Saturday Highlights: XC Racing Ramps Up Across The Nation

The Christ School (NC) break-out talent from last track season entered the 2022 cross country season with high expectations.

Running a near barrier-breaking 4:00.76 for the full mile and 8:46.97 in the two mile just months ago during outdoor helped Rocky Hansen develop into not just the top distance athlete in North Carolina, but a member of the national elite conversation.

Enter cross country season. With a 5k PR of 15:21.80 from the 2021 cross country season - which ranked Hansen as the seventh-fastest boy in the state last year - it seemed to be not a matter of if the national-caliber track star would improve upon his cross country performance, but when.

He sure made a statement in the opening race of his highly-anticipated cross country season.

Hansen made the trip down to Spartanburg, S.C. for the Eye Opener meet to open up his fall racing schedule, and he did not disappoint. A finishing time of 14:57.60 earned Hansen the impressive win over fellow Carolina talent Jake Liebert (Wando, SC), who took second in 15:18.20.

That made for not just a new personal best by over 24 seconds for Hansen, but also a new high school boys course record at the Roger Milliken Center on the campus of University of South Carolina Upstate, as well as a Christ School all-time best.

The individual win also helped boost the Christ School squad from Arden, N.C. to a solid runner-up team finish in the international boys division, only finishing behind the Liebert-led Wando team.

What better way to kick off the cross country season than with a win, PR, school record and course record? If anyone doubted whether Hansen's track success would translate over to the grass, his 14:57.60 5k season debut certainly silenced those thoughts.