Gladieux takes first in inaugural CCS cross country meet
• By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
HENDERSON — The first-ever cross country meet in Crossroads Christian history on Tuesday yielded a satisfactory result for head coach Trey Snide.
Senior Mason Gladieux was challenged throughout the entirety of a rainy, muggy afternoon across the treacherous course but he managed to fight off his competition and put together a time of 18 minutes,1 second to secure his second consecutive victory in 2021.
Gladieux is thrilled with the amount of success he has experienced in his first year with CCS’ cross country program and credited Snide and his teammates for helping prepare him both physically and mentally for the obstacles provided on Tuesday.
“I knew I was going to have a challenge,” Gladieux said. “This course in particular is about as cross country as you can get. You have hills, inclines and declines. There were also holes in the ground so you had to fight around those. It was a lot harder to run than many of the other courses we’ve been on this year.”
Gladieux, who is also a key contributor on CCS’ men’s basketball team, brought some experience with him when he decided to join the cross country team over the summer, as he previously ran with Cardinal Gibbons back during his freshman year.
While Snide expected a transition period for Gladieux after spending two years away from the sport, he has been impressed with the amount of progress Gladieux has made towards becoming one of the best runners in the NCISAA 1A division.
Snide added that the entire varsity team, which also consists of Mason’s brother Ben, junior Brady Bargfrede and eighth grader Zachary Bartholomew, has come together to push each other in every practice and meet, which has given him confidence in the program’s ability to compete for a state title.
“All of this has nothing to do with me,” Snide said. “The effort has been there since day one and we’ve taken off much farther than I thought we would go. I had high expectations for these guys but they have blown past them and I think the sky’s the limit.”
Along with Gladieux, Bargfrede was the other member of CCS to place inside the top five on Tuesday with a time of 19 minutes, 43 seconds to help CCS place first overall against Carolina Friends and Southside Christian.
Fresh off becoming the first all-state runner in CCS history last year, Bargfrede put together a performance that Snide considered to be his best of the season so far. Snide believes that Bargfrede will contend for victories before the season wraps up.
• By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
HENDERSON — The first-ever cross country meet in Crossroads Christian history on Tuesday yielded a satisfactory result for head coach Trey Snide.
Senior Mason Gladieux was challenged throughout the entirety of a rainy, muggy afternoon across the treacherous course but he managed to fight off his competition and put together a time of 18 minutes,1 second to secure his second consecutive victory in 2021.
Gladieux is thrilled with the amount of success he has experienced in his first year with CCS’ cross country program and credited Snide and his teammates for helping prepare him both physically and mentally for the obstacles provided on Tuesday.
“I knew I was going to have a challenge,” Gladieux said. “This course in particular is about as cross country as you can get. You have hills, inclines and declines. There were also holes in the ground so you had to fight around those. It was a lot harder to run than many of the other courses we’ve been on this year.”
Gladieux, who is also a key contributor on CCS’ men’s basketball team, brought some experience with him when he decided to join the cross country team over the summer, as he previously ran with Cardinal Gibbons back during his freshman year.
While Snide expected a transition period for Gladieux after spending two years away from the sport, he has been impressed with the amount of progress Gladieux has made towards becoming one of the best runners in the NCISAA 1A division.
Snide added that the entire varsity team, which also consists of Mason’s brother Ben, junior Brady Bargfrede and eighth grader Zachary Bartholomew, has come together to push each other in every practice and meet, which has given him confidence in the program’s ability to compete for a state title.
“All of this has nothing to do with me,” Snide said. “The effort has been there since day one and we’ve taken off much farther than I thought we would go. I had high expectations for these guys but they have blown past them and I think the sky’s the limit.”
Along with Gladieux, Bargfrede was the other member of CCS to place inside the top five on Tuesday with a time of 19 minutes, 43 seconds to help CCS place first overall against Carolina Friends and Southside Christian.
Fresh off becoming the first all-state runner in CCS history last year, Bargfrede put together a performance that Snide considered to be his best of the season so far. Snide believes that Bargfrede will contend for victories before the season wraps up.
