First time charm: Holy Trinity sweeps SCISA cross country titles

Before last weekend, Beaufort’s Holy Trinity Classical Christian School never had fielded a team in any state-level competition in any sport. Now the Lions have their first championship trophy for their case.

And their second.

Holy Trinity dashed off with both boys’ and girls’ cross country titles from the SCISA Class 1A meet in Columbia, capturing twin championships Saturday with deep lineups that feature no runner older than ninth grade.

Mills Langehans also won the school’s first individual title, running away from the pack to win the girls’ race at Heathwood Hall by 27 seconds over her closest pursuer.

“We thought both teams had a chance to place in the top three. We were really excited about that,” said Josiah Tobin, who coaches the Lions alongside his wife Hillary. “But it was just kind of incredible, the way they performed. We were not expecting to take home two trophies by any stretch of the imagination.”

In just its fifth year of operation, Holy Trinity currently has no students above ninth grade. The Tobins helped establish the cross country program two years ago, sending individual runners to USA Track & Field state and regional meets in previous seasons.

The Lions joined SCISA this year, but only field two other sports — basketball in the winter and soccer in the spring.

“The kids have been progressing nicely,” Tobin said. “We’ve had the same exact three goals for every race — run fast, have fun and give glory to God. Our goal is not to win, but if we do those three things well, winning might come along with it.”

Langehans, one of three eighth-graders on the girls’ roster, left the pack to finish some 100 yards ahead of her competition. She covered Heathwood Hall’s 5K course in 20 minutes, 36.71 seconds.

“She’s worked so hard,” Tobin said. “We looked at the the times from last year and felt pretty confident. We didn’t want her to feel any pressure, but we told her the race would likely be hers for the taking.”

Teammate Lydia Mahan came home in eighth, with three other Lions finishing in the top 20. Addie Warren placed 16th, Grace Strawn was 18th and Eliza Solomons was 20th.

The boys also placed five runners in the top 20, paced by freshman Logan Lawson in seventh (20:06.55). Jacob Beach was the next Lion in 12th, with Bray Sheehan 15th, Parker Smith 16th and Luke Greene 17th – all with personal bests.

“That’s just crazy, to (see them all) happen on the same day,” Tobin said.

As Tobin and his wife watched runners go past, he said, it became apparent that the Lions were going to be in the championship hunt. An interviewer confirmed it, though the runners didn’t find out until the awards were officially announced.

“They were shaking, they were so excited,” Tobin said. “We all absolutely loved it. We’ve just had a great season of coming together.”

Beaufort Academy took third in the boys’ competition, as Nathaniel Keenan finished fourth and Jack Carter Worrell placed eighth. Cameron Keenan also came home in 11th to give the Eagles the top finishing trio, though Holy Trinity’s greater depth prevailed.

Hilton Head Christian placed sixth among Class 2A girls, as Callie Haertel led the way by crossing the finish in sixth among individuals. Hilton Head Prep was 10th and John Paul II placed 11th in the team standings.

JP2 was the top area team among Class 2A boys, finishing eighth to come in one spot ahead of Hilton Head Prep. HHCA finished 12th.

This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 10:13 AM with the headline "First time charm: Holy Trinity sweeps SCISA cross country titles."