When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens: NCISAA 3A State Meet Preview

This year's group of elite female athletes in North Carolina is among the best ever, and that certainly extends to the private-school realm, where some of the nation's best compete. The biggest story of the 3A championship, however, could be the kids that are missing: two stars of each gender will not be competing in this meet. Despite that, this meet will be extremely competitive, and we will have the opportunity to witness some new talent emerging.

More NCISAA State Meet Coverage

• Performance List
• Virtual Meets (using season bests): Boys | Girls
• Meet Page (results from prior years)

Sprints & Hurdles

Anna Cockrell (Providence Day) is just an all-around stud. In addition to the hurdle races for which she is best known (she ranks 4th in the country in the 100H and 7th in the 400H), Cockrell is entered in the 100 Dash and seeded first there. With Cockrell opting out of the 200, where she would have been the top seed by 2 seconds, Charlette Wade (Ravenscroft) and Shannon Stohlman (Cary Academy) have the chance to compete for the win. Wade is also the only girl with a time even remotely close to Cockrell in any of the 4 races; she will provide some challenge in the 100. The absence of Cha'Mia Rothwell (Durham Academy) definitely affects the sprints and hurdles (as well as the field events), as she would normally be in the 100, 200, and 100H. it will be up to teammate Gracie Whelan (Providence Day) is the top seed in the 400; Ella Dunn (Charlotte Country Day) and Dara Tokunboh (Cannon) are the only other runners who have broken 60 this season, and they are close enough to Whelan to be serious threats.

Jonathan Avery (Cary Academy) is the defending champion in the 100 and 200, and he holds the top seed in both races this weekend. Kanyon Tuttle (Charlotte Latin) is close enough to challenge in the 100, but Avery may run away with the 200. Koyaki Cobb (Asheville School) is not competing, and that leaves the 400 wide open; Chatz Sawyers (High Point Christian), Hunter Smith (Asheville School), and Thomas Nations (Charlotte Christian) are all capable of winning. In the absence of Isaac Johnson (Providence Day), Josh Broadway (Charlotte Christian) becomes a much bigger favorite in the 110 Hurdles. Likewise for Niko Harrell (Rabun Gap) in the 300 Hurdles, who will have to hold off Nations to take the win.

Field Events

Chaston Raye (Providence Day) holds the top seed in the boys' long and triple jump, but he's far from a lock to win both. Charlotte Christian teammates Jeremiah White and Sam Korolos have both jumped over 21 feet, as has Melvin Rouse (Charlotte Latin). In the triple jump, Niko Harrell (Rabun Gap) is close enough to threaten, although Raye comes in with a 14-inch advantage. The boys shot put could be one of the most competitive events of the meet, with Andrew Coillard (High Point Christian) entering the meet with a small lead over Tre Seegars (Charlotte Country Day), followed by a host of 44- and 43-foot throwers. Kevin Graham (Rabun Gap) is a heavy favorite in the discus, however, as is Daniel Lauffenberger (Forsyth Country Day) in the high jump. Carter Mathis (Cary Academy) holds the top seed in the pole vault, but he has two other 13-foot-plus vaulters to hold off: Payton Lange (Christ School) and Jackson Widener (Charlotte Country Day).

On the girls' side, it's possible that we will see six different champions in the field events. If anyone is going to double up, Cierra Cockrell (Providence Day) has the best odds - she is seeded first in the triple jump and second in the long jump. Shannon Stohlman (Cary Academy) enters the meet with the best long jump mark, while 9th-grader Sydney Scott (Charlotte Latin) is only a single inch behind Cockrell in the triple. Kreager Taber (Cary Academy) and Kathleen Brandes (Ravenscroft) are both over 10 feet in the pole vault this season, although Taber has been 10' 7" and therefore gets the top seed. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (Rabun Gap) dominates the shot put and is only 1 inch shy of the vaunted 40-foot mark; she has a two-and-a-half-foot advantage over second seed McKenna Wray (Covenant Day), who is also the top seed in the discus. Kunaiyi-Akpanah is also the leading high jumper coming into the meet, which is an unusual event combination (and the absence of Rothwell opens the door for her).

Distance

Perhaps the biggest name missing from the performance list is that of Ryen Frazier. The Ravenscroft senior has been totally off the radar since winning the 3200 at Raleigh Relays and then following that with an Apex Relays 1600 victory. Hopefully she will be back to running by the postseason, but she (along with Johnson, Cobb, and Rothwell) will be missed this weekend. Who will step into the void? Well, it's possible that we could see three different champions in the three girls' distance races. Eliza Dekker (Durham Academy), the defending 800 champion, will have the chance to double in the 1600, but she will have to get past her good friend Emma Brown (Providence Day) to pull that off. Jena Metwalli (Cannon) will also be right in the thick of that 1600, and she has the top seed in the 3200 as well - although Brown and Sarah Bodmer (Cary Academy) will be right on her heels. Both Brown and Metwalli are entered in the 800, but that's Dekker's top race and she will be very hard to beat there.

What with all the athletes that are out of commission this weekend, it's good to see Nick Linder (Providence Day) and Ryan Speer (North Raleigh Christian) on the performance list. Both runners have battled through injuries at points during this school year, and that has inhibited their progress, but they will be on the track this weekend. Speer is the top seed in the 1600, with Joshua Mitchell (Cary Academy) right behind him (and you can't count out Linder, who is hopefully still improving from his time off this spring). Speer also leads the 800 entries, with Linder second and Mitchell third. Miller Meares (North Raleigh Christian) holds the top spot in the 3200 coming into the meet, although several runners are close enough to threaten for the win, including Jack Ratteree (Charlotte Latin) and Graves Littlejohn (Forsyth Country Day).

Relays & Team Scores

Cary Academy's girls are the only runaway favorite in the relays - they have run under 9:30 in a 4x8 field that does not have another team under 10 minutes. Providence Day has a chance to sweep the other three relays, although they will only have Anna Cockrell available for the 4x4. On the boys' side, Jonathan Avery will try to power Cary Academy to wins in the 4x200, where they are the top seed) and the 4x100, where Charlotte Latin is the favorite. Asheville School would have been the heavy favorite in the 4x4 with Cobb, but without him the door could be open Charlotte Christian.

With so many big names missing, and given the fact that NCRunners doesn't get all the NCISAA results, the virtual meet could be untrustworthy when it comes to team scores. Providence Day is still the favorite to win big on the girls' side, with Cary Academy the only real challenger. For the boys, however, the scoring could be very close - and there could be up to 4 teams in contention for the two trophies. Providence Day and Cary Academy are the best bets, but Charlotte Latin and Charlotte Christian are both hunting.