Trio of Polk County runners earn spot in state championship meet

A trio of Polk County cross country runners qualified for next week’s state 2A championship meet, but both the boys and girls squads just missed earning team berths as well.

The Wolverines boys and girls squads each placed fifth in the 2A West Regional held Saturday at Freedom Park in Morganton. The top four teams qualify for next week’s state 2A championship meet at Beeson Park in Kernersville. Franklin captured the boys regional title while East Lincoln earned the girls crown.

In each race, the top five individuals not on one of the top four teams also earned a berth to the state meet, and three Wolverines did just that. Sophomore Sean Doyle placed sixth in 16:48.62 and senior Jacon Collins placed ninth in 16:52.68 to earn state bids among boys, while freshman India Godlock placed fourth in 20:01.36 to qualify in the girls race. Senior Shea Wheeler narrowly missed a state spot, finishing 20th overall and eighth among non-team qualifiers.

BOYS
Team Results
1. Franklin 60; 2. Lake Norman Charter 68; 3. Shelby 102; 4. Bandys 142; 5. Polk County 149; 6. East Lincoln 159; 7. Smoky Mountain 200; 8. West Lincoln 232; 9. Hendersonville 261; 10. Draughn 296; 11. Owen 314; 12. West Caldwell 380; 13. Madison 397; 14. Mountain Heritage 413; 15. R-S Central 428; 16. Lincolnton 433; 17. East Rutherford 436; 18. Maiden 452; 19. Bunker Hill 457; 20. East Burke 467; 21. Cramer 625

Individual Results
Polk County top five
6. Sean Doyle, 16:48.62; 9. Jacob Collins 16:52.68; 42. Mitchell Brown 18:20.69; 48. Jake Russell 18:31.82; 49. Jacob Wolfe 18:35.77
Others
Eli Hall, 19:03.68; Will Sachse, 20:39.16

GIRLS
Team Results
1. East Lincoln 49; 2. Smoky Mountain 92; 3. Lake Norman Charter 101; 4. Shelby 114; 5. Polk County 159; 6. Brevard 175; 7. Draughn 177; 8. Maiden 196; 9. Owen 216; 10. Franklin 232; 11. Hendersonville 286; 12. R-S Central 288; 13. West Lincoln 301; 14. Bunker Hill 415; 15. Bandys 455

Individual Results
Polk County top five
4. India Godlock, 20:01.36; 20. Shea Wheeler, 21:43.06; 34. Hayley Kropp, 22:39.04; 55. Selena Chavez, 23:54.57; 62. Leigh Deaver, 24:23.39
Others
Britain Hamrick, 24:27.86; Shelby Wells, 25:01.76