In the past, Andrew Hammel ’20 and Joseph Visconti ’20 have always been a great 1-2 punch for Christ School cross country.
The Greenies proved there is way more in their arsenal Wednesday, winning the Buncombe County meet for the first time.
Temperature-wise, the conditions could not have been much worse for distance running. It was well over 90 degrees for both the start and finish of the 3.1-mile race at Bill Moore Community Park in Fletcher, N.C.
The Greenies beat the heat and the rest of the field, putting four runners in the top-10 – Andrew won his third consecutive Buncombe individual championship (16:18.58), followed by Joseph in second place (16:46.57), Rocky Hansen ’23 in third (17:23.21), and Dawson Reeves ’24 in eighth (18:02.64). Jack Cross ’22 rounded out the scoring runners for Christ School (36 points), which beat runner-up T.C. Roberson (64) by 28 points.
Roberson is the largest high school in Buncombe County, public or private, with an enrollment of 1,560 students. And to further put things into perspective, the Greenies placed eighth in last year’s county meet. Photos from Wednesday have been posted here.
Head coach Randy Ashley said this Christ School team was much deeper than any he had previously worked with. And he was proven right on a historic afternoon that was pretty much in the Greenies' backyard – Moore Park is five miles from campus.
“The energy was so high today. The guys were all jacked-up and it really translated into a great day for us,” Coach Ashley said. “Only about 400 meters of this course was in the shade. And it was tough for everyone running through (thick) grass. The plan was to go out conservative, especially our top guys. We didn’t really follow that plan, but it worked out.”
Andrew has won the Buncombe meet every year since coming to Christ School in 2017. His last two victories came on the course at Asheville Christian Academy. The Lions passed on hosting this year’s meet due to an abundance of on-campus construction.
It was a new course, but the same result Wednesday. Andrew was aggressive in taking the lead in the first mile and never relenting.
“To win it three times is incredibly special. It’s something I dreamed about since I won it as a sophomore, and here I am,” Andrew said.
“I’m so happy for our team today. Having those guys to train with every day is so great. It’s made everything so much better. We love it when it’s 90 degrees for practice because it prepares us for this.”
Buncombe County Cross Country Meet
Wednesday at Bill Moore Community Park, Fletcher, N.C.
Team scores
1. Christ School 36; T.C. Roberson 64; 3. Asheville Christian Academy 76; 4. Asheville School 127; 5. A.C. Reynolds 131; 6. Carolina Day 135; 7. Asheville 140; 8. Owen 213; 9. Enka 265; 10. IC Imagine 321; 11. Franklin School of Innovation 324.
Individual results (Christ School runners)
1. Andrew Hammel 16:18.58; 2. Joseph Visconti 16:46.57; 3. Rocky Hansen 17:23.21; 8. Dawson Reeves 18:02.64; 23. Jack Cross 19:16.62; 29. Jack Fitch 19:33.82; 30. Ethan Kemp 19:36.20; 31. Tommy Schleusner 19:37.68; 38. Miles Gardner 20:20.82; 59. Daniel Liang 21:25.14; 62. Thomas Doss 21:41.96; 67. Cade Rodriguez 21:49.57; 70. Carson Guzzo 21:51.16; 72. Matthew Luke 21:59.51; 73. Sid Shah 22:01.04; 81. Wyatt Wilson 22:27.81; 88. Brighton Shook 22:53.06; 92. Gabe Fricks-Starratt 23:01.58; 100. Kaleb Belle 23:09.20; 112. Joseph Coladonato 23:45.97; 116. Connor Booher 23:54.21; 121. James Coleman 24:03.17; 127. Jackson Bewley 24:26.90; 133. Jake Liss 24:43.55.
