East Wake coach Mike Costantino said that's not the greatest surprise when facing one of the most proven teams in the state.

"West Johnston - stocked with elite-level talent from year to year - would obviously be favored to win and to do so by a sizeable margin," the eight-year coach said.

The Wildcats, comprised of seemingly twice the amount of runners, were as intimidating at the starting line as they were when crossing the finish line in packs like huskies at the Iditarod. Costantino compared the group to the renowned John Wooden UCLA teams of the past. He said they can win before even showing up.

"I think some of that intimidation played a part in our performance Wednesday, although it certainly wasn't the deciding factor," he said. "West's talent was, but it wasn't as if we completely laid down. We went out and competed pretty hard for an underdog."

Truly so, East Wake's runners looked every bit as spent as the West runners by the time they hit the end of the 5K event. And as Costantino point out, just getting the experience of running against conference's elite is beneficial in removing some of that glamour.

"It further provides a view of where we, as a team, want to be. The trick is to make sure that we take the right lessons to heart after such a loss," he said.

Impressing to the Warrior coach was the performance of Logan Jones, who finished 16th, John Watkins (28th), Ashley Stacy (11th) and Emily Oakley (12th), who all revealed signs of continual improvement. The long-term improvement is what the Warrior program is after in a sport where "one week better" truly means something.

Costantino said it's hard to say how the rest of the season will turn out heading into the second half of the season, but he's confident the group will be significantly improved from our finish last year (eighth place for boys, seventh for girls) and have an outside shot of climbing into the top half of the conference

While he knows the teams will improve, Costantino said it isn't easy gauging how much they will, or how much the competition will, by the day of the conference meet.

The men's team (3-5 overall, 2-3 in the conference) currently lacks a the caliber of runner that can hit the 16-minute range and earn that important low-point value, but only one runner has more than a season of experience - half the team is running for the first time. Costantino still says it's the best team he's had since that in 2006, which placed fifth in the conference.

The women (4-4 overall, 3-2 in conference) also lacks a state-standout, but has the experience with three seniors a pair of other returners. Costantino says they are hands-down the best team he's coached in six years.

"Both teams have shown outstanding effort, starting back in the summer," he said. "They have done everything asked, without complaint, and have often taken it upon themselves to do additional workouts. They are driven, competitive and positive. Their attitude is outstanding."

Cross-country results: West Johnston at East Wake, Sept. 16, 5 p.m. Distance: 5K. Location: Wendell Community Park.

Men:

Team:

WJ - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 - 15; EW - 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 - 50.

Individual:

1 - Eric Baldwin (WJ) 18:49.2; 2 - Ben Schoeneman (WJ) 18:49.2; 3 - Bobby Martinez (WJ) 18:49.2; 4 - Chris Garrett (WJ) 18:49.2; 5 - Chad Massengill (WJ) 18:49.2; 6 - Bobby Baraldi (WJ) 18:49.2; 7 - Mike Cornwall (WJ) 18:49.2; 8 - Jeremy Gower (WJ) 18:49.2; 9 - Chris Schoeneman (WJ) 18:49.2; 10 - Brandon Watson (WJ) 18:49.2; 11 - Connor Martinez (WJ) 18:56.2; 12 - Chris McGuire (WJ) 19:23.6; 13 - Cole Simmons (WJ) 19:24.6; 14 - Jake Betancourt (WJ) 19:34.3; 15 - Austin Boyette (EW) 19:47.0; 16 - Logan Jones (EW) 19:57.0; 17 - Matt Crecco (EW) 20:11.4; 18 - Camden Finch (EW) 20:29.0; 19 - Jeff Buchanan (WJ) 20:36.6; 20 - Dillan Fine (WJ) 21:18.8; 21 - Taylor Fin (WJ) 21:38.4; 22 - Jessie Olmstead (WJ) 22:16.4; 23 - Ryan Magoon (WJ) 22:40.1; 24 - Nick Pirro (EW) 23:59.7; 25 - Carson Lyman (EW) 24:09.7; 26 - Bryan Duttman (EW) 24:16.5; 27 - Brandon McQueen (WJ) 24:27.3; 28 - John Watkins (EW) 24:27.5; 29 - Alexander Atkinson (WJ) 24:35.0; 30 - Zach Heath (EW) 31:20.6; 31 - Ben Ennis (WJ) 32:20.2.

Women:

Team:

WJ - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 - 15; EW - 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 - 49.

Individual:

1 - Ashley Matthews (WJ) 23:34.5; 2 - Kelly Montague (WJ) 23:34.5; 3 - Lauren Pollard (WJ) 23:34.5; 4 - Dakota Fosevee (WJ) 23:34.5; 5 - Megan Mattis (WJ) 23:34.5; 6 - Scarlett Beamon (WJ) 22:35.0; 7 - Jessica Garcia (EW) 23:53.0; 8 - Rebecca Judd (WJ) 34:39.4; 9 - Ariel Nikas (WJ) 24:20.2; 10 - Kyra Greene (WJ) 24:58.2; 11 - Ashley Stacy (EW) 25:18.1; 12 - Emily Oakley (EW) 25:35.4; 13 - Isabella Pena (WJ) 25:47.8; 14 - Emily Atkinson (WJ) 25:54.4; 15 - Jamie Judd (WJ) 27:13.9; 16 - Sarah Broadwell (EW) 27:34.9; 17 - Sage Lowery (WJ) 29:13.1; 18 - Kristen Schena (WJ) 29:19.4; 19 - Brian Pillips (WJ) 29:59.5; 20 - Sara Hester (EW) 30:18.8; 21 - Abigail Andrade (WJ) 30:27.5; 22 - Miranda Potts (WJ) 32:30.0.