Orange's Gabriel Schmid repeats as 3A cross country champion; Croatan wins team title
Last year, Gabriel Schmid became the first athlete at Orange to win a boys cross country state title since Bradsher Wilkins in 1998. Now, Schmid has done something Wilkins also did — become a back-to-back champion.
Wilkins won back-to-back 4A titles at McAlpine Park in Charlotte for Orange in 1997 (15:30.3) and 1998 (15:28.7), but he would not have beaten Schmid on Saturday in the 3A race.
Schmid, a senior for the Panthers, crossed the finish line more than 30 seconds ahead of second place on Saturday at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, finishing with a time of 15:14.75..
"I'm just taking it all in. This is my final senior run for this school, so I'm just taking it in because you never really get that chance again," Schmid said after the race.
Only the top five runners finished with sub-16-minute times.
Tyrese Cone, a senior at Croatan, finished second in the race with a time of 15:48.42, followed by South Rowan senior Eli Julian (15:52.49), Union Pines sophomore Corbin Weeks (15:58.01), and Jesse Carson junior Jorge Clemente-Garcia (15:59.31).
Cone's finish helped lead Croatan to the team championship, outpacing Orange who took second with Schmid's first-place finish.
Croatan's Andrew Wahlgren finished sixth with a time of 16:01.55, and Noah Guerrero placed 13th for Croatan, finishing with a time of 16:14.20. Matthew Quispe also finished in the top 20 for Croatan, placing 18th with a time of 16:24.09.
After Schmid, Orange's top finisher was Lucas Van Mater. The sophomore finished 16th with a time of 16:17.86.
2023 NCHSAA 3A Boys Cross Country Individual Results
1. Gabriel Schmid (Orange) - 15:14.75
2. Tyrese Cone (Croatan) - 15:48.42
3. Eli Julian (South Rowan) - 15:52.49
4. Corbin Weeks (Union Pines) - 15:58.01
5. Jorge Clemente-Garcia (Jesse Carson) - 15:59.31
6. Andrew Wahlgren (Croatan) - 16:01.55
7. Ethan Rich (Western Harnett) - 16:05.66
8. Hudson Rice (West Henderson) - 16:07.20
9. Eli Clonch (West Henderson) - 16:07.73
10. Will Downs (Atkins) - 16:08.55
11. Gavin Jansen (Central Academy) - 16:11.57
12. Logan Russo (Franklin) - 16:12.03
13. Noah Guerrero (Croatan) - 16:14.20
14. Andrew Catapano (Central Academy) - 16:16.78
15. Connor Bagwell (North Lincoln) - 16:16.97
2023 NCHSAA 3A Boys Cross Country Team Results
1. Croatan - 67
2. Orange - 93
3. Jesse Carson - 158
4. First Flight - 207
5. North Lincoln - 211
6. North Buncombe - 224
7. Central Academy of Technology & Arts - 237
8. Northern Nash - 247
9. Franklin - 257
10. West Henderson - 267
