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Published Saturday, October 11, 2008 in Sports
Northgate teams impress coach at Alabama meet
By Tony Jones
The Times-Herald
HOOVER, Ala. -- The Northgate cross country teams got a unique look at some of the most elite programs in the country on Saturday afternoon here in the Great American Cross Country Festival held at Veterans Park.
Both teams held their own as the Vikings finished 12th in the Seeded Boys Invitational and the Lady Vikings grabbed a seventh-place showing in the Girls Invitational.
The Vikings competed first and raced in near ideal conditions. The race time temperature was no more than 70 and the race was contested under cloudy skies with a slight breeze.
Bret Eady was Northgate's top performer. Eady finished 31st with a time of 18 minutes , 5 seconds. Brett Behrmann was next best, in 47th (18:23.00). Mitch Etheridge was a step behind Behrmann, finishing 48th (18:23.30).
Michael Cavanah enjoyed his finest outing of the season, finishing 75th (19:11).
"Michael knows this course and he ran well," said Kimes. "He gave us a nice boost."
Mark Livingston was 85th (19:29). Trent Golay was 87th (19:33) and Tim Raymond 108th (20:55). It was the first look at the course for Etheridge, Livingston, Golay, and Raymond .
The individual champion was Aaron Ramirez of Woodmont (S.C.). Ramirez ran a 16:30. He ran as an independent so Christian Ritacco of Niceville, Fla., was also acknowledged as the winner. Ritacco's time was 16:41.
The Northgate boys averaged a time of 18:42. Flowery Branch was first in the team standings followed by Niceville, Fla., and Brentwood, Tenn.
Kimes said he wasn't disappointed but expected more. "We didn't race well. We were prepared but didn't get it done. We need to be better," admitted the coach.
No Northgate team member had a better day than Erica Lowery. Competing in only her fifth career race, Lowery put in a spirited effort, finishing 12th (22:01).
The cloud coverage was gone and the temperature was up to 75 by the time the girls competed. Lowery fought through the higher temperature and the hills. "I've never ran here but I knew this would be a hilly course. I was determined to push and battle the hills," said Lowery.
The Lady Viking runner remained close to the front throughout. "Erica trusted herself, she never backed down," said Kimes.
Brooke Hendrix also enjoyed a successful outing. Hendrix was 18th (22:11). Hannah Gray also broke the 23-minute mark (35th, 22:53).
Next for Northgate were Hannah Dorsey (51st, 23:42), Quadierer Crafton (53rd, 23:58), Katie Mason (69th, 25:01), and Chelsea Beach (77th, 25:17).
The girls individual winner was Kiara McCue-Woods (20:15) of Flowery Branch. Flowery Branch won the team title, followed by Wheeler and Ravenwood (TN).
Kimes spoke about his girls team. "We were especially good at the top. I'm very proud of our first three. Some of our other girls also showed signs of coming on."
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