KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Asheville High’s Judah Hall crossed the line first Saturday at the NCHSAA 6A boys cross country state championship, winning the individual title with a time of 15:48.34 on the state course in Kernersville, at the Ivey Redmon complex.
Hall finished about six seconds ahead of runner-up Brooks Roslonski of T.C. Roberson, who was timed in 15:54.40, according to the state association’s official results.
The team race came down to the wire. Asheville put two runners in the top three, with Asa Mehler taking third, and the Cougars traded the lead with Watauga as the scoring developed. When the points were counted, Watauga took the team crown with 77 and Asheville settled for second with 80, a three-point margin. In cross country, a team’s top five finishers are scored, so depth behind the leaders decided it.
Asheville’s scoring pack behind its top two came in 13th and 19th. Watauga answered with runners in eighth and ninth, then 14th and 15th, and its sixth and seventh runners also helped push other teams’ scores up. One Pioneer ran most of the race with a single shoe after losing the other on the course.
It was the Pioneers’ first boys title since 1999 and the fourth in program history, after earlier crowns in 1994, 1995 and 1999. Watauga also swept the meet, as its girls won the 6A girls race with 50 points, ahead of runner-up Mount Tabor at 71.
For Asheville, the runner-up finish still gave the Cougars a podium spot and the state’s top individual runner in the 6A boys field. Mehler also came away with a Farm Bureau Sportsmanship award, shared with a Watauga runner.
The state meet ran over two days, Nov. 6 and 7, with all classifications competing on the Kernersville course.
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