The Scoop: A Weekend Full Of State Championship Action

* Cuthbertson celebrates a North Carolina 4A state title win on Saturday.

Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit North Carolina

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Cuthbertson Earns Fifth-Straight North Carolina State Title

Talk about a dynasty out in North Carolina.

The nationally-ranked Cuthbertson girls program took home the Class 4A state team championship on Saturday morning with 32 points, their fifth-straight team title at the championships. 

Junior Stella Kermes led the way for the Cavaliers with an individual title win in 17:40.94 -- the first of her career -- and Charlotte Bell, Justine Preisano, Alyssa Preisano and Lillian Nasta went 5-6-9-16 to secure the team championship win.

32 points scored put the MileSplit50 ninth-ranked squad an impressive 49 points ahead of other 4A contender Cardinal Gibbons in second place.

Kermes' first-place finish comes toward the end of a stellar junior season which saw her win county, conference and now state individual titles, as well as earn a top-10 finish at the historic Woodbridge Classic in September.

Coach Kirk Walsh led the program to three consecutive titles in the 3A division beginning in 2018 and continued that dominance with a move up to the 4A larger school division in 2021, tacking two more titles onto that overall record since then.

And don't count out Cuthbertson in the many years to come. They only graduate two seniors -- Wake Forest-bound Alyssa Preisano and Toledo commit Nasta -- from their top seven, so the historic Cavalier dominance could very well continue to grow in North Carolina for the foreseeable future. 

TEAM SCORES
PLACE	TEAM	POINTS	SCORERS	TIMES
1	Cuthbertson High School	32	1+5+6+8+12 (126)	1:25 1-5 Split | 18:27 Avg
2	Cardinal Gibbons	81	4+11+18+22+26 (68+78)	1:29 1-5 Split | 19:09 Avg
3	Marvin Ridge	136	14+19+23+36+44 (66+71)	1:02 1-5 Split | 19:42 Avg