Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #13

<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>

Weddington's girls have been consistently strong, placing between 4th and 7th at the 3A state meet for 5 straight years.

 

	Weddington High School (NC)
	1) Morgan Garrett		18:58.00	48
	2) Natalie Warner		19:34.00	91
	3) Elizabeth Farquhar		20:04.30	145
	4) Sophie Van Dyne		20:17.00	165
	5) Brianna Kapheim		20:27.00	209
	Average Time: 19:52.06 Total Time: 1:39:20.30 1-5 Split: 1:29.00
	6) Lily Chambers		20:41.00	259
	7) Jenni Ciesielski		21:32.41	419

Seventh, sixth, and fifth - those are the places the Weddington girls earned in the last three 3A state meets.  Going back to 2009, the Warriors have been in the top 7 for 5 consecutive years, but have never quite had that breakthrough season that would let them challenge for the top 3.  The 3A girls are very strong this year, but this team is right in the mix again, predicted 4th among returning teams by the database.  You get the feeling that one of these summers, Weddington will make the leap and threaten to finish on the podium.  This would be a good year for that, as there should be tremendous leadership from 4 rising seniors among the returning top 5.  Results from the outdoor 3200 are encouraging, with 4 girls under 13 minutes; in particular, Natalie Werner's 11:35 makes her a candidate to share front-running duties with returning #1 runner Morgan Garrett.  The Warriors need to cultivate depth, as there is a drop-off after their 6th returner.  Still, another top-5 finish is likely this season, and the potential is there for more if this team wants it.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Ranking: 12th

• 2014 Outdoor Team 1600 Ranking: 16th

• 2014 Outdoor Team 3200 Ranking: 11th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: 7.037 (19th)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 8.926 (15th)