Hobbton High School hosted the Carolina 1–A Conference Cross Country Tuesday afternoon. Teams from Hobbton, Lakewood, North Duplin, Neuse Charter, Princeton and Spring Creek participated. The Wildcats came away with wins in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
In track, the lowest score wins. Hobbton had 41 points for the men. Rosewood came in second with 64 points.
Individually places 4 in the top ten. In 5th was David Torres with a time of 18:58. Taking 6th was Victor Aguirre with a time of 19:17. Seventh was Sammy Flores with a time of 19:21. Abraheem Alwahishi finished 9th with a time of 19:39.
Lakewood’s L. J. Faircloth took 3rd with a time of 18:38.
On the Women’s side, Hobbton had 36 points. Rosewood took second with 49 points.
Individually, Hobbton only had 1 runner in the top 10, Ashley Hinterleiter with a time of 21:44 to take second behind North Duplin’s Haley Thurston whose time was 21:41.
Rosewood’s men and women took the overall conference championship for the 2015 season. Hobbton came in second in both.
Wildcat coach Jeff Klaves was excited for his program, and said, “What a remarkable, historic day for Hobbton cross country. Three years ago, I had 6 boys on the team, last year we were runner ups and now the team proved to be the best in the conference.
“Today was about the team, and the boys unselfishly put the team needs above all. They are very educated in the sport and take pride in bringing this accolade back to Hobbton. The scary part is, the men have so much more room to grow in this season alone.”
Klaves then went on to praise the girls’ cross country team as well. They also claimed the title on Tuesday.
“The Lady Wildcats ran out of this world today,” exclaimed Klaves. “I am proud of them embracing the moment and pulling away from the other teams on the conference. On paper it was a three team battle coming in and the “guts” they showed was unlike I’ve seen all season. Personal records fell all over the board,” Klaves continued.
“The ladies will enjoy this victory, especially knowing the adversity they’ve battle through. Together, they are strong as a team and have the next woman up mentality. What a story for them. Next, I will look for this team to test themselves at the county championships and against the state at the 1A Mideast regionals on October 31st,” he continued.
Klaves went on to say that the trophies earned were a testament to all of the hard work throughout the year.
