WINSTON-SALEM – A trusty pair of running shoes, check. Cold-weather gear from head-to-toe, check. Snow shovel, check.
Last week, while others were rejoicing in the 6 inches of snow that fell over Winter Break, Brooks Barbee ’27 saw nothing but a deterrent between him and a long run.
So, the junior from Waynesville, N.C, set out for the nearest track, started shoveling, and didn’t stop until he had cleared enough of Lane 1 – mind you, Lane 1’s entirety around the 400-meter track – to get in a 12-mile workout.
Dedication met opportunity for Brooks at Monday’s NCRunners Independent Schools Indoor Championship. Much like that snowy day of shoveling in solitude, the Greenie ran by himself for the last half of his first state championship win.
Brooks’s time in the 3,200-meter run (9 minutes, 1.11 seconds) ranks him No. 1 in North Carolina this winter, eighth in the nation, and was just over 18 seconds faster than Monday’s runner-up – Duke University recruit Kavi Gibson ‘26 from Cary Academy (9:19.35). Brooks was the runner-up to Gibson at the NCISAA 4-A state cross country meet, as Gibson was pretty much unbeatable during the fall season.
Two more Greenie juniors, Reynolds Young ’27 (second place, 1,600-meter run) and Dallas Reeves ’27 (third place, 1000-meter run), medaled in their respective races Monday. While the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association does not officially recognize indoor track as a sport, Monday’s meet at the JDL Fast Track facility is as close as the NCISAA gets to a state meet and all top teams were represented.
NCRunners Independent Schools Indoor Championship
Monday at JDL Fast Track, Winston-Salem
Division I
Individual results (Christ School athletes)
1,000-meter run: 3. Dallas Reeves 2:31.90; 10. Timmy McDowell 2:42.24; 13. Ross Clapsaddle 2:44.33; 1,600-meter run: 2. Reynolds Young 4:19.61; 5. Brody Webb 4:23.91; 6. Jack Dennehy 4:24.49; 3,200-meter run: 1. Brooks Barbee 9:01.11; 4. Noah Clancy 9:23.38; 6. Carl Baird 9:31.68.
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