Hoggard girls repeat as 4A state champs, boys finish as runner-up

Hoggard has done it again.

Thanks to a third-place finish from sophomore Molly Parker, the Vikings girls cross country team captured the NCHSAA 4A state title for the second straight year on Friday afternoon in Kernersville.

Parker won the second heat with a time of 18:49.13, but finished behind Pinecrest sisters Carmen Alder (17:47.30) and Vanessa Alder (18:42.73).

“We knew going in we were the favorites, but we never take any other team for granted and we knew it would be a fight to the finish for sure,” Hoggard coach Rhonda Schilawski said.

Due to COVID-19, the meet was split into two heats and the times were then merged to create the final results and team scores. 

Hoggard finished with 96 points to secure a five-point victory over Panther Creek. Laney finished eighth with 171 points.

“We felt good about everyone’s performance and where they were,” Schilawski said. “We paid attention to the times of the first heat, so the girls knew ahead of time where those top 10 runners fell. It was about racing not only the people in the race, but also the clock.”

Girls cross country now joins girls golf as the only programs in school history to win multiple team state titles. Golf won in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978. The Vikings’ other state titles have come in baseball (1972), boys golf (1993) and football (2007).

Sophomore Shea Hoffacker was Hoggard’s second finisher. Her time of 19:23.79 was good for 12th place. Senior Sloane Hickey-Fleming was 22nd in 19:47.56, freshman Ashlei Summers finished 41st in 20:19.46 and senior Erin Johnston was 46th in 20:23.73. Hoggard’s sixth finisher was senior Paige Phillips, who was 59th with a time of 20:44.74.

The three seniors helped to elevate the program to another level and Schilawski had nothing but positive words to say about each of them.

“I’m so happy for them and they each bring something so valuable to the team,” she said. “Paige was injured last year, so missing out on the state championship experience was tough. She was the one who went to the stage to accept the trophy, so that was cool on so many levels. Erin won the sportsmanship award and Sloane has just been a rock performance wise for the past four years.”

Laney sophomore Olivia Bufalini crossed the finish line in 20:00.39 and earned a 28th-place finish. Also scoring for the Buccaneers were: senior Isabella Bufalini (36th in 20:11.04), junior Amanda Beckman (42nd in 20:19.75), sophomore Isabella Borelli (53rd in 20:31.62) and senior Kirsten Jensen (67th in 21:06.32).

The only other area runner to compete was Ashley senior Paxton Chitty and she finished 15th with a time of 19:38.61. She will continue her running career at East Carolina.

Hoggard’s boys nearly pulled off the sweep, but came up two points shy of Cardinal Gibbons. The Crusaders finished with 103 points and the Vikings were right behind with 105. The second-place finish was the best in school history.

“As grown ups, we can recognize how good of an accomplishment this is, but it’s going to take them a little while to get over it,” Hoggard coach Billy Mason said.

Senior Andrew Thompson was Hoggard’s top finisher, placing 22nd with a time of 16:41.69.

Fellow seniors Brennen Pierce (26th in 16:47.85) and Andrew Whitehead (28th in 16:50.09) also had terrific finishes in their final high school meet. Junior Evan Pena was 35th in 17:00.71 and senior Zachary Knott placed 47th with a time of 17:14.24.

All four seniors will continue to run in college. Thompson is headed to Western Colorado, Pierce will attend Lees-McRae, Whitehead is going to Catawba and Knott will compete for Belmont Abbey.

“They’ve not only been great runners, but they all have great work ethic,” Mason said. “That has been passed down to the younger kids. We have the fastest group of freshmen we’ve ever had and they benefit by seeing what these four guys did and what they went through to get to where they are.”