Bright and early on Saturday, August 23, the Davie High cross country team loaded up the bus to attend the Ballatyne Ridge Cross Country Invitational in Charlotte. As this was the first meet of the season, the bus was filled with a sense of uncertainty and excitement about what the team could accomplish this year.
The morning started with the boys’ varsity race at 8:30, with the top 9 boys on the starting line. Junior Jacob Steelman led the team, placing 4th with a time of 17:00, followed by freshman Jaxon Gay, making his high school debut with a time of 17:31 and 11th place. Next, seniors Ethan Lakey and Brayden Kistner placed 16th and 18th with times of 17:47 and 17:52. The boys snagged a first overall trophy with 4 out of 9 runners placing in the top 20.
The next race to kick off was the girls’ varsity race. Davie put up a full roster on the line, with 7 out of 9 girls being freshmen. Freshman Kristen Starkey led the Davie girls and launched her high school cross country career with a 2nd-place finish with a time of 19:23. Behind her, senior Lexi Marion placed 18th with a finishing time of 21:38. The young team placed 17th overall with an average time of 22:14.
The team boasts a roster of promising new freshmen who are eager to showcase their capabilities and a team of returning upperclassmen ready to surpass last season’s success. Among them is freshman Jaxon Gay, who was on the team’s radar as a middle schooler. Gay’s impressive first meet established him as the 4th-ranked freshman in the state. When this news was announced, many people on the team celebrated the accomplishment, but Gay took it as a challenge, noting that “it wasn’t first, so there’s always room for improvement.”
The freshman’s ambitious mindset has shown that he is ready to take on the challenge of high school cross country, and that can also be seen in his training this summer.
“Over the summer, we did a lot of intense training,” Gay said. “It was a challenge, but I enjoy challenges. If it wasn’t for my coaches and teammates, I would not be in the position I am in today.”
But Gay was not the only freshman to make waves this year. In this opening meet, Kristen Starkey proved her vital role on the team as well. Starkey is also the 4th-ranked freshman for girls in the state. Starkey dominated middle school cross country, and the team was eager for her to rise up to the challenge of high school meets. Starkey’s first high school meet is setting the foundation for a successful season.
“I learned to trust my training,” Starkey said. “Going into the race, I was nervous, but one big thing that helped me was reminding myself that I put in the work that I needed to perform well.”
There is an abundance of new runners on the girls’ team, which has brought with it new dynamics and bonds. These dynamics and bonds bring a stark contrast from years prior for many runners.
“This year, our team dynamic has been much better than it has been in the past,” Senior Lexi Marion shares. “Our team is really young, and everyone is excited to be here and put in the work.”
Marion has led the girls’ team as a top runner since her freshman year and has been able to watch the team grow. The girls’ team has boundless potential, as evidenced by the improvement from the summer workouts.
The cross country team has been practicing since mid-June, but their season is just getting started. The next meet the team will be at is the Friday Night Lights meet at Ivey Redmon on September 5th. FNL is a highly competitive meet with teams from all over the states that will be attending.
