What a difference a year makes.
From a team perspective, Christ School cross country was mostly an afterthought in the 2018 Carolinas Athletic Association meet. The Greenies placed fourth out of five teams despite having the top-two individuals in Andrew Hammel ’20 and Joseph Visconti ’20.
Wednesday was another opportunity for the program to show how far it has come in 12 months. Once again, Andrew and Joseph were at the front of the pack on their home course. Andrew arrived at the finish chute for his third consecutive CAA championship with a course-record time of 16:13.51. Joseph was the runner-up in 16:32.26.
But these Greenies proved once again that they are more than a two-man team in winning the CAA meet for the first time since 2001. Christ School (32) beat out second-place Asheville Christian Academy (41) and the rest of the field with Rocky Hansen ’23 (sixth place, 17:12.41), Dawson Reeves ’24 (10th, 18:24.29), and Ethan Kemp ‘21 (13th, 18:49.95) also counting as scoring runners.
Coach Randy Ashley said that it was Ethan’s “guts and courage” that cemented the first conference championship for Christ School cross country in 18 years. The junior held off a couple ACA runners in the race’s final 100 yards. Only the top-five finishers count towards a team’s score, but Coach Ashley also complimented strong performances by Tommy Schleusner ’20 (19th place, 19:07.89), Jack Cross ‘22 (19:25.45), Jack Fitch ’20 (24th, 19:26.43), and Carson Guzzo ‘22 (31st, 19:44.80).
Conditions for Wednesday’s on-campus meet were cool and pleasant. By placing in the top-eight, Andrew, Joseph and Rocky were named to the All-CAA team and received medals. Full results from Wednesday’s meet can be found here.
Carolinas Athletic Association meet
Wednesday at Christ School
BOYS
Team scores
1. Christ School 32; 2. Asheville Christian Academy 41; 3. Carolina Day 57; 4. Asheville School 96; 5. Rabun Gap 148.
Individual results (Christ School runners)
1. Andrew Hammel 16:13.51*; 2. Joseph Visconti 16:32.26; 6. Rocky Hansen 17:12.41; 10. Dawson Reeves 17:40.25; 13. Ethan Kemp 18:49.95; 19. Tommy Schleusner 19:07.89; 24. Jack Cross 19:25.45; 25. Jack Fitch 19:26.43; 31. Carson Guzzo 19:44.80; 36. Miles Gardner 19:59.28; 40. Thomas Doss 20:38.05; 41. Connor Rowe 20:38.35; 44. Cade Rodriguez 20:58.79; 47. Sid Shah 21:25.46; 48. Wyatt Wilson 21:25.84; 49. Matthew Luke 21:28.56; 53. Hampton Sexton 21:55.81; 61. Gabe Fricks-Starratt 22:22.70; 64. Jackson Bewley 23:09.61; 66. Joseph Coladonato 23:25.08; 67. Jake Liss 23:29.95; 70. Connor Booher 23:36.14; 76. Bill Zhou 32:36.45.
* - course record