Spring Creek’s Maria Melchor, left, and Jackie Bravo-Perez complete the first lap during a Neuse Six 2A cross country meet held at the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex in Goldsboro. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Runners from Neuse Six 2A schools compete in a cross country meet at the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s James Cabrera, front, keeps a steady pace ahead of Beddingfield’s Nolan Gamwell on the first lap Wednesday afternoon. Cabrera turned in a first-place time of 16:30 in a Neuse Six 2A cross country meet held at the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
A pack of Spring Creek runners that include Logan Green, Collette Crespo, JP Alexander, Gavin Canale and Bertin Avilez compete during a Neuse Six 2A cross country meet Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek senior Janice Lopez talks with a teammate after she finished among the top 12 in a Neuse Six 2A girls’ cross country race Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
GOLDSBORO — Get ahead and ignore a nagging injury.That mentality paid off for James Cabrera Wednesday afternoon.
The highly-decorated Spring Creek distance runner emerged as the top boys’ finisher during a multi-team Neuse Six 2A cross country meet ran at the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex.
Cabrera posted a season-best time of 16 minutes, 30 seconds on the relatively-flat 3.1-mile (5k) course.
“I was trying to get ahead of the competition as much as possible,” Cabrera said. “I’ve had some recent injuries with my shin near my calve [muscle]. It hurts a bit to start, but after a while it warms up and I don’t really feel it any more. Today, I was able to push through and get a new PR at this place.”
North Johnston’s Devin Phillips emerged as the “rabbit” once the starting gun sounded. He soon faded behind Cabrera and Beddingfield’s Nolan Gamwell, who easily pulled away from the rest of the field.
Cabrera took over on the straightaway near the complex entrance.
He finished the first loop with a comfortable lead over Gamwell.
“The North Johnston kid [Phillips] always pulls ahead at the beginning of the race, starts out strong, but like after a minute or two, we were passing him,” Cabrera said. “Nolan got super close to me in our last race. So at this race, I was trying to perform a more strategical approach, push him toward exhaustion while I was beside him.
“Then I took control.”
Gamwell crossed the finish line nine seconds behind Cabrera.
“I came out here wanting to do my best because Monday we had our Wilson County championship, so I was a little tired to compete at max [level],” said Gamwell, who took third in the meet. “This is course is much flatter than the Gillette [Complex] course we were on [in Wilson], probably one of the flatter courses I’ve seen. My main goal is to just break my school record, so I got even closer than I was.
“I’ll take that.”
Gamwell holds the school record at 16:25.
Phillips ended up third in 19:54, while Spring Creek’s tandem of Axel Maza Morales (20:59) and Edgar Jimenez (22:26) rounded out the top five. Fellow Gator James Pearson claimed sixth in 22:51.
SC’s Gavin Canale logged an eighth-place time of 22:58. Teammates Brian Rodriguez (23:28), John Gonzalez (24:21) and Bertin Avilez (24:33) finished among the top 15 competitors. JP Alexander (16th, 27:01), Antonio Williams (17th, 28:58) and Logan Green (19th, 30:35) also ran in pleasant, breezy conditions.
The Gators won the team portion.
On the girls’ side, Maria Melchor paced Spring Creek with a fifth-place effort of 27:17. Teammate Marjorie Aguila was sixth in 28:14. Jackie Bravo-Perez wound up eighth in 28:41 and senior Janice Lopez took 12th.
“Every single runner has gotten faster with every race this season, and throughout this season our guys team has taken four of the top seven spots [individually] and our girls have taken two of the top seven spots each race as well,” SC head coach Ian Combest said.
“The guys’ team in my first year was ninth in the region out of 10. Last year, we were fifth out of 10. This year we have our sights set on fourth and a state qualification as a team. [It’s] an extraordinarily difficult and far from guaranteed goal to be sure, but that’s our aim.”
Spring Creek plays host to a Neuse Six 2A meet next Wednesday at picturesque Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.
