Wolverine seniors shine at WNC Cross Country Carnival

Polk County received impressive showings Friday from four senior runners at the annual WNC Cross Country Carnival at Jackson Park.

Wolverine runners Olivia Overholt, Tori Thompson, Braxton Edwards and Mark Teague each finished in the top 20 in the Invitational division of the event, which attracts hundreds of runners from schools in North and South Carolina to kick off the cross country season.

Overholt placed third in the girls race with a time of 21:53.60, finishing behind Asheville School’s Abby Smith (21:03.74) and Stella Stringer (21.27.88). Thompson took 14th with a time of 24:01.76.

Luna Gonzalez was the only other runner for Polk in the girls race and finished 56th with a time of 28;13.99.

Edwards came home seventh in the Invitational boys field with a time of 19:08.06. Asheville’s Seth Caudill won the race in 17:57.32, followed by Enka’s Walker Harmon in 18:00.01.

Teague placed 17th in the field of more than 100 runners with a time of 19:51.01.

Polk County had four other runners in the boys race, with Tristan Devine taking 47th (22:09.08) and Jayltn Thomas in 53rd (22:27.80). Freshman Davis Young rounded out Polk’s scored runners in 87th at 24:59.31 while Ezra Marlow finished in 30:06.00

The Wolverines placed seventh in the 13-team field. Asheville, T.C. Roberson and Dorman took the top three spots.

Dorman’s Dylan Lego won the Championship division with a time of 16:38.39 and the Cavaliers nipped T.C. Roberson to won the boys team title in that top-level competition. Swain freshman Arizona Blankenship finished in 19:40.55 to win the girls Championship race, with Dorman also winning the team title in that competition, placing ahead of Carolina Day School.