For Dawe, it's simple: No 'I' in Hawks

Jan. 22- 28, 2010 Issue

By C. Jemal Horton

South Charlotte Weekly

It doesn't bother Haylee Dawe - not one iota - that she failed to achieve her individual goals during the 2009 cross country season.

The fact that she couldn't win the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A title? Not a big deal for the Charlotte Latin School junior.

Falling nearly a half-minute short of her goal of breaking the 18-minute barrier? She hasn't spent a second regretting it - even though she put in more than 300 miles of individual running before the Hawks' preseason workouts began with an eye toward achieving it.

"It was a very good season," Dawe said with enthusiasm booming from her otherwise soft voice.

"I was very pleased. Our team had another successful season, and that's what made it great. We graduated two seniors, and two freshmen came up and performed well for us. It was special to be part of that."

For the third consecutive season, the Hawks claimed conference and state championships, with four Charlotte Latin runners finishing among the Top 10 at the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A meet.

And Dawe? Well, even though she didn't reach all her individual goals, she still managed to have the best season of any Mecklenburg County girls runner.

Dawe won the Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association crown with a time of 18 minutes, 30 seconds - nearly a minute faster than the second-place finisher, Providence Day's Katie Lonergan (19:21). Dawe then finished second at the state meet in 18:49, which was the best time among county runners in state-meet competition.

Dawe culminated her high school season by being named Carolina Weekly Newspaper Group's 2009 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.

"This year, I just put in a ton of miles during the summer," Dawe said. "My coach (Mike Weiss) and my teammates put in a lot of work. We ran 30-35 miles a week, including meets and one day over the weekend. I ran six days a week last year, too, but it was only 4 or 5 miles a day.

"This year, based on how well our team did, running more just really paid off."

Weiss was named CWNG's Girls Coach of the Year. Dawe, of course, was at the front of the pack for the Hawks' runners.

Her best time of the fall came in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships at Charlotte's McAlpine Park, when she clocked in at 18:27.

"I really did want to break 18 (minute), but I'm not disappointed that I fell short of it," said Dawe, who finished fifth in the state as a freshman and third as a sophomore.

"I feel fortunate that I was able to (set personal-record times) during the season and inish second in the state behind a really good runner (Raleigh Ravenscroft freshman Wesly Frazier).

"My team achieved all its goals, and that's so huge. I couldn't feel better about how things worked out."

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