With runners competing in different parts of the state Saturday, First Flight cross country runners proved to be a formidable foe.

While seven of the top boys team runners were at the Adidas Cross Country Challenge in Cary, the rest of the Nighthawks team were at home as host for the First Flight High School Run & Sun Invitational in Kill Devil Hills.

Competing against some of the more elite runners in the state at Cary, First Flight senior Zach Hughes ran a person best 15:24.60 over the 5,000 meter WakeMed Soccer Complex course to help the Nighthawks finish fourth in the overall team standings there.

Finishing just 14 seconds behind winner Thomas Vo from Green Hope, Hughes was joined by (16) Tyler Sylvia at 15:56.9, (32) Joseph Davidson at 16:10.2, (62) Warner Campbell at 16:36.7, (98) Max Bowlin at 17:00.2, (109) Henry Stecher at 17:05.6, and (203) Aidan May at 17:59.1 in a field of 272 runners.

“I think they did a great job,” said First Flight coach Chris Layton. “They lost to some established teams and I think they proved to themselves that they can beat North Lincoln.”

Already ranked as a favorite to win this year’s 2A state meet in November, North Lincoln edged out First Flight for the top spot at the 2017 and championships. Saturday’s results, however, had North Lincoln a distant seventh.

With Hughes and company in Cary, freshman Trent Sylvia took over the leadership role for First Flight, winning the boys’ race with a personal best 19:00.00 and leading the Nighthawks to a first place team finish.

It was not a runaway win for Sylvia, though, as Shanklin Austin was a step behind in second place for Cape Hatteras at 19:01. Currituck’s Bryson Green was third with a time of 19:20.

Winning the girls race, sophomore Madison Pugh finished with a 21:51 time to help the Nighthawks win the meet first place team over Currituck 19-42. Hailee Reinke was the top Currituck County finisher at 22:01.

Results from the First Flight Invitation include:

Varsity Boys 5000 Meter Run
==========================================================
1 Trent Sylvia            First Flight         19:00.00
2 Shanklin Austin         Cape Hatteras        19:01.00
3 Bryson Green            Currituck County     19:20.00
4 Max Stabely             First Flight         19:22.00
5 Sean Stultz             First Flight         19:24.00
6 Key Lige                First Flight         19:47.00
7 Colin Tran              First Flight         19:48.00
8 Brodie Nash             First Flight         20:04.00
9 Shane Newman            Currituck County     20:23.00
10 Isaac Dobie             First Flight         20:50.00
11 Jackson Hannon          First Flight         20:51.00
12 Andrew Dowdy            Currituck County     21:28.00
13 Vinnie Yetzer           First Flight         21:31.00
14 Chase Culpepper         Manteo               21:34.00
15 Will Rose               Unity Christian Acad 21:41.00
16 Dalton Gay              Currituck County     21:51.00
17 Devon Coughlin          First Flight         22:01.00
18 Riley Lenz              Currituck County     22:03.00
19 Jack Kirkman            Unity Christian Acad 22:27.00
20 Chaz Mackenzie          Cape Hatteras        22:43.00
21 Logan Theissen          First Flight         22:53.00
22 Jackson Pullen          Cape Hatteras        22:57.00
23 CJ East                 Currituck County     23:02.00
24 Logan Barker            Unity Christian Acad 23:20.00
25 Nate Smith              Manteo               23:28.00
26 James Rollason          First Flight         23:34.00
27 Dylan Blalock           Manteo               23:35.00
28 Zain Bhula              Manteo               24:10.00
29 Chris Roberts           Manteo               24:32.00
30 Brit Howell             Currituck County     24:38.00
31 Grayson Lewis           Manteo               24:39.00
32 Jeffery Harris          Unity Christian Acad 24:42.00
33 Adam Crisp              Unity Christian Acad 25:11.00
34 Trafford Hill           Cape Hatteras        25:37.00
35 Luke Cutler             Unity Christian Acad 26:27.00
36 Damien Gregory          First Flight         27:02.00

Varsity Boys 5000 Meter Run Team Scores
1 First Flight           19
2 Currituck County       47
3 Manteo                 89
4 Unity Christian Acad   93

Varsity Girls 5000 Meter Run
=================================================================

1 Madison Pugh            First Flight         21:51.00
2 Hailee Reinke           Currituck County     22:01.00
3 Lily Snow               First Flight         22:10.00
4 Emma Byard              First Flight         22:17.00
5 Maggie McNinch          First Flight         22:24.00
6 Chloe Flythe            Cape Hatteras        22:45.00
7 Ayla Anlauf             First Flight         22:49.00
8 Serenity Doran          Currituck County     22:58.00
9 Emma Hartnett           First Flight         23:26.00
10 Maddy Wagner            First Flight         23:38.00
11 Tatum Dermatas          First Flight         23:46.00
12 Catherine Cutler        Unity Christian Acad 23:49.00
13 Mckenzie Douglas        Unity Christian Acad 24:09.00
14 Tiffany Fenz            Manteo               24:21.00
15 Ashley Reinke           Currituck County     24:32.00
16 Paulina Goping          First Flight         24:53.00
17 Sydney MacDonald        Currituck County     25:17.00
18 Brisa Grijalua          Manteo               26:11.00
19 Jasmine Gorney          Currituck County     26:16.00
20 Kerry Chavarria         Manteo               26:23.00
21 Katarina Keffer         Currituck County     27:14.00
22 Lilly East              Currituck County     28:01.00
23 Kate Barker             Manteo               29:34.00
24 Megan Jensen            Unity Christian Acad 29:54.00
25 ??? ???                 Unity Christian Acad 31:35.00
26 Lexus Meekins           Cape Hatteras        31:45.00
27 Annabelle O’Donnell     Currituck County     31:51.00
28 Hayley Rosell           Cape Hatteras        32:18.00
29 Jorah Midgette          Cape Hatteras        32:53.00

Varsity Girls 5000 Meter Run Team Scores
=========================================
1 First Flight           19
2 Currituck County       42

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