SMITHFIELD - Put together cool temperatures, quality competition and pent-up anticipation, and what do you get? A great day to race.

Such was the opinion of West Johnston runners Dakota Peachee, Kelly Montague and Ashley Matthews, as they opened the prep cross country season with a bang in the Smithfield-Selma Kickoff Invitational.

Peachee, the reigning Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference boys' champion, cruised to victory in the boys race, covering the 3.1-mile SSS layout in 16 minutes, 28 seconds. Montague also ran to victory, edging Matthews by two-tenths of a second, claiming the girls event in a time of 21:09.8 seconds.

Peachee's winning time easily topped that of the Nash Central tandem of Will Bass and Dillon Hawley, who crossed the finish line shoulder-to-shoulder in a tie for second, timed in 17:04.

"It was a good day for a race," Peachee reiterated. "I planned to go out hard by myself, but my coaches told me to take it easy and push it the last mile."

Peachee said changes had been made to the course, including hay barrels placed in the early portion of the course, for everyone to jump over, and a sandier course in the woods.

"I got what I wanted out of it," Peachee added. "I thought the course was interesting. I just wanted to use today as a training run."

But it wasn't enough for the Wildcats in the team standings, as Bass and Hawley, who attended a cross-country camp this past July with Peachee, led Nash Central to the boys team title.

Nash Central, of the NEW 6 3-A Conference and considered one of the top 3-A teams in the state, claimed the crown by placing its top five runners among the first nine finishers, outscoring West Johnston 27-50.

Clayton fielded two teams, with the 'A' squad finishing third with 78 points, and the 'B' unit seventh with 202.

Host Smithfield-Selma garnered a fourth-place finish with 98 points, while Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference member South Johnston was fifth with 115 points and GNRC member Holly Springs sixth with 168.

Rounding out the Bulldogs' scoring finishers were Fabian White (fifth, 17:36), Tarin Richardson (eighth, 18:03) and Mason Williams (ninth, 18:05).

Only the top five individuals are scored for each respective team. Subsequent finishers for each team were not scored, and the point value adjusted for runners finishing behind non-scored runners.

Following Peachee across the line for West were Chad Massengill, seventh overall in 17:53, Ben Schoenman (10th, 18:25), Chris Garrett (13th, 18:44) and Bobby Martinez, 19th in 19:32.

Also competing for the 'Cats were Chris Schoenman (21:50), Tyler Goss (22:15), Andrew Kimball (22:11), Brandon Watson (23:33), Christian Gavitti (23:33), Tyler Nelson (27:57), Ben Ennis and Andrew Eddins, both in 29:48.

Clayton's 'A' team was paced by Ryan Rudisill (sixth, 17:46); Jeremy Shapiro (12th, 18:44); Jarrad Bridgers (17th, 19:26); Logan Shively (21st, 19:34) and Will Crabtree (22nd, 20:00).

Rounding out the 'A' squad were Hunter Crocker (20:24), Timothy Holtzhauser (20:40), Matt Phillips (20:49) and Erick Biggs (22:01).

Scoring for the 'B' team were Stefan Garcia (22:01), Michael Futrell (22:09), Hayden Abene (22:15), Jonathan Pate (22:39) and Eric Barkley (23:34).

Completing the entrants for the 'B' team were Shane Swick (24:52), Joshua Casey (25:38) and Kyle Byrd (26:08).

Kevin Rose paced SSS in 14th at 18:54, Nathaniel Autry (15th, 19:13), Andrew Autry (16th, 19:21), Kyle McKeel (27th, 20:52) and Tyler Simmons (28th, 21:04).

Completing the Spartans' competitors were Giovanni Loia (21:58), Carson Campbell (23:24) and Wallace Spragins (25:55).

Patrick Worthington's fourth-place showing in 17:22 topped South, while the Trojans added Cirillo Perez (24th, 20:26), Kasey Suvolski (30th, 21:22), Jay Tart (31st, 21:33) and Blaine Toler (32nd, 21:38).

Completing the Trojans' entrants were Terrell Gay (21:39) and Erick Lee (23:02).

Montague, whose 13th-place finish in the conference meet last season determined the team championship, just nipped teammate Matthews at the line, when it had appeared the tandem would cross side-by-side.

"We brought it in together," Montague said, of the finish. "But we didn't know if we could finish like that, so we just raced for the line."

Montague said her winning time could have been a lot faster, but "it just felt good to race, after practicing all summer."

Matthews blamed a fall near the end of the race for keeping her out of the top spot.

"I took a Superman dive in the woods, about 600 meters from the finish," Matthews said sheepishly, displaying where she had collected a portion of the course on her left side and leg. "I hit some sand and fell flat on my face.

"But I didn't stay on the ground long - I got back up and caught up with Kelly - it was fun."

Their one-two finish sparked the 'Cats to a first-place team finish with 21 points, with four individuals placing among the top six runners to hold off Clayton, which tallied 36 points for runner-up honors.

Holly Springs placed third with 75 points, while Smithfield-Selma and Nash Central did not have enough runners for a full five-runner team and South Johnston did not field a squad.

Rounding out the finishes for West were Maraya Slatter (fourth, 21:27), Brianna Jackowski (sixth, 22:30), Rebecca Judd (13th, 23:31), Lauren Pollard (25:06), Ariel Nichols (28:38) and Briana Phillips (31:00).

Catie Simmons, fifth in 21:39, paced Clayton with Amanda Tiner (seventh, 22:49); Aubrey Allen (eighth, 22:54); Emily Simmons (10th, 23:02) and Victoria James (14th, 23:25) rounding out the Comets' top-five finishers.

Others running for the Comets were Haley Abene (24:37), Rebecca Hall (24:15), Cassie Pennock (27:24), Mary Lassiter (27:58), Kaitlyn Stone, Vaughn Worthington (28:40) and Erin Mullins (29:02). SSS was paced by Danielle Lee, ninth in 23:01, while other Spartans runners were Catherine Lindquist (23:30), Erin Trembley (26:53) and Mary Stuart Harris (28:00).

Freshman runners also received awards for their efforts, based on how they finished in the meet. Taking top honors for the boys was Perez of South Johnston, with Phillips of Clayton 'A' second.

Other area finishers were West's Chris Schoenman (third), Goss (fourth), Watson (seventh), and Gavitti (eighth); and Clayton 'B's Casey (ninth) and Byrd (10th). Pacing the girls frosh was Lindquist, with

West's Pollard second, and Clayton's Stone and Mullins fourth and fifth.