ROCKINGHAM — The Hamlet Middle School cross country program swept Monday’s conference championship meet at Hinson Lake.
Both the Red Rams and Lady Red Rams won the 2020-21 conference title, making it the second in three years for the girls. It was the boys’ team’s first conference championship in program history.
All four of Richmond County Schools’ middle schools participated in the 2.1 mile race, but Cordova and Ellerbe middle schools didn’t have girls’ teams compete. Because of the pandemic, teams only competed against in-county opponents this year.
The Red Rams coasted to a first-place finish with a final score of 18 points. Jordan Bostick won the individual conference championship, winning the race just ahead of second-place teammate Chamaure Shaw.
Using the top for runners to calculate the final scores, Jason Walker (seventh) and Billy West (eighth) secured the title for Hamlet. Landon Dunn and Elijah Hollingsworth helped offset other runners with their 11th and 12th place finishes.
In the girls’ race, it was Rockingham Middle School’s Presely Dawkins who earned the individual conference championship. Teammate Mariana Mendoza placed second overall, but Hamlet strung together four straight finishers to outpace the Lady Rockets.
Layla Smith, Kyra Gilchrest, Olivia Brown and Alivia Webb finished third through sixth place, respectively, to help the Lady Red Rams collect 18 points, edging the Lady Rockets by one poin
Hamlet head coach Michelle Denson said the program tried to keep everything at practice traditional like it was a normal season. Part of that was runners competing for race spots, keeping times and comparing them and pushing to set new personal records.
She added that it was normally cold and windy at practice, but her runners would push through it and get their mileage in, which paid off in the championship.
“Jordan was our leading runner this year for the boys, and if this was a normal year he would be playing football,” Denson said. “He is a competitor. He wants to win and he has an extra gear when he needs it.
“Each and every runner for Hamlet contributed to our success this season.”
Rebecca Pierce, Rockingham’s head coach, said Dawkins’ individual crown should be the first of many for the Lady Rocket.
“I am unbelievably proud of Presely for winning the individual championship,” Pierce said. “She is such a talented young runner who exudes a true passion for the sport. It was amazing to see that passion shine through and help propel her to a first-place finish.”
Ellerbe’s boys’ team clinched a second-place finish with a tally of 38 points, its best finish in a conference championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
Shawn Smith was the first Wildcat to cross the finish line in fourth place, followed by Sam Thompson (sixth), Jake Richardson (13th) and Brooks Calhoun (15th). Derek Evans held off two Rockingham runners with a 17th place finish.
Caroline DeAguilar (seventh) and Ella Munn (ninth) anchored the Lady Rockets for second place. Hamlet’s Saquanna Bostick and Kelsie Cox ended the race in eighth and 10th place, holding off Rockingham’s Dayana Franco (11th) and Ella Gibson (12th).
“Every meet this season our (girls’) team has finished within a point or two of Hamlet, so going into yesterday’s race we knew it was going to be close,” Pierce said. “Although I wish Rockingham Middle’s girls could have taken home the title, I am still incredibly proud of their performance.
“It was a hard run race by all runners. Congratulations to Coach Denson and her team on the victory.”
Rockingham’s boys’ team tallied a final score of 48 points, putting the Rockets in third place. Jake Veach finished third overall, followed by D.J. Gainey (ninth), Ben Lutz (16th) and Ahron Patterson (17th).
The Cordova boys didn’t have enough runners to qualify, but had two top-10 finishers. Daryan Mendez finished in fifth place and Braxton Martinez took eighth place. Fellow Cavalier Noah Gil earned 13th place.
“Layla has been my leader for the girls this season and has been running for me since sixth grade,” Denson said. “Her consistency through the years has anchored our team’s success. Our motto has always been ‘beat your best,” so we time every single thing we do.
“The championship meet went in our favor, but all the runners from every team deserve praise,” she added. “Cross country is a very positive culture, that’s what I love about it. We all want our teams to come out on top, but we immediately check on the others so we can say good job.”
