Staff Writer
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| The team celebrates their championship |
With an overcast sky, nice breeze in the air, and a course that was flatter than a pancake, the conditions were ideal for a fast race. Apex was led by senior Jordan Kokoska who finished 6th running a time of 16:04. Junior Derek Duin (16:22), sophomore Ben Savino (16:25), and senior Wyatt Miller (16:31) finished eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth respectively. That gave the team four runners in the top fifteen and almost four under 16:30. This was the first 5k of the season for Apex.
Unlike most XC races this race did not have the usual front pack at the top. Senior Ryan Speer from North Raleigh Christian Academy took the early lead while Duin pushed towards the front for the 1st mile. “This was my first championship race and being towards the front really helped motivate me and pushed me throughout the race,” Duin explained. Most of the runners were very spread out throughout the race on the flat course. Kokoska started out conservatively and passed Duin just before the halfway point in the race. Speer, who led for the entire race, collapsed just 50 meters from the finish allowing senior Dean Abushouk to win the race. Speer finished 4th. Miller and Savino were stride for stride most of the race with Savino besting Miller in the final quarter mile. Rounding out the scoring for Apex was junior Lawson Benfield who finished 27th with a time of 17:09.
In years past this race has been held on the UNCW campus, but this year it was moved next to the Wilmington International Airport. When asked about how he liked this new course Duin said, “I really enjoyed this style of course because it was flat and relatively fast.” The new course didn’t faze the Cougars, however, as they are now back-to-back Seahawk Invitational Champions.
Apex’s next big race is this Saturday in Holly Springs for the We’ve Got Class Invitational.
