Key Losses
Key Returners
End of 2015 Ranking - 13th
2016 Preseason Rank based of 2015 times - 4th
2016 NCISAA 3A State Meet Finish - 1st
Cary Academy my be a private school, but they are going to be able to contend against anybody this cross country season. They return 4 of their top 5 only losing #4 man Jack Pullen. They return Coleman Mitchell who as a sophomore won the NCISAA 3A State Title and will look to do so again this season, though it may not be an easy feat. He has run on the high school team since 7th grade and this will be his fifth season in the top 5 for Cary Academy. Mitchell ran 4:24.32 and 9:22 on the track this spring.
Someone who will have much higher expectations this season is Tommy Bright who ran 4:27 and 9:40 as he emerged as a star on the track last season. Last year he didn't begin his XC season until late September and finished 8th at the state meet. Senior Bright will hope to run times similar to Mitchell this XC season. Chase Coley is a rising junior and someone who I think has a lot of potential in XC. Last year was the first year Coley ran track showing he is more serious about the sport. He ran 16:30 last season and finished 5th at the state meet. Coley also ran 4:34 and 9:48 on the track this season and could be a force this fall. I think Mitchell, Coley, and Bright will be as strong as a top 3 as any team can put together and should all be at or below 16 minutes for 5K this fall.
What will move Cary Academy from a great team to an elite team is some development of their 4th and 5th man, and don't get me wrong, that potential is there for them. Justin Chen for starters was not in the top 7 last fall, but had a strong track season running 4:40, 17 seconds faster than his previous seasons best. He should certainly be able to improve on his 17:34 5K PR in his senior season. Not that his slot in the top 5 is a given, but they also return Jonathan Kacvinsky, Krishan Guzzo, Dylan Lamphier, and Davis Braswell. This will be a strong pack of 5 boys that will leave one of them most likely in the 16s for the 5K, but not in the top 7 this season only making the team stronger than it already is.