3A Midwest Preview
Boys Race
With four of the top 6 boys all falling into the same region, you can be assured that there will be some fast times. Mitchell Resor, Zach Marchinko, Alex Cornwell, and Matt Conner battled it out to kick of the year at Providence Invitational and finished as listed above. Marchinko and Cornwell battled at conference where Marchinko was able to win narrowly as both clocked 15:22. Resor comes in with a 15:23 ran at Providence Invitational as teammate Matt Conner comes in with a 15:24 from the adidas XC Challenge. This will be an insane ran to watch where neither of the four can be considered as the favorite. Resor returns as the defending champion as he made a late charge to pull ahead for the win last fall.
Contrary to the individual battle, the team race will be expected to be dominated by Weddington. Looking at the virtual meet Weddington places their whole top 5 in the top 10, making them near impossible to beat. Jesse Carson has looked strong all season and will contend for a poduim spot at the state meet, so you can expect them to advance as well. But the third and fourth spot are completely up for grabs and a number of teams will be close together trying to advance to the state meet. North Lincoln, Central Davidson, Northwest Cabarrus, Ledford, Marvin Ridge, and Hickory Ridge are a toss up as all teams are strong and have the ability to come out on top. It'll be very interesting to watch these teams as the race unfolds where we will see who wants it the most.
Girls Race
The last two years we've seen Alexa King lead from the gun in dominating fashion. This season her race strategy shouldn't be different, but their is a strong group of girls ready to challenge her. Sarah LaTour isn't afraid of a challenge and willing to give anyone an easy win. Jannae Jacob, Danielle Rinn, Alexia Noch, and Kylie Hennessey will all be contending for a top spot with all just 11 seconds difference amongst their personal bests.
The team battle for the girls looks to be similar to the boys up front. Marvin Ridge girls score their top 5 4 girls in the top 10 and dominate the virtual meet. The battle between Weddington and Cuthbertson has been one we've seen many times this season and they've been back and forth a lot of times. Cuthbertson is lead by a strong top 2 where Weddington usually has a close pack of girls. It'll depend on which squad has a better day to determine which team finished on the awards stand. North Lincoln girls have a stronger top 5 than the other teams in the meet making them the favorite for the final advancing spot. South Iredell, Central Davidson, Jesse Carson, and Northwest Cabarrus will all challenge in case any of these favorites have a rough day.