The Davie cross country team returned to Charlotte’s McAlpine Park last Saturday for the Hare and Hounds Invitational. A total of 87 schools from six states registered team scores in two varsity races, while dozens of other schools competed in the open high school and middle school races.

Competing in the Invitational Division, the Davie boys proved to be the class of the field, taking top honors in the team competition while also grabbing the top two individual spots.

The War Eagle boys were first among 58 schools with a team score of 155 points. Grimsley followed with 187 to edge Cuthbertson (189). In the girls competition, Nation Ford of South Carolina defeated Cuthbertson and Grimsley, while Davie finished 34th out of 49 full teams.

Thomas Essic ran away from the field as his time of 16:01 was good for his second individual win in three races this season. As the race winner, Essic was awarded the coveted “Hare” trophy.

Teammate Ethan Lakey (16:21) was given the “Hound” award as he led the chase pack across the finish line in second place. Brayden Kistner ran 17:45 for 44th place, while sophomore Jacob Steelman turned in a huge 30-second PR to take 49th in 17:48. Logan Zuleger rounded out the Davie scoring with his 69th place showing in 18:15. Jackson Sulecki placed 92nd in 18:34, while Tyler Hill was 137th in 19:02.

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In a field of 349 finishers, the Lady War Eagles were led by the 19th place showing of junior Lexi Marion. Marion dipped under the 21-minute mark for the first time as she crossed the line in a new personal record time of 20:59. Freshman Rachel Starkey was the next Davie finisher in 171st place (24:28). She was followed by Kinsley Shinsky in 261st (27:01), Isabella Schilling in 273rd (27:02) and Clara Phelps in 274th  (27:02).

In the open race, Chris Devicente was Davie’s top finisher as his time of 18:57 was good for 24th place in a field of 618 finishers. The Davie boys finished 13th out of 55 schools. Ty Greene had a big PR of 19:57 as he broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time and crossed the line in 65th place. Freshman Avery Van Lente turned in his second consecutive PR as he finished in 147th (21:07).  He was followed by Tyler Deaver, who ran a personal best time of 21:25 to finish 167th. Teammate Patrick Brady was 173rd with  a time of 21:27. Ronan Dailey crossed the line in 25:06 while Liam Smith finished in 27:49. Both Dailey and Smith established new personal best marks.

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In the girls open race, Cheyenne Waller led the War Eagle effort with a time of 29:48. She was followed by a season’s best effort from Abby Lane (32:21), Maggie Smith (34:42), Alexa Villa (35:15) and Hayden Smith (36:02).

“It was an interesting day, to say the least,” said coach Rob Raisbeck. “In any race, especially one this big, it helps to have low sticks. Scoring three points after two runners was pretty impressive. Still, I really don’t think we ran that well. I was initially shocked that we won the meet. Thomas and Ethan gave us what was expected but they weren’t pushed. Jacob had the breakthrough we have been expecting, so that was exciting. Beyond that it was kind of a pedestrian effort. Some of our younger guys did run well. Ty Greene had a great race and Avery continues to improve.     

“For the girls, we were really happy for Lexi. She has wanted to break 21 minutes and she finally got there. She also was recognized on the awards platform for a top 21 individual finish.

“Going forward, we still have to get better. There are 29 schools in the Midwest Region and we project six to advance to states. Right now we are the seventh-best team. We  are capable of breaking through, so we will have to wait and see how badly this team wants it.”

Davie’s next meet will be the Great American Cross Country Festival at Cary’s Wake Med soccer park on Oct. 5.

“That will be a very competitive meet that we have not run before,” he said. “There will be some really good teams there from the Northeast and down to Florida. I expect around 12 states will be represented. That will be our last race before conference. I think our kids are excited about the opportunities ahead.”