No. 22 ranked Nevada Mareno of Leesville Road, N.C. blasted 16:36.18 over 5k at Wake Med to win the Cap 8 Conference Championship on Tuesday afternoon.
That time is the fourth-fastest in the nation this season and is a personal record by a full minute over her prior best of 17:38.
Teammate Emily Pettis placed runner-up this go-round in 18:27, as the Pride placed their top five scorers within the top six overall finishers (and 19:16 or faster) to win with 18 points. Does Leesville Road deserve another chance at the Top 25? Their top five all ran 19:16 or faster - last year, Mareno ran 19:18 for second place.
No. 14 ranked Broughton ran to an easy 20 point victory, led by No. 22 Jeremy Brown who won in 15:35. Robbie Simmons, Ryan Brown, Andrew Brooks and Lanier Derbyshire placed within the top seven in 16:18 or faster.
Photo courtesy of Karen Hawkins