* Jacob Tarkington dueled with Adam Lippe in the boys Varsity B race on Saturday at the Wingfoot XC Classic
Photo by Alison Markham/MileSplit
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CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Alexa Hoppenfeld, upon being asked whether she was tired following her varsity A win on Saturday at the Wingfoot XC Classic, had a simple response.
"I love it," she said, "this is my favorite race."
Impressively, her win in 18:50.40 was the fastest time of the day on the girls side and the ninth-fastest overall across two days.
Hoppenfeld said she was locked in.
Moreover, she said, this was her last year at Wingfoot, after five previous attempts on the course at various distances ...dating back to middle school.
Hoppenfeld may have been the most experienced racer at Sam Smith Park this weekend. Which meant, she really wanted to go out in style.
"I loved it, it was perfect race," said Hoppenfeld, who went under 19 minutes for the first time at Sam Smith Park. "I knew even though we weren't in the championship, there's still some amazing girls out here. So I had to have fun. Overall, great day. Watching last night was so amazing. I just had to be here."
For all of her previous performances, Saturday marked her first win.
Over in the varsity B race, Jacob Tarkington, a home school athlete from Alpharetta, Georgia, managed to sneak past Westminster School's Adam Lippe in the final 100 meters, winning by just two-tenths of a second.
It was one of the event's top moments.
"It's all mental," Tarkington said. "You think, you train so hard. It's just another race. It's a big race. But it's just another one. I decided, it's 800 meters. We did 800 meters sprints at practice. Just like that. You have to think smart in these races."
"It's hard, but the reward of winning, it's amazing. It's 800 meters and you can win," he added. "It was a sprint finish. I don't even know how close we were together. We had to be a few inches, at least. But yeah, a lot of fun."
Both Hoppenfeld's and Tarkington's races highlighted the final day of action at the Wingfoot XC Classic at Sam Smith Park, with varsity A & B and jayvee races concluding.
Varsity A Boys Winner: Memphis Rich, Richmond Hill, 16:06.20.
Varsity B Boys Winner: Jacob Tarkington, Alpharetta (GA), 16:30.00.
JV Boys A: Will Tribick, Roswell (GA), 18:00.10
JV Boys B: Colin Meersman, St. John Bosco Academy (GA), 18:40.30
Varsity A Girls Winner: Alexa Hoppenfeld, Riverwood International Charter (GA), 18:50.40.
Varsity B Girls Winner: Lilla Kate Tucker, Campbell (GA), 19:41.20.
JV Girls A: Audrey-Kate Johnson, Heritage Prep (GA), 21:05.00.
Interviews
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Maxwell Hardin
* Auburn's Maxwell Hardin talks about his runner-up finish in the championship boys race at the Wingfoot XC Classic
Auburn's Girls
* The Alabama-based program said they want to go after a state championship in 2022.
PHOTOS
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Coming:
Photo album by Alison Markham
Photo album by Dan McCauley
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All photos by Alison Markham/MileSplit
* Riverwood International Charter's Alexa Hoppenfeld secured a sub-19 performance on Saturday at the Wingfoot XC Classic, finishing in 18:50.40
* Lilla Kate Tucker, a freshman from Campbell (GA), dominated the girls Varsity B race in 19:41.20 on Saturday.
* Audrey Kate-Johnson, a sophomore from Atlanta Heritage (GA), won the girls JV race in 21:05.00 and say her remaining goal for the 2022 season is "to break 20:30 by the end of the season."
* Roswell's Will Tribick secured the win in the boys JV A race on Saturday. He was part of a 1-2-3 finish for his team.
* St. John Bosco Academy's Colin Meersman cruises into the line on Saturday in the boys Varsity B race. He said of his backwards hat, which was not just a style choice, "It prevents sweat from getting in my eyes."
* Memphis Rich, a junior from Richmond Hill (GA), won the boys Varsity A race on Saturday in 16:06.20.