Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #24

<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>

The East gets a bad rap, but perhaps a young and improving Hoggard team can help to change that image in 2014.

 

	Hoggard (NC)
	1) Madeline Hulbert		19:39.04	99
	2) Sydney Thuman		19:58.49	136
	3) Sarah Pellazari		20:00.00	140
	4) Elizabeth Magill		20:28.07	216
	5) Sara Weldon		21:14.51	364
	Average Time: 20:16.02 Total Time: 1:41:20.11 1-5 Split: 1:35.47
	6) Emilee Golini		21:34.40	428
	7) Hannah DeLange		22:35.39	658

Last year's qualifying teams from the 4A East tell the tale of two different cross country pathways.  Two of the four advancing squads - Pinecrest and Laney - were hamered by graduation, and will have to rebuild with younger runners this year.  On the other hand, Hoggard was a young team on the rise, with only one senior (running #2 at the state meet) and with 2 each from the 9th- and 10th-grade classes.  With a solid summer, the Vikings should contend for 4A East title, and they have an outside chance at making it into the top 10 in the 4A meet.  They posted strong evidence of improvement during spring track, including a 5-girl average of 12:32 for the 3200.  After a difficult 2012 season, the Vikings made an enormous leap forward in 2013; aside from that, though, their record of improvement is a little spotty.  Sustaining last year's improvement will be the key to a successful 2014 campaign.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Rankings: 26th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 1600 Rankings: 14th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 3200 Rankings: 7th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: 4.525 (26th)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 6.515 (21st)