The NCRunners Featured Conference Meet of 2015 is Thusday's North Central Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship. The meet will be held at Wendell Park, one of the quicker 5K courses in the state, and with the good forecast you can expect some fast times! The meet is also shaping up to be very competitive for both genders, and that helps the chances for big performances even more.
Boys Preview
Madison Daniel is going to break 16 sometime very soon, and this is as good a chance to do it as any. After all, his season best came on this course way back in August! Daniel is typically pushed by his teammates, fellow seniors Michal Swepson and Jack Puryear, but those 3 Raptors should be joined by Luke Bennett (Voyager Academy) in the lead pack.
Unfortunately, Daniel's team has been suffering through some depth issues this year that leave them vulnerable. Voyager Academy, on the other hand, is almost the exact opposite type of team - behind #1 runner Luke Bennett, the Vikings don't have any stars, but they do have four runners who can get into the top 10 of this race. Research Triangle needs its 4th and 5th guys to step up if the Raptors are going to defend their 2014 title. Keep an eye on Raleigh Charter; they only have 2 small meets in the system, both of which they won easily, so we don't know what the Phoenix is capable of doing in a championship race.
Boys Virtual Meet (Full Ranking)
| Place | Athlete | Yr | Team | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Daniel | 12 | Research Triangle | 16:04.53 | 1 | |
| 2 | Michal Swepson | 12 | Research Triangle | 16:24.20 | 2 | |
| 3 | Jack Puryear | 12 | Research Triangle | 16:36.25 | 3 | |
| 4 | Luke Bennett | 11 | Voyager Academy | 16:36.78 | 4 | |
| 5 | Ian Ovenden | 11 | Voyager Academy | 17:40.60 | 5 | |
| 6 | Timmy O'Neill | 11 | Raleigh Charter | 18:05.00 | 6 | |
| 7 | Matthew Soderberg | 11 | Voyager Academy | 18:06.23 | 7 | |
| 8 | Brock Christiansen | 11 | Voyager Academy | 18:12.33 | 8 | |
| 9 | Jonathan Wertz | 10 | Franklin Academy | 18:19.04 | 9 | |
| 10 | Thomas Moore | 10 | Raleigh Charter | 18:28.00 | 10 |
| # | Team | Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voyager Academy | 40 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 16 | - | - |
| 2 | Research Triangle | 48 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 24 | - | - |
| 3 | Raleigh Charter | 56 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | - | - |
| 4 | Franklin Academy | 99 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 27 | 29 | - | - |
| 5 | Woods Charter School | 137 | 11 | 22 | 23 | 37 | 44 | - | - |
Girls Preview
To me it seems like Hannah Zenker has been around for 5 or 6 years - that's what happens when a girl runs well her freshman year, and then stays in the rankings for her whole career. The Franklin Academy senior has won the individual title in both of the NCAC's two years of existence, and there is little chance that she will leave Wendell Park with anything less than a 3rd win. Zenker has led her team to the overall championship twice, as well, but the Patriots are not locks for a three-peat there; Raleigh Charter has solid depth, and they may not have shown their full strength yet this year. This one could get very interesting!
Girls Virtual Meet (Full Ranking)
| Place | Athlete | Yr | Team | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannah Zenker | 12 | Franklin Academy | 19:43.02 | 1 | |
| 2 | Caitlyn Burkett | 9 | Franklin Academy | 20:51.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | Gillian Scott | 9 | Raleigh Charter | 21:19.00 | 3 | |
| 4 | Lani Foglesong | 11 | Voyager Academy | 21:51.17 | 4 | |
| 5 | Christy Witcher | 12 | Raleigh Charter | 22:29.00 | 5 | |
| 6 | Sydney Parsons | 10 | Raleigh Charter | 22:34.00 | 6 | |
| 7 | Natalie Bowers | 10 | Research Triangle | 22:36.99 | 7 | |
| 8 | Brittany Smith | 12 | Roxboro Community | 22:47.15 | -- | |
| 9 | Nicole Avila | 9 | Woods Charter School | 22:56.89 | -- | |
| 10 | Hannah Franklin | 10 | Franklin Academy | 23:00.00 | 8 |
| # | Team | Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin Academy | 30 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 | - | - |
| 2 | Raleigh Charter | 38 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 13 | - | - |
| 3 | Voyager Academy | 79 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 21 | 27 | - | - |
| 4 | Research Triangle | 99 | 7 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 26 | - | - |
| 5 | East Wake Academy | 116 | 14 | 16 | 25 | 30 | 31 | - | - |