On Saturday, Jan. 23, the Northwood Boys’ Cross Country team and Northwood junior Caroline Murrell competed at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 3A State Competition at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex. Murrell placed tenth individually and the Boys’ team placed eighth overall.
Murrell finished the 5k race with an overall time of 19:09 minutes. She holds the girls’ fastest Northwood freshman time with 19:29:1 and the girls’ fastest Northwood sophomore time and the girls’ overall school record time with 19:01:2, as well as the Northwood girls’ top overall meet time with 19:07 in 2019.
“It’s honestly hard to remember what I thought as I crossed the finish line,” said Murrell. “I remember that right before I crossed I was just thinking about getting to the line as fast as I could. I knew that I was close to placing all-state so my main goal was to keep the girl behind me from catching me and get the fastest time possible. As soon as I left the finish chute my family and teammates greeted me with excitement and they confirmed that I had gotten all-state! It was a super happy and fun moment, and I just thought to myself ‘I can’t believe I actually did it.’”
Murrell has been running for the Northwood team since her freshman year, but she has been running cross country for six years total.
“Cross country and track has been a big part of my life for several years now, and the part that has made it the most enjoyable has been continuously having a great running community and team,” she said. “I’ve been so grateful for the positivity, love, and support I’ve received from my coaches, teammates, friends, and family. I also just really enjoy running–sounds crazy, I know. It’s an acquired taste, but I do find intrinsic value in just going out for a run to relieve stress and feel productive. Of course, the extrinsic motivators like competing and being able to feel pride in the accomplishments are pretty great, too.”
Coach Cameron Isenhour, Head Coach of the Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams at Northwood, is especially proud of Murrell and the girls’ team.
“I am. . . very pleased with the Women’s team who continued to get better throughout the season improving upon last year’s fourth-place finish in [North Carolina High School Athletics Association Big 8 Conference] to third along with just missing States, finishing 4th after a 6th place finish the year before,” he said. “Individually, Caroline Murrell had a stellar season earning All-Conference and All-Region honors along with [Northwood] senior Tessa Yell. Murrell went on to have the race of her life at the NCHSAA 3A State Championships earning All-State Honors. This girls’ team faced a lot of adversity due to student-athletes transferring, not competing and injuries, but continued to maintain a positive attitude and face the challenge at hand.”
Isenhour was also satisfied with the boys’ team’s eighth-place finish.
“I feel extremely proud of the Men’s team as they were back-to-back Big-8 Conference and NCHSAA 3A Mideast Regional Runner-ups along with another Top 10 Finish at the NCHSAA 3A State Meet,” Isenhour said. “This year was highlighted by senior Glenn Porter and sophomore Jackson Adams who stepped up at the 3A State Championships in Kernersville. Rising stars [sophomore] Matthew Sullivan and [junior] Patrick McCaw really improved from last year. The Men will look to compete for a state title in the Fall of 2021 as they are the number one returning team in 3A.”
Senior Malachi Levy, Captain of the Boys’ Cross Country Team, is optimistic about the future of both teams.
“[I] encourage the [boys’] team to do their best and lead whether it be through example, or helping us get through hard workouts. . . We are a really close group, and it’s like having another family. I am super proud of the guys’ team and Caroline for doing so well,” said Levy. “And I know that next year they [the girl’s team] are going to do even better!”
Photo by Hames Kiefer of The Chatham News and Record.
