Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #23

<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>

Apex faces an uphill task: trying to get into the top 4 in the powerful Mideast 4A region to make a trip to the state meet.

 

	Apex (NC)
	1) Cara Gaudioso		19:52.36	123
	2) Samantha Malone		20:08.61	155
	3) Allison Rosen		20:12.43	160
	4) Elie Rivera		20:20.50	181
	5) Savannah Dupree		20:40.64	259
	Average Time: 20:14.91 Total Time: 1:41:14.54 1-5 Split: 48.28
	6) Sarah Hajnos		21:22.00	389
	7) Allison Farrell		21:32.50	421

A closely-packed front 5 returning from 2013 and a 5-girl average of 5:38 for the 1600 from 2014 outdoor: that's what Apex brings to the table in these rankings.  After finishing 5th in the ultra-competitive Mideast 4A and just missing out on a state meet berth, the Cougars are likely to have that single goal in mind all summer and fall.  It won't be easy - Apex projects as the 5th-best team in the region again, so these girls will have to out-improve at least one other team to get to states.  The Improvement Rating metric is not impressed with the Cougar girls over the past 5 years, but a team can change that dramatically when the motivation is right.  With only one senior in their returning top 7, this year could be a prelude to a serious run at the statewide top 10 in 2015.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Team Ranking: 22nd

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 1600 Ranking: 9th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 3200 Ranking: 19th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: 4.497 (27th)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 2.263 (26th).