CHARLOTTE – Brooks Barbee ’27 heard no footsteps behind him Friday, crunching into the soft gravel path that cuts through McAlpine Creek Park. And no labored breathing but his own.
Silence was indeed about to be golden for Brooks as he ran the final time around a small pond at the finish area of the NCISAA 4-A Championship Cross Country Meet.
A pond sounds like as good a homestretch as any for a future Duck, does it not?
The University of Oregon recruit was fully at ease in taking the lead of the race in the first hundred yards. Brooks said the frontrunning on the way to his first individual state title in cross country (14 minutes, 42.51 seconds) was part of a wider message the Greenies wanted to send Friday.
Winning a state championship – their fourth since 2021 – would rightfully be a crowning achievement for most teams. Christ School falls within that small percentile that still has much to run for. Brooks likened Friday to a steppingstone to what the Greenies ultimately hope to achieve – not in October, or even November, but in December at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) meet in Portland, a part of the country that he will adopt in the coming years.
“It’s very exciting to know we have the rest of the season ahead of us, and we can use big meets like today as a steppingstone,” Brooks said.
“It feels like we a lot of good momentum riding into it. The team comes first, but (winning individually) feels really good, it’s something I had been thinking about since last year (he finished second in 2025). Just preparing myself mentally to push through. We wanted to get out fast today and not let any other teams stay with us.”
Has there ever been a more inevitable state championship among the 29 in all sports that Greenies teams have now won in a century-plus of athletics? Probably not.
Brooks missed his own personal record by less than three seconds on a dry, warm October morning. Team-wise, the Greenies (19) beat runner-up Charlotte Latin (111) by nearly 100 points.
Brooks was joined on the all-state team by Jack Dennehy ’27 (third place, 15:19.93), Reynolds Young ’27 (fourth, 15:27.55), Brody Webb ’27 (15:34.97), and Timmy McDowell ’27 (sixth, 15:36.43). Ben Graham ’27 (12th, 15:46.82) and Dallas Reeves ’27 (15:48.93) rounded out the finishers. The average time of Christ School runners was 15:20, which would have formerly been a school record for any individual from the creation of the program in 1963 to 2022.
Jack, who has committed to Villanova, came on strong late. He was in 10th place about midway through Friday’s race.
“If we stay dialed in, I think this team is on the verge of something special,” Jack said.
“We’ve been training for this time of the year, putting our focus into pushing through December. It’s really exciting.”
Coach Randy Ashley has built the Christ School program into a North Carolina distance running dynasty since 2016. His assistant this season is Mark Thompson P’24, P’26.
The next race for the team is the Nike Southeast Regional (NXR) Meet on November 22 in Cary, N.C., where they will compete against teams from North Carolina, Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
The Greenies are the defending NXR champions and went on to place seventh nationally in 2025.
NCISAA 4-A Championship Meet
Friday at McAlpine Creek Park, Charlotte
BOYS
Team scores
1. Christ School 19; 2. Charlotte Latin 111; 3. Cary Academy 113; 4. North Raleigh Christian Academy 114; 5. Charlotte Providence Day 125; 6. Ravenscroft 165; 7. Covenant Day 213; 8. Durham Academy 218; 9. Metrolina Christian Academy 253; 10. Charlotte Country Day 258; 11. Rabun Gap (Ga.) 271; 12. Carmel Christian 287; 13. Charlotte Christian 375; 14. High Point Wesleyan Christian Academy 414; 15. Gaston Christian 415; 16. Cannon School 430; 17. Greensboro Day 494.
Individual results (Christ School runners)
1. Brooks Barbee 14:42.51; 3. Jack Dennehy 15:19.93; 4. Reynolds Young 15:27.55; 5. Brody Webb 15:34.97; 6. Timmy McDowell 15:36.43; 12. Ben Graham 15:46.82; 13. Dallas Reeves 15:48.93.