County Cross Country Championships Today

The Hoggard cross country teams have continued their Mideastern dominance. The boys’ team has been led by Charles Wofford, pictured, and have yet to finish out of the top spot in any conference meets. Hoggard Head Coach Billy Mason said, “ We’re really pleased, were running faster than we have in ten years as a team.”

Wofford continues to lower his time and finish well ahead of the pack. He ran the 34th fastest time in the state, 16:13:28, during the Jungle Run, a meet attended by 33 schools including most of the who’s who of high school cross country teams.

Wofford then almost set a new PR at the East Carolina Invite on September 27, as he ran a 16:14, which almost puts him in first team elite status. During conference meets, Wofford has cruised to victory; during Hoggard’s meet on 9/24, Wofford won convincingly leading Coach Mason to say of his performance, “The next runner was almost 40 seconds behind him. He was out running by himself.”

As the weather has cooled off, times have dropped for most of the Vikings, but Mason attributes many of the recent personal records to hard work as much as the conditions.

Led by Wofford, Henry Evans, Mason Boyles, Blake Shelton and Brad Johnson, Hoggard enters the month ranked tenth in the state.

The Hoggard girls have been led by a pair of sophomores, Johanna Ferebee and Natalie Lynch who have helped the team finish first in every meet since the end of August when the finished second at the Jungle Run.

New Hanover’s Shelby Howell has posted the fasted time this fall of the local runners on the girls’ side, as she set a PR of 19:44:59 at the Jungle Run. That time is good enough for the 57th fastest in the state this season and has earned her second team elite status... and she is just a freshman!

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT