CFNN Reporter Amelia Osornio

On Tuesday October 15th, The Cape Fear Colts ran at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center for their Conference Championship. This was the one of the final races the Colts will run this season. With an unexpected course change it added both a challenge and excitement to the competition. Despite the obstacles, the team delivered a strong performance across the board.

“At the Conference Championship we ran a great race on a challenging course. We had several runners get PR’s (personal records), we had 6 all conference runners and were proud of all of them. The boys managed to take home the conference champions and we have a lot of positive momentum going into regionals,” said Coach Jason Demchock.

The boys finished 1st overall with a score of 34. The team had a total of 10 runners this week with 4 placing in the top 10 and becoming all conference runners. The boys have maintained 1st place in every conference meet this season. Collin Shick came 2nd with a time of 17:17. Following shortly after was Chris Shick placing 3rd with a time of 17:18. Finally, Kayden Giles came 5th with a time of 18:09. All of the boys did phenomenal making sure they kept their 1st place spot once again. 

“I feel like the boys have been really dominant during our practices and meets over the entire season. It felt really good to be a First Team All-Conference runner,” said Collin.

Coach Jason Demchock was awarded the Men’s Conference Coach of the Year. He has been a coach of the Cross Country team for 3 years now accompanied by his wife Jackie Demchock. He has worked hard on ensuring the team is staying on task and continuously progressing. Both have been working hard since the summer to make sure the team does great things.

“For the past 5 months, Coach has been working an extra 2 hours, 5 to 6 days a week. His dedication has helped us run faster, and become stronger, and ultimately led to us becoming undefeated in the regular season and winning the Conference Championship,” said Lucas Wells, one of the 10 boys.

The girls placed 4th with a score of 68. The team had a total of 7 runners with 2 of them being all conference runners. Amelia Osornio was the first Colt to finish placing 5th with a time of 23:14. Following Amelia was Shaddai Martell who came 11th in a time of 24:40. Soon after Keziah Chambers finished placing 14th with a time of 24:55. All of the girls have been progressing and this was a great race for the girls to end off the conference season. 

“I felt good about my race, I pushed myself and was happy to beat my PR. Our team ran well and showed a lot of improvement overall,” said Shaddi.

Coach Jakie Demchock was awarded the Women’s Coach of the Year as well. She has been coaching this team for 3 years too. With her background as a runner herself, so with her background she is able to give valuable insight and guidance to her team. Her firsthand understanding of racing allows her to connect with her athletes, offer great advice, and motivate them through her knowledge.

“Mrs. Demchock got rewarded with the best coach for women’s cross country. It is completely deserved as she’s an amazing coach. She always pushes us to be great athletes while still having fun and helps us with proper form and technique so we won’t get hurt while running. She is also a very good runner, she will run with us during practices as well as doing stuff like marathons in her free time. She really is an awesome coach,” said Anamarie Brenes, one of the athletes who couldn’t run this meet due to being injured.

The Colts proudly had 6 runners who were named All-Conference Runners for finishing among the top 12 of their races. This is a great achievement for the Colts. The All-Conference Runners Include:

Boys Team:

Collin Shick – First Team All-Conference

Chris Shick – First Team All-Conference

Kayden Giles – First Team All-Conference

Maximus Mello – Second Team All-Conference

Girls Team:

Amelia Osornio – First Team All-Conference

Shaddai Martell – Second Team All-Conference

This was a great way for the Colts to end the conference season. The Colts have been working hard for this race since the beginning of summer. Their hard work and dedication has paid off, the boys and girls team has done a fantastic job this entire season. The Colts next meet will be held at WakeMed Soccer Complex for the NCHSAA 7A East Regionals on October 25th. The Meet will kick off at 11:45am. Come and Support your Colts for one of the last meets of the season!