2A Mideast Preview
Boys
The race for the 2A Mideast individual title is likely to go to one of two contenders: Thomas Little (Durham School of the Arts) and Frank Kenny (NC School of Science and Math). If only considering the match-up of the two at their previous Wake Med encounter, Little would be the clear favorite; Little has run 16:21 on the Wake Med cross country course, where Kenny ran only a 17:13. Last week Kenny showed us the race won't be so easy for Little, however, as the two battled it out at their conference championship, finishing only two seconds apart.
Just like in the individual race, Durham School of the Arts and NC School of Science and Math will once again be fighting for the top spot, though this race may not be quite as close. School of the Arts loses the advantage with their third through fifth runners falling behind NCSSM's fifth runner. If these runners can each move up just a few places each, they could have what it takes to pull an upset.
Girls
This year's top competitors are a bit spread out when it comes to season best times. Carrboro's Amanda Hickey should safely be able to claim her first ever regional title. Hickey goes into tomorrow's race with a time of 18:37. She's only been under the 19-minute mark once, however, so it should be interesting to see if she can replicate that strong performance. Frances Massey of NCSSM is currently ranked second with a time of 19:13. Massey has shown this season that she can replicate that time with relative consistency, so under the right circumstances she may be able to pull out a win over Hickey.
After graduating its top two runners last year, Carrboro no longer sits atop the 2A classification. Looking to take over the top spot on the podium is Durham School of the Arts, followed by the unicorns of NCSSM. School of the Arts is scored only 9 points ahead of NCSSM in the virtual meet, so any shuffling of those top runners could have an impact on who takes home that regional win. Nonetheless, each of these three schools should progress to the 2A State Championship with relative ease.