After winning the Central Regional championship for the second consecutive year, the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team finished behind three western North Carolina schools in the 5A State Championships.
Sophomore Ila Diaz, a co-Captain, led the Red Wolves to a fourth place finish at the Ivey Redmond Sport Complex in Kernersville on Saturday. Diaz was the top placer for Cedar Ridge at 17th place, clocking in at 20:13.26.
Cedar Ridge’s Isabella Taylor-Hall, another sophomore, came in 20th at 20:20.77. Taylor-Hall was the top finisher for the Red Wolves at the regional championships, which was also held at the Ivey Redmond Complex on October 25.
Orange sophomore Ava Bishop was the top finisher for the Lady Panthers. Bishop came in 21st at 20:26.70. Orange freshman Amatha Reddy came in 24th at 20:37.31.
Cedar Ridge finished fourth in the team standings with 139 points. North Lincoln captured the state championship with 19 points, finishing with the top three runners. Orange, which won the Big 7 Conference championship, came in fifth in the team standings with 174 points.
North Lincoln senior Olivia Ferraro won the individual state championship with a time of 18:24.75. North Lincoln freshman Bella Jaworsky came in second at 18:32.31.
The Knights had six of the top eight finishers in a dominant performance. It was North Lincoln’s fifth consecutive state championship.
