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It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Davie cross country team at Saturday’s 4-A state championship meet  in Kernersville. Running on a fast surface in perfect 48-degree weather, senior Emerson Frantz closed out a sensational career with a 31st-place finish. Junior Nate Brooks was not quite as fortunate, however, as a fall in the latter stages of the race prevented him from finishing.

As the starter’s pistol signaled the start of the 4-A girls race, Frantz aggressively charged off the line and settled in just behind the large lead pack. The War Eagle senior cruised through the opening mile in 5:55 and maintained a position around 30th place through two miles. Frantz finished the 5k distance in 19:47 to nail down 31st among 139 finishers. Her time was her fastest ever on the Ivey Redmon Park course.   

According to coach Rob Raisbeck, Frantz executed her pre-race strategy perfectly. “Coach (Jeff) Jones and I told her to get out quick and stay wide through the first 200 meters to stay out of trouble,” Raisbeck said. “We wanted her first mile to be just a little faster than she is used to, and she did everything just the way we drew it up. We could not be more proud of her.”

This was Frantz’s third trip to the state. She finished 47th as a sophomore and 37th as a junior. Before qualifying for the state as a senior, she placed seventh in the conference and sixth in the region.

In the team competition, Hoggard made history by becoming the first school from Wilmington to win the state cross country meet in any classification. Its total of 87 points edged West Forsyth (108). CPC rivals Reagan and Reynolds finished 10th and 16th, respectively. Pinecrest junior Carmen Alder successfully defended her individual title with a winning time of 17:58.

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In the 4-A boys race, Brooks represented the War Eagles but had his day end a half-mile from the finish line as he tripped over a root in the wooded section of the course and banged his knee against a pole, causing his leg the hyperextend.

“Nate is pretty disappointed as you would expect,” said Raisbeck. “He had a good race going through two miles and was going to be really close to his 5k PR. The only good news is that he has another year ahead of him and he can put this race behind him.”

Brooks finished 16th in the conference and 18th in the region to qualify for the state for the first time.

The Broughton boys took home the team trophy with 68 points for a convincing win over runner-up Cardinal Gibbons (99). Ian Harrison of Panther Creek was the individual champion in 15:25. Gibbons’ Carson Williams was three seconds behind in second place.

Although the regular season ended, several members of the Davie team will run in the Nike Southeast Regional Nov. 30 at Cary’s WakeMed Park. The Nike meet is one of several regional qualifiers held throughout the country and will host runners from 11 states.