1A Midwest Preview
Boys Teams to Watch
This one is over as long as Walkertown's bus gets to Ivey Redmon. The Wolfpack sport 5 of the top 6 guys in the region, and if everything falls just right they could actually score 15, which is unheard of in a regional meet. Gray Stone Day is firmly entrenched in second place, too, but there are three teams that will have to duke it out for the last two spots in the state meet. Chatham Central, North Stanly, and Bishop McGuinness are too close to separate coming into this meet, so this should be fun to watch!
Boys Individuals to Watch
Matthew Rogers is the undisputed #1 for Walkertown, but he has the luxury of knowing that Daniel Parmesano is there to pick up the slack if he has an off-day. Jordy Featherstone (Gray Stone Day) is one of two runners with a strong chance to break up the Wolfpack; Kyle Rhodes (East Wilkes) is the other.
Girls Teams to Watch
The Villains of Bishop McGuinness have won this meet 4 times in a row, and they are in position to add a 5th; however, it will NOT be easy. Gray Stone Day is only 5 points back in the virtual meet, and this one could go either way. After those two squads there's a HUGE gap back to a 4-team battle for two berths in the state meet. North Moore and North Stokes are favored to claim those spots, but neither can afford a bad race with Walkertown hanging around. You can even include Union Academy on the list of teams with potential to advance, but they will need some help to make the top 4.
Girls Individuals to Watch
A large part of the success for Bishop McGuinness this season is due to the emergence of Cammie Cooke, the 9th-grader who is close to breaking 20 minutes this season. Teammate Jeanette Pfeiffer is right there with her, giving the Villains the top 2 in the region. The next cluster of girls is above 21 minutes, but don't let that fool you - Jo Snow (Mt. Airy) ran 20:32 last year, and she defeated both of the Bishop runners at their conference meet. Don't be surprised if Annie Habeeb (Gray Stone Day) is also in the lead group, as her all-time PR is 19:34, though she hasn't approached that yet this fall.