And individually, no one could match West Charlotte's Mark Blackmon (16:23) or Lake Norman's Taylor Sweet (19:57), the boys' and girls' champions.
But Hough made some strides itself with runner-up finishes in the boys' and girls' races.
"It's a step in the right direction," said Hough coach Neil Love.
Hough senior Stephen Hansen finished fourth in the boys' race with a time of 17:12, helping the Huskies total 74 points, which was four better than third-place Mooresville.
"He ran the best race of his high school career," said Love.
Hough's Kevin Harrow overcame an injury to finish eighth in 17:43, while Ryan Dennehy (16th, 18:08), Andrew Capets (21st, 18:22) and Joey Obeid (25th, 18:37) also counted toward Hough's team score.
In the girls' race, freshman Lexi Powers led Hough with a seventh-place finish in 21:13, as Hough had five runners in the top 18 and totaled 66 points to take second.
"Lexi is the picture of consistency," said Love. "For Lexi, she started the year in great shape, and she's finishing the year in great shape."
Hough's Breanna Jenkins and Morgan Freese were 12th and 13th with times of 21:57 and 22:13, respectively. Emily Reader (16th, 22:32) and Megan Wedley (18th, 22:41) rounded out Hough's scoring.
North Meck's top finishers included Jenna Parker (11th, 21:53) in the girls' race and Stephan Snyder (23rd, 18:35) in the boys' meet. Nate Nash was Hopewell's top performer, taking seventh in the boys' race with a time of 17:19. Jessica Burroughs led the Lady Titans (17th, 22:37).
Lady Eagles win MAC
SouthLake Christian put its top five female runners in the top 17 and won the Metrolina Athletic Conference cross country title at McAlpine Oct. 17. The Lady Eagles totaled 54 points to edge second-place Westminster Catawba, which finished with 58 points.
Anna Landis was the top Eagle. She took fifth with a time of 22:44. SouthLake's Ansley Rikard was eighth with a time of 23:01, while Alison Geis (11th, 23:33), Hannah Sexton (13th, 23:54) and Kelsey Bansek (17th, 24:29) rounded out the Lady Eagle scoring.
SouthLake's Joe Bryant took third in the MAC boys' race with a time of 18:21 as the Eagles finished third with 66 points, 10 points behind runner-up Covenant Day.
Lady Pats win SPAA
The Davidson Day girls' cross country team posted a perfect score of 15 to win the Southern Piedmont Athletic Association title this past week. Davidson Day had the event's top six finishers, with five of those counting toward the team score.
Lady Patriot Melissa Zammitti won the race with a time of 19:54 and was followed by teammates Caroline Sumner (21:26), Rachel Bringewatt (21:56), Hanna Goyette (22:07) and Max Foster (22:15). DDS' Claire Oosterhouse also finished ahead of the top runners from any other school, taking sixth with a time of 22:27.
The DDS boys were second in the SPAA with 41 points, nine behind boys' champion Hickory Christian. DDS' top finisher was Hudson Harris (3rd, 18:17).
— Staff
