Gabriel Schmid’s preparation for the CCC individual conference championship didn’t start with his first victory of the fall cross country season at the Early Bird Challenge in August.
It began long before that.
After Schmid finished 2nd in the 3A State Track and Field Championships in the 3,200 meters in Greensboro last May, he started an intense summer program that included a trip to Brevard’s long-distance running camp, which included many trips across the Piscah Forest across the North Carolina mountains. Schmid also journeyed to West Virginia for a Ragnar race, which gathers half-marathon runners from across the country.
All of that led to Schmid becoming an individual conference cross country champion while also leading the Orange men’s cross country team to its second consecutive league title.
On Wednesday afternoon at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington, Schmid completed the 5,000-meter course in 16:37.42. He finished 47 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Northwood’s Christian Glick, who crossed the finish line at 17:25.14.
Orange junior Alden Cathey came in third at 17:39.66, which propelled the Panthers to the conference championship. Orange finished with 27 points, while Northwood finished second at 38 points. Cedar Ridge, behind senior Roman Morrell, came in third in the team standings at 81 points.
Schmid’s championship was his fourth victory of the season and his sixth top five finish of the season. Last season, Schmid finished third in the conference championship meet. Walter Williams Ryan Montondo captured the CCC crown, while Orange’s Spencer Hampton came in second.
Orange’s men’s conference championship comes after they won the 3A Mideast Regional championship in 2021, its best showing in the event ever.
Orange freshman Lucas Van Mater finished fifth. Sophomore Peter Musser came in seventh, while sophomore Cyrus Neal came in 11th. Myles Hermyn, another Orange freshman, came in 18th.
Cedar Ridge’s Morrell finished in sixth place, while Red Wolves freshman Henry Alexander came in 12th. Freshman Ryan Matthews crossed the finish line 17th, while sophomore Edgar Ibarra was 20th.
It was a day for underclassmen in the CCC Women’s Cross Country Championships. Cedar Ridge sophomore Naomi Dyreng finished in second place at 22:08.39. Only Eastern Alamance sophomore Catherine Parker came in ahead of Dyreng. Parker’s time was 21:15.76 to take the individual title.
Cedar Ridge sophomore Abigail Klaitman finished in third place at 22:39.18.
Even though Orange didn’t have a runner in the top five, the Lady Panthers finished second in the women’s team standings. The Lady Panthers wound up with 63 points. Eastern Alamance took the conference championship with 52 points. Cedar Ridge had 64 points, just one behind Orange.
Orange’s top individual finisher was Grace Pell, a junior who competed in track and field last spring. Pell crossed the finish line at 23:50.16. The Lady Panthers’ Evelyn Gover, a freshman, came in tenth at 23:52.11. The Lady Panthers Sophia Schultz came in 12th at 24:02.25. Orange Junior Kassi Scarantino, who was a member of the Lady Panthers’ women’s soccer team last spring, finished 13th.
Orange and Cedar Ridge will now move on to the 3A Mideast Regional Championships, which will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. That was the exact location of Schmid’s season-opening victory in August, as well as the location of the 2019 Big 8 Conference Cross Country championships. The regionals will be held on October 29. Orange and Cedar Ridge have qualified for regionals after their finishes in the conference championships.
The 3A State Championships will be held at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. Last year, the Orange men’s team finished 3rd in the state, its best-ever showing at the 3A level.