Owen cross country teams punch tickets to state championship
Warhorses take runner up spot in NCHSAA 2A West Regional meet, Warlassies finish fourth
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 30, 2023
Both Owen cross country programs will represent their school in the state championship, following their performances, Oct. 28, in the NCHSAA 2A West Regional meet, hosted by Owen on the campus of Asheville Christian Academy.
The reigning champion Warhorses lifted the 2023 NCHSAA 2A West Region Men’s Cross Country Runner Up trophy, earning a trip Ivey Redmon Complex in Kernersville, Saturday, Nov. 4, while the Warlasies took fourth in a tightly contested race.
The Warhorses were challenged by a Brevard team that placed first, second and third in the regional contest, but a fifth-place performance by junior Harding Kinnaird and season best showings from four of his teammates secured a second-place finish.
Kinnaird completed the 5,000 meter run in 16.57.5, earning a spot on the 2A West Region team. The effort marked a 15.5-second improvement over his first-place showing, Oct. 18, in the Western Highlands Conference Championship.
Senior Leo Parmenter recorded the strongest race of his Owen career, finishing 11th with a time of 17:24.5, while fellow senior Kyle Tilstra followed in 13th with a personal record of 17:38.3. Sophomore Craig Webb (17.50.4) took the 16th slot.
Senior Steve Garcia ran to 24th with a season best of 18:16.7, trailed closely by junior Luke Hall, who completed his run exactly 2 seconds behind his teammate.
“We had some surprises today,” head coach Bob Sadlemire said. “Kyle ran a great race to finish third for us. This is a runner who wasn’t breaking 19 (minutes) when he came to us, and how he’s down in the 17s. He looked really strong today.”
The top five Owen runners finished in the top 20 percent of the field.
“While we didn’t have anyone in the top two or three spots, as a team we functioned very well, because we were clumped close together,” Sadlemire said.
The Warhorses, he added, are gaining strength after battling through injuries this season.
“We’ve lightened up on the practices, and we’re seeing these guys recover,” the coach said. “As a group, they’ve really improved as a group.”
The Warlassies will return to the state championship for the first time since 2019 with a tough performance by sophomore Jordan Robertson, who finished 32nd. Her time of 23:44.8, which came as she contended with a calf injury, gave the Owen women’s team the advantage after a tie with Brevard.
“Normally the top five runners are the scores that count, and your sixth and seventh places finishers are kind of playing defense,” said Warlassies head coach Kate Dost. “However, today was the relatively rare occasion of a tie, our sixth place runner played a huge factor for us.”
Robertson’s performance was her strongest since September, when she posted a personal record of 22:29.1 in the Freedom Invitational, but ultimately lifted her team in the final standings.
“She really toughed it out for us,” Dost said. “I also want to make sure to recognize that our number 7 runner, Ryann Rodriguez, also would have given us that tie-breaker.”
The Warlassies were led by a season best 22:03.5 run from senior Nevaeh Perkins, who finished 17th. Senior Piper Berry claimed the 23rd spot, while fellow senior Peyton Draper took 27th. Freshman Lauren Tressler and senior Elsa Quam finished immediately ahead of Robertson.
“We had that group of runners who came in together, and they ended up pushing us into next week’s meet,” Dost said. “We have a very young team, and a lot of these girls haven’t run before. Our goal since the beginning of the season was to make it to the state championship, so I am super proud of them.”
Photos of the NCHSAA 2A West Regional Cross Country meet can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.