The O’Neal Cross Country Teams competed at the Triangle Triad Athletic Conference (Tri-TAC) Conference Championships on Monday at Trinity Academy of Raleigh’s home course. Competing against the best runners from each school in the conference, both O’Neal teams left victorious.
On the girl’s side, O’Neal was crowned conference champions. In addition, sophomore Molly Kuzma took home an individual victory and was named the Conference Runner of the Year. Two of Molly’s teammates, 7th grader Annika Stark and senior Talia Ferrerio, placed 5th and 8th, respectively.
Conference Winners: (L-R) Male Conference Runner of the Year Bryce Samples, Male and Female Coach of the Year Matt McMurray, Female Conference Runner of the Year Molly Kuzma.
Molly, Annika, and Talia have been named to the First Team All-Conference. Coach McMurray was named the Girl’s Conference Coach of the Year. The final team results were:
1. O’Neal (42)
2. Trinity School of Durham (49)
3. Trinity Academy of Raleigh (80)
4. Burlington Christian Academy (106)
5. Carolina Friends (108)
6. American Hebrew Academy (125)
On the boy’s side, O’Neal took home another Tri-TAC Conference title. Bryce Samples won the individual championship and has been named Male Conference Runner of the Year. Also running very well for the boys were senior Stefan Woolley and freshman Isiah Huffman, who finished 7th and 9th, respectively.
Boys XC Team (L-R) Chase Osorio, Stefan Woolley, Davis Lincicome, Matthew Ryals, Isiah Huffman, Daniel Gurevich, Charlie Kuzma, Bryce Samples, Nathan Brianas, Spencer Lincicome, Andrew Phan, Matthew Smithson, Turbo Meng, Jamieson Mansker.
Bryce, Stefan, and Isiah have been named to the First Team All-Conference. Coach McMurray was named the Boy’s Conference Coach of the Year. The final team results were:
1. O’Neal (44)
2. Carolina Friends (67)
3. Trinity School of Durham (68)
4. Trinity Academy of Raleigh (74)
5. American Hebrew Academy (102)
6. Salem Baptist Christian (149)
7. Burlington Christian Academy (177)
As the Falcon squads prepare for the NCISAA 2A State Championships on October 26th, the Boys currently have a season record of 21-2, while the girls stand at 19-4. All season, neither team has lost to a 2A school, with the only losses coming at the hands of 3A and 4A private schools.
Feature photo: Girls XC Team: (L-R) Aubrey McVeigh, Shelby Wray, Ana Huesa, Taylor McKinley, Talia Ferrerio, Morin Samples, Molly Kuzma, Alex Dymond, Julia Filby, Bella Miller, Caroline Acker, Annika Stark, Caelan McHarney, Mary Guo, Kalindi Vaswani, Natalie Williams.
