Published: 11:03 AM, Thu Oct 22, 2009
Jack Britt's McKee completes turnaround
By Paul Shugar
Staff writer
HOPE MILLS - A year ago, Jack Britt cross country coach Mike Lawrence didn't let Danielle McKee run in the regional meet.
The slowest varsity runner with 5,000-meter times around 22 minutes, McKee accepted her coach's decision. But she didn't like it.
The snub provided the motivation to the senior's individual victory at the Mid-South Conference championships Wednesday at South View. Terry Sanford senior Cory Catlett was going for her fourth straight individual championship, but it was McKee pulling away in the final miles to win in a personal-best 19:01.35.
"My plan was just to stay with her and try to get a (personal record)," McKee said. "I didn't expect to win."
Catlett and her fellow Bulldogs still got to celebrate their fourth straight team title. Only 40 seconds separated their top five runners, and the tight pack provided a score of 23 points.
The next closes team, Jack Britt, was 19 points behind. Artrailia Lesane (third), Abigail Ancherico (fifth), Katlyn Adkins (sixth) and Karen Leonard (seventh) rounded out Terry Sanford's scorers.
The finish was exactly what coach Doug Foster wanted from the girls heading into the Oct. 31 regional on this very same course.
"That 40-second split, I believe we can do better than that at regionals," Foster said.
SV boys hold off JB
Like Catlett, South View's Kenny Hinman had to settle for second place individually and a team championship on the boys side.
Hinman and Terry Sanford's Chase Christianson took off together for the first mile. The Bulldogs runner heard Hinman breathing hard after the fast start and took a chance by making an early move.
The gutsy decision got him about 50 meters ahead, and Hinman never really cut back into the gap. Christianson, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury a few weeks ago, was able to stride to his victory in a personal-best 15:40.01.
"After he beat me last week, I wanted to make a statement," Christianson said. "I wanted to win this really bad."
Strong pack running helped the Tigers take their 12th straight team title and stave off a spirited effort from Jack Britt. The Buccaneers were ahead with three runners across, but South View's next two lifted it to the win with 32 points. Britt finished with 44.
Tommy Baldridge (eighth), A.J. James (10th) and Jose Panduro (11th) ended up securing those key points. Tigers coach Jesse Autry was happy considering his team put in some hard workouts to prepare for regionals.
"Jack Britt is a much-improved team," Autry said. "But we had a hard practice Monday, and that probably hurt us as well."
Staff writer Paul Shugar can be reached at shugarp@fayobserver.com or 486-3513.