Efird was 18th.

South’s Madalynn Gulldege was 10th in 21:20, but she and Julian were the only Raiders in the top 20.

Northwest Cabarrus was fifth at 127, with Robison (132) sixth.

Concord, Central Cabarrus and West Rowan could not post team scores (the minimum is five). Katie Roberts led the Falcons. She was 24th.

Julian was honored as SPC Runner of the Year.