Rocky Hansen ’23 made his trip out to California worthwhile and then some.
Rocky won the seeded division of the 3,200-meter run Saturday at the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational with a jaw-dropping time of 8 minutes and 51.60 seconds.
His performance is the best-ever by a junior from any North Carolina high school. The overall state record is 8:47.00, run by Connor Lane from Cardinal Gibbons at the same Arcadia meet in 2017.
On a local level, no runner from a western North Carolina school, private or public, had ever broken the 9-minute mark until Rocky’s race.
The Arcadia Invitational is considered the most competitive meet in the country, attracting U.S. and international athletes It is held at Arcadia High School on either the first or second weekend in April each year.
Rocky's hometown is Hendersonville, N.C.
Reeves races to first place in Columbia
Christ School sophomore Dawson Reeves '24 beat out 156 other runners to win the mile (4:16.61) Saturday at the All-American Track Classic in Columbia, S.C.
Dawson's time was a full four seconds faster than the runner-up. His hometown is Canton, N.C.