Seaforth preceded regionals with a strong performance at the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference championship on Oct. 17.
The Hawks took home gold for both the boys and girls 5K races at the meet hosted by Northwood. It’s the third time both the Seaforth boys and girls teams won a conference title in the last three years.
“No surprises,” Seaforth boys’ head coach Donnell Mitchell said. “They knew conference was going to be a tune up to regionals. We know who we are, they showed who they are.”
Seaforth scored 20 points in the boys race for the win. Northwood’s boys came in second place with 47 points, and Southeast Alamance (75), Jordan-Matthews (110), North Moore (133) and Chatham Central (176) followed in that order.
Seaforth junior and defending 2A state champion Jack Anstrom won the individual competition with a time of 17:23.13. He was named the boys Conference Runner of the Year.
“It shows the work that’s happening,” Anstrom said about the accolade. “Work comes through, and then awards come through after.”
On the girls’ side, Seaforth topped the results with 24 points. Northwood (42), North Moore (101), Jordan-Matthews (107) and Southeast Alamance (108) followed in that order.
Northwood sophomore Sydney Gray won the individual race with a time of 20:41.01. Gray earned girls Conference Runner of the Year honors.
“(The course) felt difficult,” Gray said. “It’s a very hilly course, but I was really lucky that I know this course well. I was able to capitalize on what I knew and it worked out.”
Seaforth sophomore Katherine Leonard came in second for the individual competition and was the first Hawk to cross the finish line with a time of 20:58.33. She exceeded her expectations by nearly keeping up with Gray at the end.
“I told (Leonard) to stay with Julia Hall on the Northwood team,” Seaforth girls head coach Tanelle Smith said. “She surprised me and stayed with their top runner. She’s ran such a strong race today. I’m really proud of her. She should be proud of her accomplishments.”
Smith was named the girls Conference Coach of the Year, and Northwood’s Cameron Isenhour earned the same honors for the boys.
Here are the Chatham County runners who will compete in NCHSAA regionals Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Complex.
1A Mideast Regional
Woods Charter
Boys: Dylan Villanueva, Holton Mody, Ben Valentine, Charlie Murphy, Wyatt Webster, Coen Figge
Girls: Ellie Poitras, Anna Peeler, Sienna Gray, Michaela Valentine, Grace Murphy, Dara Sudhir, Dana Sudhir
Chatham Charter
Boys: Adam Rees, Torris Price, Julian Todero, Andrew Bednar, Eli Coleman, Isaac Hayhurst, Samuel Stanifer
Girls: Samantha Scott, Meredith Reese
2A Mideast Regional
Seaforth
Boys: Jack Anstrom, Will Cuicchi, Henry McFall, London Crowling, Andrew Parker, Thaddeus Hudec, Keni Thompson
Girls: Katherine Leonard, Juana Jimenez, Emily Jump, Claire Morgan, Caidence Bazemore, Sasha Helmer, Natalia Davis
Northwood
Boys: Jordan Wiley, Joe Flynn, Jack Bacheler, Jesse Sikes, Brian Krebs, Easton Evans, Owen Zsuppan
Girls: Sydney Gray, Julia Hall, Jacey Martinez, Marissa Clouse, Andrea Angeles-Morales, Ashley Perry, Rose Costa
Jordan-Matthews
Boys: Christian Garcia Torres, Aiden Hernandez, Aiden Leysath, Will Coykendall, Ayden Terwilliger, Eric Ortiz, Jobanny Benitez
Girls: Nyla Miller, Sophia Korpela, Aridai Ibarra, Sarah Preciado