CARY, N.C. — Senior Maylyn Wallace was the lone representative for Richmond Senior High School in the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional over the weekend.
Competing in a field of 134 runners from 23 schools, Wallace finished 45th overall in the 3.2-mile race at the WakeMed Soccer Complex.
Her time of 20:57.24 was a new personal record, capping her high school career by taking an impressive 1:10.36 off her previous best time. That mark came in the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship race on Oct. 20.
In last year’s regional, Wallace finished 57th overall, moving up 12 spots this season.
Despite the best effort of her three-year career, Wallace just missed the cut to make it to the 4A state championship race. The runners from the top five teams, along with the next top seven runners not on a qualifying team, made it to states.
“Running in my last regional race was extremely special,” Wallace said. “Over the past 10 months, I have trained hard so I knew I was in shape for the race. The second part of my prep was mental. I knew how I would start the race, run the course and my plan to finish strong.
“The support I had from my family, friends and Coach Teddy (Moseley) was a big help,” she added. “My pastor even called and prayed with me just before the race. I knew I was not only running for me, but to represent Richmond Senior and all of the friends back home that wanted me to do well.”
Of her new personal record, Wallace said each cross country course is different, which makes it difficult to get a true time. She explained that some courses are flatter, others have hills and it’s different running on pavement and grass.
The WakeMed course is where Wallace also ran in the regional race as a junior last January, so having knowledge about the course was helpful.
“The WakeMed course is a challenging course with different terrains and hills,” Wallace said. “The last stretch of the race is about a half a mile of a steady incline. On January 16, I ran a 23:04 in the regional race and I am beyond excited to have shaved 2:07 off my time for the Wake course and 1:10 off of my last PR just a week and half earlier.
“This is a true example of what dedication and hard work brings,” she continued. “During Saturday’s regional race, I knew I would be facing some tough competition. I love running in bigger races and seeing runners that are better than me, it helps me to keep my goals and standards for myself high.”
Chapel Hill High School (72 points), East Chapel Hill High School (76 points), Panther Creek High School (90 points), Riverside High School (142 points) and Apex High School (156 points) qualified for the state championship meet.
Wallace finished 22nd overall out of the runners not on the qualifying teams, missing the cut by 15 spots and a time of 1:07.
Although her time as a Lady Raider cross country runner is now in the books, Wallace has no plans of slowing down and hopes to run at the college level.
“My high school cross country season may be over, but my running career is just taking off,” Wallace said. “I definitely have not hit my running peak and I will continue to increase my weekly mileage and do vigorous workouts in order to be a valued runner in college.
“My next run will be as an individual runner at the Eastbay Cross Country South Regional,” she closed. “I will be competing against runners from 16 states and my plan is to PR in this race again.”
The Eastbay South Regional will be held at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, on Saturday, Nov. 27. It’s a course Wallace is familiar with, having competed in the Hare & Hounds Invitational there earlier this fall.
