Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #25

<p> <span style="font-size:14px;">NCRunners is counting down the top 25 girls teams heading into the fall season. &nbsp;The full rankings will be released on the first day of official practice: Friday, August 1st. &nbsp;These are subjective rankings (not computer generated); they take into account returning team rankings, returning team averages, team rankings in the 1600 and 3200 from indoor and outdoor track, and a school&#39;s &quot;Improvement Rating.&quot; &nbsp;Improvement Rating is a custom metric developed by researching the improvement in a team&#39;s 5-person average from year to year, in comparison to that same team&#39;s ranking. &nbsp;Improvement Rating numbers and methodology will be released on the weekend of August 2nd.</span></p>

Though typically the Imps are stronger during track season, Cary has a returning team capable of making a splash this fall.

 

	Cary (NC)
	1) Cayla Rodney		19:28.00	79
	2) Sarah Venable		19:38.00	97
	3) Sarah Hoffert		20:21.00	184
	4) Molly Campbell		20:23.00	191
	5) Sophia Uthe		21:39.00	441
	Average Time: 20:17.80 Total Time: 1:41:29.00 1-5 Split: 2:11.00
	6) Julia Brown		21:45.00	463
	7) Grace Gressett		22:44.60	697

 

Always a solid and competitive program, the Imps showed improvement during the spring with a 5-girl average of 5:37 in the 1600.  They definitely need to cultivate depth; bringing their 5-6 runners closer to #4 would eliminate that 1:16 gap in the middle of the lineup.  Cary has 6 of their top 7 back from 2013, and will have the leadership of 3 seniors on the team in 2014.  Will that be enough to get them over the hump in a wickedly deep Mideast 4A, where they finished 9th last year?  The database predicts them as the 6th-best returning team in the region, so a trip to the state meet could be within range.  Cary has a solid history of improvement, though not as strong as many of the teams in the top 20.

Important Data:

• 2013 Returning XC Ranking: 26th

• 2013 Returning Team Average: 29th

• 2014 Outdoor Team 1600 Ranking: 12th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: 5.090 (25th)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 5.144 (24th)