Katie Pou earns third state title; Nation Ford finishes second in cross country meet

It wasn’t her best race, but for the third consecutive year, Nation Ford runner Katie Pou won the 5A state cross-country title and nearly helped carry her team to a state championship.

The Falcons girls’ cross country team finished second in the state with a runner-up finish to JL Mann. JL Mann scored 88 points and the Falcons scored 108 — as Pou won the race in 18:19, and her teammate, Morgan Werner, came in second at 18:33. The Nation Ford boys finished 17th overall with their highest finisher being Connor O’Flynn, who finished 18th in 16:12.

“I feel good,” said Falcons’ head coach Jake Brenner. “We did all we could do. It was a great year.”

The race was held at the Springdale Race Course in Camden. This year’s races were run on the grass track, where horses normally compete in events like the Colonial Cup. The course is rather flat — unlike that of prior courses in Columbia’s Sandhills Research Park, which has a little bit of everything, including hills and wooded areas to run through.

Pou said the change in setting made things harder for her.

“I enjoyed the new course,” she said. “It is a good course for the girls to post some good times. We have a great group of girls this year and have worked super hard this year and throughout the season. We have put in a lot of hard work to get to this point.

“It was a pretty hard race for me mentally and physically. I didn’t come into the race as strong as I had hoped. Coming into the last mile and a half, I wasn’t feeling myself. It was physically and mentally challenging. I am happy I was able to come out here and do well.”

Other notable finishers

In its first-ever state meet, the Catawba Ridge girls’ team finished third overall in the state with 160 points in the 3A race, behind Waccamaw and state champion Seneca.

Mary Drolet was the highest finisher for the team, coming in 14th overall at 20:14. The Catawba Ridge boys finished 13th overall and the team’s highest finisher was sixth overall in Joshua Silverman in 16:35. The Copperheads’ boys team struggled some, as they had their No. 3 runner out with an illness.

“The boys did the best we could missing a runner,” Catawba Ridge head coach David Helms said after the race. “Being where we are at in our first season, we were playing with house money. For us, nine out of our 14 runners, this is their first time at a state meet.”

The Fort Mill boys finished fifth overall. They were led by Dalton Jones, who finished 10th overall in 16:01. The Dorman boys won the 5A state title. The Fort Mill girls finished ninth overall.

“I am beyond proud of what this team accomplished,” said Fort Mill co-head coach Lee Whitaker. “Statistically speaking, they are young and inexperienced, but they fought with a lot of heart for outstanding results. They have a bright future with this program.”

South Pointe finished fifth overall in the 4A girls’ race. The Stallions were led by Madeline Smith, who came in 22nd overall in 19:58.

Mason Thomas, a junior representing Northwestern, finished third in the 5A boys meet in 15:39.

York’s Brannon Burns finished No. 8 in 4A in 15:44.

The Indian Land boys’ finished sixth overall in the 3A race and was led by Ben Elson, who came in 15th overall in 16:53, and the Indian Land girls game in seventh as a team and were led by Mattie-Baile Tripp, who finished 28th in 20:58.

For the meet’s full results, visit the SCHSL website.

Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM

This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 11:48 AM.