4A Boys- St.Pius Boys Golden Again, Murfee Bleeds Cardinal Red Winning Overall Title
Individual Race
The individual race was one of the best of the day. There was a pack of about 10 guys out in 5:00 through the first mile before Pitman decided he was too crowded and opened up a gap. It looked like he was going to pull away from everybody early, but Murfee and Stephen Martinez hung on just close enough. Murfee was very patient and executed his race plan to perfection, passing Pitman in the final mile and pulling away for the win in 16:20. Pittman and Martinez had a great duel for runner up, with Frank getting the edge in the kick going 16:24 with Martinez 16:26 . The chase pack really strung out after Pittman's move and some guys even fell out of the top ten. Quintin Miles of North Hall was patient and moved up the whole race to take 4th overall in 16:38. Then Tyler Jones, Sean Parker, and Nik Calia dueled it out the entire final mile and it came down to a kick with only 1 second separating all 3 of them as Parker won out in 16:44. 800 meter stud Devin Dixon of Eagle's Landing (both 16:51s) nipped Ryan Kelly at the line and Don Harp from Whitewater (17:00) ran a great race to take the final medal sparking his squad to 5th place as a team.
Team Race
In the highly hyped team race, there wasn't as much drama. North Oconee got a good start fueled by some great recent wins, but the St. Pius X Golden Lions made their move after the mile and took control like usual. Their boys pulled away by the two mile and then held on for the top team average of the day putting 3 in the top 10 and two more in the top 20. Marist ran a very patient race and moved very well the second half to take second as the Titans faded. to 3rd. Woodward ran a good team race to take the final podium spot. Whitewater ran hard placing 5th as a team beating a North Hall squad that faded in late October. Lesson: Never Discount Marist....
Coach McClay:
Successful young coach and former star Dacula runner Coach McClay commented, "I am so proud of these guys. They have done nothing but exceed my expectations of them all year, and today was no different. I was worried coming into this season they just didn't have the experience to have the same sort of success we've enjoyed the past few years. But this team really came together better than any I've ever coached. They worked hard for the past 6 months for their chance to prove themselves, and that's exactly what they did this season. They executed our race plan perfectly today, and really ran as a team. It made me so happy seeing out 3-7 runners together at the mile sticking with the plan. And then to average under 17:00 on this course was awesome! They're such a fun group to be around, but know how to be serious at the right time. When they were running today I couldn't help but notice just how focussed they were on the task at hand, you could see it on their faces as they raced. A coach couldn't ask for a better group of guys! I also want to say congrats to all the 4A coaches in one of the best races of the day, that had to be fun for the fans to watch!
Coach Heintze:
The boys were just as impressive as our girls. Pittman ran a very brave race and earned his second place. Our pack of Knox Pittman and Max Demacedo and then Quinn Burden and jimmy Brewster was very tight and they impressed me much with their last 800 meters in particular. They finally clicked on the day when it mattered most. Just an incredible surprise...
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VIDEO (coming Monday)