Friday, September 17
Cary, N.C.
6 PM
North Carolina
at
Adidas XC Challenge (men)
Parker Wolfe won the Adidas XC Challenge Friday in his Tar Heel debut. (Photo by NC State Athletics)
Tar Heels Take First At Adidas XC Challenge
September 17, 2021 | Cross Country
CARY, N.C. – Behind freshman Parker Wolfe, who took first in his inaugural collegiate race, the UNC men's cross country team beat a field that included Atlantic Coast Conference rivals NC State, Wake Forest and Duke on Friday evening at the Adidas XC Challenge, hosted by the Wolfpack.
"This is another really good step forward for our guys," said Chris Miltenberg, UNC's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country and the head coach for the men's cross country team. "We haven't beaten NC State in any way in more years than I can find looking back, so it's a big step forward. It's only September, but we're getting better every single week."
Racing at WakeMed Soccer Park, UNC placed first for the second meet in a row, with Tar Heels in five of the first nine spots. After Wolfe in first at 17:48.0, John Tatter was sixth in 17:58.5, Jack Aho was seventh in 18:01.6, Will Coogan was eighth in 18:04.7 and Marshall Williamson was ninth at 18:07.9.
Michael Spragley was 17th in 18:25.5, Jesse Hunt 20th in 18:30.7, Andrew Lauer 37th in 19:04.2 and Tommy Gaffey 42nd in 19:11.2. Jason Thomson (19:37.4) and Kyle Reinheimer (19:41.8) finished back-to-back in 52nd and 53rd places.
UNC finished with 31 points, with the top seven runners crossing in an average time of 18:00.4, more than 10 seconds ahead of second-place NC State, the host team, which totaled 47 points.
The Tar Heel win follows a team victory at last Friday's Charlotte Opener, where UNC beat the host 49ers in the two-team meet. As a result, Carolina moved into the national poll this week at No. 29, earning a top-30 ranking for the first time since 2015.
Wolfe, the 2020-21 Gatorade National Player of the Year for boys' cross county last season, didn't run against Charlotte, instead making his debut on Friday in Cary.
"He ran with a ton of maturity and composure and set a great tone for the rest of our guys," Miltenberg said. "We had five guys really close together – if we can continue to close that gap between fifth and sixth and seventh, we can be really good. It's exciting progress."
The 13th-ranked Tar Heel women didn't race Friday but were on hand at WakeMed to cheer on the UNC men. Next up for them is the Battle in Beantown in Boston on Sept. 24. The next race for the men is the Paul Short Run on Oct. 1 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Adidas XC Challenge
Team Results
1. UNC 31
2. NC State 47
3. Wake Forest 58
4. UNC Greensboro 110
5. Duke 135
6. NC A&T 167
7. Campbell 197
8. NC Central 227
"This is another really good step forward for our guys," said Chris Miltenberg, UNC's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country and the head coach for the men's cross country team. "We haven't beaten NC State in any way in more years than I can find looking back, so it's a big step forward. It's only September, but we're getting better every single week."
Racing at WakeMed Soccer Park, UNC placed first for the second meet in a row, with Tar Heels in five of the first nine spots. After Wolfe in first at 17:48.0, John Tatter was sixth in 17:58.5, Jack Aho was seventh in 18:01.6, Will Coogan was eighth in 18:04.7 and Marshall Williamson was ninth at 18:07.9.
Michael Spragley was 17th in 18:25.5, Jesse Hunt 20th in 18:30.7, Andrew Lauer 37th in 19:04.2 and Tommy Gaffey 42nd in 19:11.2. Jason Thomson (19:37.4) and Kyle Reinheimer (19:41.8) finished back-to-back in 52nd and 53rd places.
UNC finished with 31 points, with the top seven runners crossing in an average time of 18:00.4, more than 10 seconds ahead of second-place NC State, the host team, which totaled 47 points.
The Tar Heel win follows a team victory at last Friday's Charlotte Opener, where UNC beat the host 49ers in the two-team meet. As a result, Carolina moved into the national poll this week at No. 29, earning a top-30 ranking for the first time since 2015.
Wolfe, the 2020-21 Gatorade National Player of the Year for boys' cross county last season, didn't run against Charlotte, instead making his debut on Friday in Cary.
"He ran with a ton of maturity and composure and set a great tone for the rest of our guys," Miltenberg said. "We had five guys really close together – if we can continue to close that gap between fifth and sixth and seventh, we can be really good. It's exciting progress."
The 13th-ranked Tar Heel women didn't race Friday but were on hand at WakeMed to cheer on the UNC men. Next up for them is the Battle in Beantown in Boston on Sept. 24. The next race for the men is the Paul Short Run on Oct. 1 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Adidas XC Challenge
Team Results
1. UNC 31
2. NC State 47
3. Wake Forest 58
4. UNC Greensboro 110
5. Duke 135
6. NC A&T 167
7. Campbell 197
8. NC Central 227
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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