Honorable Mention
West Carteret
According to our Improvement Rating metric, the Patriots have actually underachieved the last 3 years, compared to their 5-year track record. Does that mean a bounce-back season is ahead, as West Carteret improves more like they did four or five years ago? Or does it mean a new pattern has formed? Unless they find a new runner, this team can't afford an injury to any of the top 5, because the returning depth isn't quite there yet. In the end, though, I can't put a team in the top 30 when they only have one girl record a 1600 time in the spring season (and only 3 with 3200 times).
| 1) Emme Fisher | 18:13.00 | 7 | ||
| 2) Delaney Dodge | 20:29.00 | 184 | ||
| 3) Olivia KaChenChai | 20:29.00 | 185 | ||
| 4) Bree Mason | 21:04.00 | 297 | ||
| 5) Anna Loynes | 21:07.00 | 307 | ||
| Average Time: 20:16.40 Total Time: 1:41:22.00 1-5 Split: 2:54.00 | ||||
| 6) Kinsley Harbour | 22:30.00 | 604 | ||
| 7) Mackenzie Whitaker | 22:34.00 | 614 |
||
Swansboro
This team has been all over the place on our Improvement Rating metric over the last 6 years: huge improvements in 3 of the years, frustrating regression in the other 3. There is talent in the Pirates' district, that's for sure, but they desperately need a #5 runner to step up this summer. Thin outdoor track results didn't reveal that 5th girl, but with a good summer this team could certainly be back in the top 30 for the second straight year - and Swansboro only lost 1 runner from that 29th-ranked team.
| 1) Paige Horvath | 18:55.00 | 30 | ||
| 2) Brittany Jones | 20:09.00 | 139 | ||
| 3) Sophia Brown | 20:36.00 | 201 | ||
| 4) Jenna McCullar | 21:03.00 | 290 | ||
| 5) Kyarra Carpenter | 22:17.00 | 556 | ||
| Average Time: 20:36.00 Total Time: 1:43:00.00 1-5 Split: 3:22.00 | ||||
| 6) Mia Horvath | 22:21.00 | 567 | ||
| 7) Caitlyn Sigafose | 22:31.00 | 607 | ||
Cary
In some ways, Cary's emphasis on the 4x800 during the spring hurts them in these rankings, because they don't run as many 1600's and 3200's. On the other hand, this particular Cary team just graduated three of their top 6 runners from last fall. The Imps have been one of the top 10 programs in the state the last 3 years based on year-to-year improvement, although their 5-year rating is much lower. Depth is a big issue, as well, due to a big drop-off in times after the returning #5 runner. Conflicting data made it very hard to place Cary in these rankings, but I won't be surprised if they're in the final top 25 come November.
| 1) Sarah Venable | 19:32.50 | 73 | ||
| 2) Reilyn Gaglione | 20:00.17 | 123 | ||
| 3) Liesl Schleusener | 20:53.00 | 250 | ||
| 4) Elizabeth Dunphy | 21:02.00 | 289 | ||
| 5) Sophia Uthe | 21:03.00 | 292 | ||
| Average Time: 20:30.13 Total Time: 1:42:30.67 1-5 Split: 1:30.50 | ||||
| 6) Kaitlin Picone | 22:31.80 | 610 | ||
| 7) Emily Pittman | 22:51.70 | 669 | ||