MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Pamlico County High School won the Coastal Plains 1A Conference Cross-Country finals for both boys and girls at Lejeune High School aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Oct. 15.
“We had a couple of goals this year, the first was to win the conference championship game, and we did that today,” said Paul Delamar, Pamlico’s Boys Cross-Country Team coach. “We performed well, given that this is a tough course. It’s probably the toughest course in the conference.”
Pamlico’s Boys Cross-Country Team won with the lowest score of 27 points, defeating East Carteret High School by 35 points. East Carteret scored 62 points, Lejeune High School scored 74, Northside High School scored 90 and Bear Grass Charter School scored 96 points.
Pamlico County High School’s Girls Cross-Country Team defeated Lejeune High School by a single point.
The schools tied at 37 points, however, Pamlico’s pusher landed 18th place over Lejeune’s 19th. Northside scored 47 points and Bear Grass scored 110. East Carteret did not have enough players to race for score.
Lejeune’s Sandra Granados, a senior, blazed past the competition and remained minutes ahead of competitors with a first place finish of 21:53 in the girls match, trailed by Pamlico’s Megan Ehmke with a time of 23:41.
“I’m proud of what I did here,” said Granados. “I’m proud of my time. I’m proud of my place, and I’m glad I could do it for Lejeune.”
Granados is Lejeune’s Girl’s Cross-Country team star, a dedicated runner who consistently challenges herself while bringing humor to the team and never slacking off, said Bronwyn Schwend, the Cross-Country head coach at Lejeune High School.
“She is probably one of the hardest working athletes I have seen,” said Schwend.
Northside High School’s Holden Newman, a freshman and third generation runner, won the boy’s race with a time of 19:28, defeating Pamlico’s Justin Spruill by 10 seconds.
“I just ran my race,” said Newman. “If he was going to beat me, he was going to beat me.”
Throughout the course he could hear footsteps nearby, but stayed ahead of his competitors most of the time, and at the end pushed himself even harder to shrink his time as much as possible.
“I picked it up and hoped he wouldn’t catch me,” said Newman.
East Carteret’s John Newton followed Pamlico’s Spruill with a time of 19:46, gaining a 3rd place finish, and beating his personal best.
Newton maintained a steady pace and broke through Pamlico’s runners who secured fourth, fifth and sixth place.
“I’m really glad I held on, I heard footsteps behind me the last few feet,” said Newton. “I just thought this is it. This is the championship. I’m really glad I held on and secured a spot at the podium.”
Many participants, including the entire Lejeune girl’s team, scored well enough to move on to regionals and compete for a shot at the state championships.
Regionals are scheduled for Saturday, and the state championships are scheduled for Nov. 2.
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