The weather was actually improving when the 2A girls toed the line, with the clouds thinning a bit, the wind lessening, and the rain tapering off to a sprinkle. On the other hand, the course was pretty soft, having been pounded by three previous races during the morning session. Before the gun, the Carrboro girls were considered the heavy favorite, and they had been running with a chip on their collective shoulder all season. That extra motivation derived directly from a third-place finish at this meet last year. When the gun fired, though, the Jaguars were not the most aggressive team off the line; it was actually Croatan, who finished second last year, that had two runners charging to the front right away.