Kayla Holder has been the most impressive junior girl so far, but the returning numbers say she'll have comp for that title soon.
Girls Class of 2016
Kayla Holder (Wake Forest) has been one of the biggest stories of the season so far, with her dominating last 1.5 miles at Providence putting her on top of the junior rankings by a LOT. There is too much talent in this class, however, to let her run away with that honor, so expect some of the veteran 11th-graders to step up to the challenge. Whether it's Elly Henes (Green Hope), who didn't break through until the state meet last year and may have been pacing with her teammates in their first meet; or Sophie Ebihara (Cardinal Gibbons), who has only ever lost at the cross country state meet to graduated teammate Mary Grace Doggett; or Blair Ramsey (Grimsley), one of the state's best milers after having broken 5 minutes in the spring; or Anna Vess (AC Reynolds), who had a huge spring season. There are other candidates for the top 5 in the class of 2016 as well, as you can see from the rankings below.
Top Junior Girls So Far This Season (Full Rankings)
Top Returning Junior Girls from 2013 (Full Rankings)
Boys Class of 2016
Jeremy Brown (Broughton) entered the season as the top returner in the junior class, and he debuted with a time only 3 seconds off of his PR, establishing himself as the guy to beat in this class. Alex Cornwell (HIckory Ridge) was the only other sub-15:45 returner, and he has also had a good start to the season, but it was Robbie Simmons (Broughton) and Zachary Marchinko (Carson) that leapfrogged him by opening with sub-16 times. Connor Peeples (Cardinal Gibbons) and Kenny Kneisel (Mount Tabor) both gave us indications of a big step forward with their strong spring performances, while East Chapel Hill teammates Connor McDonald and Ethan Ready obviously had great summers. Watch out for Jack Ratteree (Charlotte Latin), who did not race with his team at the WNC Carnival - he is one of a growing number of triathletes who also compete in cross country 5K's, and the cross training that comes with that territory seems to help.
Top Junior Boys So Far This Season (Full Rankings)
Top Returning Junior Boys from 2013 (Full Rankings)