The Watauga Pioneers always find a way to develop new talent and strong teams, but this may be a challenging year.

 

NCRunners is counting down the top 25 girls cross country teams in the state, from all classifications, in preparation for the start of the fall season.  The top 2 girls teams will be revealed on August 1st, which is the official first day of practice.  For a more detailed explanation of how these rankings were developed, see this article.

 

#25: Watauga

The Pioneers have one of the longest and deepest traditions in our sport, but they face several obstacles this fall.  The graduation of their top three runners (and four of their top 7) from last fall will hurt, as will the loss of Coach David Honea (although he was only a part of the very strong staff at Watauga).  The culture of hard work will remain long after them, though, and that is what always gives this team the hope of making the state meet.  Depth appears to be a bit of a problem, although a good summer can help counteract that.  The rising junior class appears to be strong, and that means it may not be long before we see the two-tone blue and white in the top 10 again.

25	Watauga
	1) Kathleen Mansure		19:25.00	61
	2) Lynde Wangler		19:50.00	95
	3) Celia Jackson		20:25.00	192
	4) Shelby Hickernell		20:48.00	265
	5) Lily Weeks		21:06.00	315
	Average Time: 20:18.80 -- Total Time: 1:41:34.00 -- 1-5 Split: 1:41.00
	6) Taylor Woolridge		21:34.90	441
	7) Sidney Wiswell		22:43.00	729