Kernersville, NC – This past Saturday, the Woods Charter School girl’s varsity team qualified for The NCHSAA Cross Country State Championship which took place in Kernersville, NC. Grace Costa, Ember Penney (senior captain), Ellie Poitras, Chloe Richard, and Maddie Sparrow were the five female runners. These student-athletes were able to qualify for states the week prior, after finishing 2nd place in the region.
Here is a race day recap, best explained by head coach Karen Hawkins.
The girls’ team continued to make history this season by finishing 6th place in the state, which is the highest finish in school history!
Leading the way for the team was Ellie Poitras who finished 4th overall by winning her section in 20:16 with a blistering come-from-behind kick. Ellie’s 4th place finish also earned her all-state honors.
Maddie Sparrow finished 10th in the first section and in the top 25 overall.
Ember Penney and Grace Costa finished with season-best times yet again (and on a course that is generally considered slower than the Wake Med course)! Ember, a senior whose hard work and captain’s leadership we will greatly miss next year, also finished in the top 20 in the first section!
The combined efforts of Ellie, Maddie, Ember, Chloe Richard, and Grace were each indispensable to the historic 6th place team finish. Coming into the state championships, they were ranked 10th overall as a team. They not only moved up four spots but found a way to earn 6th place by running in the “slower” section.
I was proud of each of them before the start of the state meet, but I am even more proud of them for how they gave it their all and finished the race and the season yesterday in the proud and inspiring way in which they did.