–Owen boys take first in Buncombe Co X-Country Meet
14 September 2007By Michael Painter
ASHEVILLE - September 12, 2007 - A vast change in the weather from last years chilly, rainy meet, it was blue skies all around and even a nice breeze was blowing as the Owen boys captured half of the top fourteen places in the Buncombe County Cross-Country Invitational held at Asheville School on Wednesday afternoon, beating second place Asheville in a close race, 42 to 47.
This was their first Buncombe County Championship since 2004 and only their second championship in school history. "We knew it was going ot be tough today," said Owen’s head man, John Cline. "These kids worked hard and were excited to race both Asheville and Roberson. It’s a great win for us."
There were two races for position at the front of the pack.
Asheville’s Isaac Presson was the winner in a time of 17:07, followed by Carolina Day’s Davis Graham at 17:13. When the two of them came into the football field, Graham actually had about a 40-50 meter lead on Presson.
By the time they got down to the end of the practice area at the other end of the field and turned toward home, Presson was just 20 meters behind. He passed Graham while crossing the track that circles the football field, about 120 meters from the finish line.
"I gave it everything that I had," said Presson. "I knew that Davis was hurting a little bit, so I had 
to put pressure on him."
The other race for for third and was won by Owen’s Christopher Patino (17:21), who caught fourth place finisher, Asheville’s John Harwell (17:22), with about 50 meters to go, winning by just one second.
"It was one tough course today," said Graham. "There are a lot of big hills, especially at the end. I just didn’t have it in me to hold him off."
Only the first five runners from each team count 
in the total.
The other Warhorses that were in the top fourteen include: Cody Neville (7th-18:05), Alex Kraak (9th-18:09), Robert Dobbs (11th-18:39), Will Canon (12th-18:46), Joey Murphy (13th-18:47), and Nick Wilson (14th-18:48). Murphy’s and Wilson’s time did not count toward the total, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the coach.
"I’m proud of all the guys," added Cline, who took over from Janet Pung, who retired at the end of last year. "Bringing the championship back to Owen is a tribute to how hard they have worked."
Asheville had three runners in the top five to give them a close second. Along with Presson and 
Harwell, Logan Tarleton finished fifth with a run of 17:54. Roberson had two runners in the top fifteen: Brad Cookson, who was fifth at 17:57 and Sho Kitamura who was 10th at 18:32. Rhett English took 8th for Christ School (18:07) and Carolina Day’s Will Jordan was 15th.
Roberson was third in the meet, even though they only had one in the top fifteen. They also had two runners disqualified by head coach Steve Carpenter for not having proper uniforms on. One didn’t have his shirt and the other forgot his shoes.
Team results
1 - Isaac Presson - Asheville - 17:07 
1 - Owen - 42
2 - Ashveille - 47
3 - Roberson - 95
4- Enka - 196
5 - Reynolds - 206
6 - Carolina Day - 221
7 - ACA - 239
8 - Asheville School - 245
9 - Christ School - 315
10 - Erwin - 331
11 - North Buncombe - 336 
Individual results - Top 15
2 - Davis Graham - Carolina Day - 17:13
3 - Christopher Patino - Owen - 17:21
4 - John Harwell - Asheville - 17:22
5 - Lagan Tarleton - Asheville - 17:54
6 - Brad Cookson - Roberson - 17:57
7 - Cody Neville - Owen - 18:05
8 - Rhett English - Christ School - 18:07
9 - Alex Kraak - Owen -18:09
10 - Sho Kitamura - Roberson - 18:32
11 - Robert Dobbs - Owen - 18:39
12 - Will Canon - Owen - 18:46
13 - Joey Murphy - Owen - 18:47
14 - Nick Wilson - Owen - 18:48
15 - Will Jordan - Carolina Day - 18:53
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