Athens Drive's Noah Valyo sets record at 4A cross country championship; Marvin Ridge wins team title

Athens Drive senior Noah Valyo arrived at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state championship on Saturday running for a school that had never won a boys cross country individual state championship.

Not only did that change when Valyo crossed the finish line, Valyo left his name in the NCHSAA record book.

Valyo's finish time of 15:05.45 broke the course record at Ivey Redmon by more than seven seconds. The previous record of 15:12.57 was set by Connor Lane of Cardinal Gibbons in 2016.

In fact, Valyo was less than four seconds away from breaking the state championship record regardless of course, set by Mount Tabor's Matt Debole in 2001.

Valyo was nearly 10 seconds ahead of second place, which went to Raghav Gopalakrishnan of Ardrey Kell. The senior finished the race in 15:15.20.

Cuthbertson's Thomas Wlazlowski (15:39.32) finished third, Riverside's Connor Tyrrell (15:46.36) finished fourth, and Watauga's Will Bradbury (15:47.80) placed fifth.

Marvin Ridge won the team championship with 88 points, comfortably ahead of Broughton's second-place finish with 137 points.

David Firestone was the top finisher for Marvin Ridge, placing ninth with a time of 15:52.28. Michael Rivlin finished 20th with a time of 16:09.66.

Broughton's second-place finish in the team standings was powered by Will Venable's 11th place finish. Venable finished the race with a time of 15:56.48.

2023 NCHSAA 4A Boys Cross Country Individual Results

1. Noah Valyo (Athens Drive) - 15:05.45

2. Raghav Gopalakrishnan (Ardrey Kell) - 15:15.20

3. Thomas Wlazlowski (Cuthbertson) - 15:39.32

4. Connor Tyrrell (Riverside) - 15:46.36

5. Will Bradbury (Watauga) - 15:47.80

6. Albert Turner (East Chapel Hill) - 15:48.29

7. Logan Hill (Charlotte Catholic) - 15:48.40

8. Tate Shore (Reagan) - 15:49.70

9. David Firestone (Marvin Ridge) - 15:52.28

10. Will Fiore (T.C. Roberson) - 15:54.55

11. Will Venable (Broughton) - 15:56.48

12. Nicholas Gibons (T.C. Roberson) - 15:58.68

13. Aedon Schroeder (Hoggard) - 15:59.80

14. Daniel Kelmer (Laney) - 16:00.21

15. Nicholas Grace (Ardrey Kell) - 16:02.64

2023 NCHSAA 4A Boys Cross Country Team Results

1. Marvin Ridge - 88

2. Broughton - 137

3. T.C. Roberson - 148

4. Ardrey Kell - 155

5. Hoggard - 158

6. Leesville Road - 187

7. Cuthbertson - 255

8. Weddington - 257

9. Reagan - 262

10. Chapel Hill - 269