If any meet can rival the huge times at the Providence Invitational, it is the Jungle Run and its exciting, night-time races.
Labor Day weekend is a little slow around North Carolina, but there are still a few meets that are putting together strong, competitive fields. The focus shifts to the eastern half of the state for the next few weeks, though of course there are good-sized events going on all over. This is a transitional time in the fall season, as school has just started in many places this week, and competition is still feeling a bit like pre-season, but soon we will be in the competitive heart of the season. These early results are still very informative, though, as they can tell us which teams and individuals should be in the pool to consider as contenders. Some athletes and even whole teams will be training right through these races, not pausing to rest or gear up, but we can still see their baseline fitness and depth. Right now, it's not about who wins or loses; instead, we're looking for who runs well enough to show that they've done the work and have the talent to compete.
Featured Meet: Jungle Run (South View HS, Hope Mills)
Staff Coverage by AbbyBrooks
Always one of the most exciting meets of the season, the meet starts in the late afternoon with the JV races and continues into the night until the championship races are reached, last of them all. As darkness sets in, the runners race under the lights (the ones from all the campus athletic fields, plus a large number of construction floodlights spaced around the course). It creates a very unique atmosphere. and combined with the cooler perceived temperatures (no sun makes a big difference) and the large, competitive fields, you get a formula for faster than normal results. The course is mostly flat and fast under normal conditions, although it does qualify as a 5K based on measurements last year. Here are some of the interesting aspects of this year's Jungle Run that we will be watching closely:
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How fast will Philip Hall run? We got so used to him winning races during the spring season that we forget he is still just a junior, and therefore still has development ahead of him in cross country. He ran a PR of 15:35 at McAlpine last weekend, and he should be pushed the whole way by Nik Kreiling (Jordan).
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Watch out for the first main pack in the boys race (behind those two likely front-runners), because it could be very fast. Daniel Beamer (Jordan), Parker Lee (Fuquay-Varina), Chris Kelly (Pinecrest), Drew Navarro (Millbrook), and Collin Loy (Southern Alamance) all ran under 16:10 during the 2012 season, and all will be gunning for a sub-16 time here.
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South View and RJ Reynolds have developed a friendly cross-state rivalry, owing to the fact that the Demons' coach graduated as a Tiger. The two teams with very similar sets of returners, ranked 2nd and 3rd in the state in the NCRunners' preseason rankings, will go head-to-head for the first of several times this fall. It doesn't really matter who wins this first battle, except for the motivational factor that might result; expect these two teams to go back and forth all year, adding even more interest to what is shaping up to be an extremely exciting 4A boys state meet.
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Oh, by the way, Pinecrest has a really good boys' team, too, and they will be right in the mix for the team championship, as well. The Patriots started slowly at this meet last year, and might train through again, but the excitement of this meet has a way of bringing out the best.
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Who will take the girls' race? Tori Churchill (Grimsley) has the best returning time, although she faded slightly at the end of her race on Tuesday in Greensboro (most likely because she trained through it). Lavinia Cotto (Jack Britt) should be right there, along with Churchill's teammate Blair Ramsey. Becca Meshaw (West Johnston) and Emily Pettis (Millbrook) also broke 19 minutes last year. Arden Vessie (Corinth Holders) started this season strong, running 19:16 at Wendell Park last weekend, and she should be in the mix as well.
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Are the Pinecrest girls as good as they looked last week? They dominated a mediocre field at Wendell Park last weekend, but will have much stiffer competition this time. Millbrook is one of the top 10 girls' teams in the state, and Jack Britt has a strong squad returning. Even without Gabby Maudiere, who moved back to California, Grimsley is still strong enough to threaten for a podium finish here.
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How will the teams that changed classifications stack up against their new competition? Swansboro and Corinth Holders, two strong girls' teams from the 2A ranks, have both moved up to 3A. The Terry Sanford boys would have been a state-meet-caliber team in 4A, but they have moved down to 3A; that could make them top 5. The Cedar Ridge boys face the double whammy of losing AJ Tucker to graduation, plus moving up to 3A; nonetheless, expect them to develop a solid team.
Meet Page
(Contains list of teams entered, past meets)
Virtual Meet: Boys | Girls
(Using actual entry list, but last year's PR times)
Meet Records: Boys | Girls
Course Records: Boys | Girls
Vance Labor Day Invitational (Z. B. Vance HS, Charlotte)
Volunteer Coverage by pvan537
Hyder-McMahill Invitational (Montreat College, Montreat)
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