Nolan Harris had a whirlwind three days. The Auburn High School senior cross country runner claimed first place in the 1A state championships on Saturday, held up the state trophy as a team later that day and then signed a national letter of intent to continue his running career at the University of Virginia.
Harris finished the 5,000-meter course in 16:03 with Parry McCluer’s Dylan May in second. His Auburn teammate, Tyler Wilson, was fifth.
The Auburn senior called the win surreal.
“I enjoyed every bit of the race. I was able to accomplish this by setting the goal of winning an individual title very early on in my career, and then training consistently and working hard to achieve the goal,” he said.
Coach Laura Daniels said having Nolan winning the individual title this year was the icing on the cake.
“We had prepped for the win last year, but he went into the state meet last year with strep throat, and it got the best of him. This year we concentrated on staying healthy and injury free, nutrition, strength training, flexibility and upped the intensity of some of his workouts, which paid off in the end. He has shown a dedication and determination all year and I am proud to have helped him along the way. He is an incredibly hard worker and a smart runner,” she said.
Monday, Harris announced he would attend UVA next fall and continue his running career. He plans to major in biochemistry and chose the school after feeling a real connection with the team and coaching staff.
“I’m super excited to run under Coach Watson (UVA), and we have an incredibly talented recruiting class coming in. I love the campus and the academic prestige, which presents the challenge. I am looking forward being a student-athlete,” he said. “I am privileged to be a member of such a great team. It makes running for your team a lot easier when you’re running with your best friends.”
Harris hopes to continue to Improve and become as competitive on the collegiate level as he has been in high school.
“And, if the opportunity presents itself to continue running outside of college (professionally), it would be amazing,” he said
On the team side this weekend, it took some great finishes outside the top seven to give Auburn the win. Peyton Hurd was eighth, Adam Downs 10th, Branson Weeks 17th and Jacob Hurd 52nd.
Coach Daniels called the boys title special because it was the school’s third in a row.
“We worked so hard all year to improve on times and close gaps. These boys have done everything I have asked of them and given their all to their team and their sport. They dedicated themselves to being consistent and improved every race. Our 4-5 and 5-6 gap was big at the beginning of the season and we worked to close that gap with Branson Weeks and Brandon Turman. They stepped up to the challenge and were a strong impact for our team.”
Auburn tallied 40 points to second place George Wythe’s 70. Galileo was third and Mathews fourth.
The Auburn High School boys and girls cross country teams are the 2017 1A state champions.
The boy’s win might have overshadowed the girls’ field if not for the Lady Eagles. Auburn would claim a girls’ title with a 58-point total second place over Matthews at 110 points.
Caitlin Dominy led the Lady Eagles with a fifth place finish. Jessica Musselman was 13th, Elizabeth Tomlin 21st with Lily Messner 22nd. Grace Hall was 24th and Makenna Hallinan 27th.
Daniels said winning the girls title was extra special as it was the first ever cross country state title for Auburn High School.
“We felt like we redeemed ourselves from last year’s loss when we lost by one point. These ladies put in the mileage and the hard work to show that they are the best 1A team in the state. We knew we had a strong girls team going in and am glad we were able to come back with the win this year. Winning the first ever title for your school is truly a defining moment for your team and extremely exciting and satisfying,” she concluded.