Cary junior Mohammed Abushouk had the winning time with 9:31.01, while Green Hope’s Doug Black (9:35.26) and Bryan Spreitzer (9:42.46) came in second and third respectively.

“The race went alright, kind of like I expected,” Abushouk said. “I just wanted to stay in it until the last 800 and be in it at the end of the race. It went just that way.”

The competitors in the race kept a consistently tight pack with the entire field running together in about a 30-meter stretch for the first 2,400 meters.

“That’s exactly what I needed,” Abushouk said of the pace. “I bumped into a few people at times but the pace was about where I expected it to be.”

The Cary junior said he entered the race thinking 9:30 would win it.

Abushouk also finished third in the mile.