Rosewood’s Gage Lewis, left, attempts to match North Duplin senior Luis Aviles step for step as they complete the opening loop during the 2024 Carolina 1A Cross Country Championship meet Tuesday afternoon at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Neuse Charter junior Bella Strickland emerged as the Carolina 1A Conference girls’ champion. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s boys captured the 2024 Carolina 1A Conference cross country team crown. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Ten runners, including four from North Duplin, earned all-Carolina 1A Conference honors. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Rosewood’s girls dominated the all-conference list with five top-10 performances in the season-ending Carolina 1A cross country championship meet Tuesday. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Luis Aviles felt worried that a late-season injury could prematurely end his cross country career.
The North Duplin senior kept faith.
He sat out a home meet and rehabbed.
“Honestly, I didn’t even feel like I could come back from that,” Aviles said. “It affected me mentally for a little bit for a couple of weeks. But then that one meet at Lakewood, I gained back my confidence.”
The reward came Tuesday afternoon.
Aviles mastered the challenging 3.12-mile Cliffs of the Neuse State Park course in 19 minutes, 7 seconds and claimed his second consecutive Carolina 1A Conference individual championship.
“Amazing, honestly,” Aviles said of his feat.
His performance inspired his teammates as well.
North Duplin had four runners place among the top 10, which led to a second consecutive team crown. The sophomore trio of Jair Quintana (20:14) and Jerrson Lopez (20:16) crossed the finish line third and fourth, respectively.
Sophomore Lucas Gregory (22:35) took 10th, while senior Sam Carr ended up 15th in 24:37.
Unlike their previous meet, the teams ran the 5k course in reverse. Runners faced inclines mixed in with steep hills. A few holes and different-sized tree roots also factored into strategy on how to attack the trek.
Aviles wasn’t sure about pacing.
“My goal was to at least break 20 [minutes],” he said. “My first mile, oh man, felt really a little too fast. But after that one mile, I felt amazingly. My legs did not feel tired. I was like, you know what, keep that pace.
“Today was a fast race. I left everything I’ve got out here, especially since it’s my last year.”
Rosewood’s Gage Lewis finished 31 seconds behind Aviles.
Two of the league’s top runners all season, Lewis and Aviles were less than a stride apart just as they completed the first loop around the picturesque setting.
One spot caught Lewis.
“That one big hill, it’s really sketchy running because you feel like you’re falling straight down and you’ve got to watch out for the roots on the side,” Lewis said. “Racing against that guy [Aviles] right there … he’s teared my tail up all season. But he’s making me better while he’s at it.
“Making me get second, third, second, third … he’s making me want to get first so bad. That dude right there is amazing.”
Aviles, Quintana, Lopez and Gregory each earned all-conference accolades for their top-10 efforts. Lewis garnered all-conference honors along with teammate Noah Fishman.
Hobbton junior Nate Miller (21:00) recorded his first top-five performance of the season. Lakewood’s tandem of freshman Eli Park (21:53) and senior Jesse Bethea (22:27) also made the all-conference squad.
Girls
Neuse Charter’s Bella Strickland started in shaky fashion.
Once the race started, the junior found herself staring at the backs of three runners – Dylan Jinks and Abigail Rowe from Rosewood and Andrea Sada-Romero from Hobbton.
Strickland found momentum on the hill and eventually claimed her first-ever Carolina 1A crown in 22:46. She wasn’t too pleased with the time, but nothing could erase the wide grin on her face.
“I tried to come out and stay focused because I wanted this for so long,” Strickland said. “This is my favorite course. I love everything with hills, but normally it doesn’t yield the best times. It’s a nice challenge and when you get to the top, you feel really rewarded.”
Jinks and Rowe faded a little bit while Strickland and Sada-Romero found momentum in cool running conditions.
“Because I was exerting so much energy and force running up the hill, I wanted to keep that force and same momentum when I’m going straight,” Strickland said. “There’s a really steep incline, so I was like ‘let’s just take it out.’”
Jinks secured second in 23:50, while Sada-Romero crossed the line one minute later in 24:50. Rowe took fourth in 25:01 — 13 seconds ahead of teammate Hailey McNabb, who earned fifth among the 26 competing girls.
North Duplin freshman Abby Rose seized sixth place in 25:29. She was followed to the line by Hobbton pair of McKayla Harris (25:51), Analiza West (25:56) and two more Rosewood runners — Kaydence Hendrick (26:27) and Morgan Jinks (26:38).
The top-10 placers earned all-conference.
Rosewood successfully defended its team crown.
North Duplin sophomore Gabriella Zamudio ended up 12th in 26:49. Teammate Roselin Orozco wound up 15th in 29:06. Freshman Kaydence Locklear (29:53), junior Jazmine Manzanares (29:59) and sophomore Sasha Arguilo (30:12) helped the Rebels take third in the team standings.
“It’s been a grind with the girls,” ND head coach Kody Kennedy said. “They’ve improved dramatically with their times from the beginning of the season to where they’re at [now]. They’ve been a pleasant surprise with how they’ve developed … gotten more competitive as the season went.
“I’m proud of both teams.”
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
2024 Carolina 1A Conference
Cross Country Championships
(at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park)
Boys
Team scores: North Duplin 26, Rosewood 43, Neuse Charter 51
Carolina 1A All-Conference: Luis Aviles (North Duplin), Gage Lewis (Rosewood), Jair Quintana (ND), Jerrson Lopez (ND), Nate Miller (Hobbton), Noah Fishman (R), Noah Highfil (Neuse Charter), Elijah Park (Lakewood), Jesse Bethea (Lakewood), Lucas Gregory (ND).
Girls
Team scores: Rosewood 30, Hobbton 43, North Duplin 70, Neuse Charter 74
Carolina 1A All-Conference: Bella Strickland (NC), Dylan Jinks (R), Andrea Sada-Romero (Hobbton), Abigail Rose (R), Hailey McNabb (R), Abby Rose (ND), McKayla Harris (H), Analiza West (H), Kaydence Hendrick (R), Morgan Jinks (R).
