Varsity Cross Country |
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November 30, 2011
Reilly Competes in Footlocker South Regionals
On Saturday, Pisgah senior Sam Reilly competed in the South Regional Footlocker Cross Country Championships in Charlotte. Reilly finished 113th out of 243 runners, with a time of 16:15 - a new personal record for high school competition. He finished 19th out of the 37 runners from Georgia.
States competing included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Team Georgia finished fourth, with Virginia winning the event.
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November 23, 2011
Reilly Gets Invite to South Regional Cross Country Championships
Pisgah senior cross country runner Sam Reilly will participate in the South Regional Footlocker Cross Country Championships this Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reilly is one of 15 runners who will run as members of Team Georgia at the event. He is one of two runners from Class A, with the other 13 runners coming from AAA, AAAA and AAAAA schools.
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November 9, 2011
Reilly Ends Stellar Career with Strong Performance
Already the most decorated distance runner in school history, Sam Reilly finished his prep cross country career with his best performance, finishing third overall at Saturday’s GHSA Class A meet in Carrollton. The senior set a new personal record time of 16:22, which was one of 27 National Elite performances (Reilly was 21st) from all classifications on the day.
“Sam ran a well-executed race on Saturday. We had been waiting for this type of performance from him – we knew he had it in him - and he did it at just the right time,” said head cross country coach Susan Reilly.
The Milton native earned All-State status, finishing behind nationally ranked 800 meter runner Cameron Thornton from Whitefield Academy and First Presbyterian Day’s veteran Gray Lindley.
“I was really excited about my finish,” said Reilly. “For the last half of the season I had been cramping for the last mile. Plus I was making things more difficult on myself by making it such a tactical race instead of going out and just running. My strategy was to go out with the leaders and hold on for dear life."
Reilly holds school records in the 5K, 3200 meters, 1600 meters, 800 meters and as a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. He was also one of ten finalists in the state for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award, which is a program that honors top High School scholars, athletes and citizens.
“For me the final race, especially with the disappointment of the second half of the season, was awesome. It’s a great motivator for winter training and track season,” Reilly said.
In addition to Reilly the entire Patriots team put forth strong performances to place Pisgah seventh – the best finish ever at the state meet.
"Our guys ran a great race at the State Meet. We finished in front of several teams that had been ranked ahead of us all season, and missed a 6th place finish by only 1 point. It takes a long time to build a program, and this year was the first time in our 8 year history that we’ve had a core group of guys who had been committed to distance running for the past 2 to 4 years, rather than joining the team to stay in shape for another sport. That has made a big difference in our success,” said coach Reilly. “This is a turning point for the boys cross country team. Our seniors will graduate, but we have an experienced group of underclassmen with talented leadership and ability to keep the success going.”
The team totaled 233 points, one point behind Darlington (232 points) and eleven points behind Athens Christian (222 points). There were 36 teams and 238 runners competing in the race.
In addition to Reilly, scoring for Pisgah were Shane Sullivan (32nd place; 17:42), Grant Hicks (45th; 18:15), Chris Spriggs (72nd; 18:51) and Bo Stuart (90th place; 19:14).
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October 28, 2011
Pisgah Boys Place Third in Region Meet
Competing in the toughest Region in Class A, the Mount Pisgah Christian School cross country teams had their work cut out for them to finish in the top four and qualify for the state meet. The boys put together a strong team performance to finish third overall in the Region 5A meet, beating out Providence, Pace and Holy Innocents.
“The boys team turned in the performance of the season. It was a true team effort with incredible contributions from all top seven runners,” said head coach Susan Reilly. “The course was slow, but the boys’ placement couldn’t have been more perfect. There is a saying in cross country that you are only as good as your fifth runner, and Bo Stuart did more than was expected of him, finishing in front of the number five runners for Providence, Holy Innocents’ and Pace, pushing their scores up and keeping us in position for a state berth.”
Sam Reilly (16:49) led the way finishing second overall behind Wesleyan’s Bradley Gossett. Rounding out the top five were Shane Sullivan (15th place, 17:53), Grant Hicks (21st place, 18:33), Chris Spriggs (29th place, 19:02) and Bo Stuart (35th place, 19:23).
Wesleyan won the event with Galloway finishing second.
The Pisgah girl’s finished seventh out of 11 teams. The top seven teams in the Region had been ranked in the top ten at some point this season. Katie Strawinski finished ninth overall with a time of 21:35 to lead the Lady Patriots.
Freshmen Mattie Millikan (21st place, 22:25) and Alex Brady (47th place, 25:55) both set personal records. Alexa Hudgins (37th place, 23:56), Katherine Wilkison (41st place, 24:12) and Marie Keeter (52nd place, 27:16) were the other scorers for Pisgah
The girls’ team is made up of 2 freshmen, 3 sophomores and 2 juniors and should be a force to reckon with in 2012.
The boys’ team will compete in the GHSA Class A State Championship meet in Carrollton on Saturday, November 5, at 10:00 a.m.
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September 28, 2011
Cross Country Squads Earn Top Ten Rankings
The Mount Pisgah Christian School boy’s and girl’s cross country teams earned top ten rankings in the latest Cross Country Coaches Association polls. The girls are ranked No. 9, while the boys are ranked No. 10.
“Both our boys and girls teams have been more committed than ever this season, and their successes to date proves that hard work in this sport really does pay off,” said head coach Susan Reilly. “Our goal right now is to continue to improve, stay healthy, and be prepared to run our very best at the region championship meet in October.”
The bad news for the Patriots is that reaching the state meet as a team will be challenging as four other region opponents are also ranked in the top ten in both polls. On the boy’s side Wesleyan (No. 1), Galloway (No. 2), Providence (No. 5) and Pace (No. 7) are also ranked. Girl’s teams found in the poll include Providence (No. 2), Wesleyan (No. 5), Galloway (No. 7) and Pace (No. 8).
“Our athletes have shown a lot of grit so far, and part of that is due to being in such a strong running region. Competition has made us better, and we are extremely proud of all of our athletes,” Reilly said.
Last time out for the Patriots at the Warpath Invitational in Canton, Sam Reilly set a new school record with a time of 16:26. He placed 12th out of 215 runners and his time sub 16:30 time qualified him nationally for 2nd Team Elite status.
The boys’ team finished 21st out of 31 teams and the girl’s finished 24th out of 29 teams. Katie Strawinski led the girls with a time of 20:45, good for 53rd out of 202 runners.
The average times of the top seven finishers at the event were the lowest in the seven year history of the program. The boy’s averaged 18:08 and the girl’s 22:58.
This season 15 Patriot runners have set personal records.
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October 29, 2010
Reilly and Strawinski Qualify for State Meet
With their individual performances at the Region 5A meet on Thursday, Sam Reilly and Katie Strawinski both qualified for the Class A cross country meet next weekend in Carrollton. Reilly finished second overall with a time of 16:52 and Strawinski finished fourth overall with a time of 21:14. The top six individuals qualify for the state meet regardless of where their team finishes.
Reilly led most of the race, but was overtaken in the last 200 meters by Galloway’s Jake Grant. Reilly finished three seconds behind Grant, but well ahead of the third and fourth place finishers.
Strawinski settled into fourth place from the beginning of the race according to head coach Susan Reilly. She held onto her spot despite a late charge from Holy Innocents senior Christine Georgakakos.
Both the boy’s and girl’s teams finished in seventh place in a very talented Region. Coach Reilly did note that freshman Katherine Wilkinson had a very strong performance with a personal best time of 24:36. This was one minute and 45 second improvement for Wilkinson over her time on the same Wesleyan course just 12 days earlier.
The state meet will take place on Saturday, November 6 on the course at Carrollton High School. Sam Reilly and the boy’s will run at 8:30 a.m., followed by Strawinksi and the girl’s at 9 a.m.
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Coach Profiles
Head Coach: Susan Reilly
SReilly@mountpisgahschool.org
770-596-1953
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