Boys Championship
This
will be a loaded race up front, with 6 boys in the field with season's best
marks under 15:30 this season. David Melville (Northern Guilford) and Ian Shanklin (Page) headline the field
after both dipping under 15:20 last weekend at Great American. Melville
runs well in all conditions, but when its wet and muddy he seems to be a step
above everyone else and he proved it at the NCHSAA 3A State Meet last year in
the rain and mud. Gable Dershem (Cleveland) finally put it all
together for the first time this season and ran a new PR and huge season's best
of 15:22 last weekend. Todd Holbrook and John Tatter (RJ Reynolds) finished 2nd and 4th
last weekend at Wendy's and certainly will be up front, as always.
Peyton Barish (Green Hope) has not been afraid to go
out hard and contend for the win and it's benefited him this season. He
ran 15:26 last weekend and was crowned the new school record holder for Green
Hope in XC! Nathan Gamble (Leesville Road)
has had a very strong season so far and ran 15:38 last weekend at Great
American and will certainly be up with the front group. Micah Pratt (Patriot Pacers,
VA) has had a strong two weeks at Hagan Stone where he took 2nd to Shanklin at
the Greensboro Invitational and won the Hagan Stone Invitational last weekend.
He was a Footlocker Finalist last fall and will certainly put himself
into the mix.
Some other guys to keep an eye on, first Ian Delgado (Green
Hope) set a new PR last weekend at Great American of 15:50. Thought XC
isn't his strong suit he's putting together a great season for a half-miler. David Cart (Apex)
showed a lot of promise early on this season with a 3rd place finish at Friday
Night Lights. But after he caught the flu and it certainly hindered his
training a little. Kyle Hinson (Weddington)
has looked strong all season and set a new PR of 16:07 last week. He will
certainly be a sub-16 guy this season. Evan Harris (Lake Norman) was 3rd in August at
Providence and ran 16:17 in hot conditions. We didn't see him race last
weekend, but if he can perform like he did in August he can possibly be in the
mix.
Green Hope boys have been strong all season and have a ton of
depth and will be tough to take down this weekend. Their top 7 is all
Juniors and Seniors so we should see their full squad in the Championship race
tomorrow. With the Frosh/Soph Championship Race some teams don't have
their full squads running in the championship race. RJ Reynolds looks to
be the #2 team on Saturday based off our virtual meet and will look to
challenge Green Hope. Cary is coming off a strong performance at Wendy's
and have a 22 second gap from their 1-5. Panther Creek, Weddington, and
Patriot Pacers VA, will all look to challenge for a top 2 position this
weekend.
Chapel Hill will just be sending a few runners that couldn't race
last weekend because of the SAT. Cardinal Gibbons will rest their top
guys. And some schools, like Jordan, will not be able to attend as a team
as their county not allowing them to travel due to Hurricane Matthew. But
we hope we will still get to see some of these teams come and race unattached.
Girls Championship
Once again, we will not see Nevada Mareno (Leesville Road) race as she is taking another college visit. We won't get to see her race again until her conference meet. So it seems that we will see a trio of Green Hope girls up front with Samantha Kolor, Sarah Taylor, and Alessandra Rodriguez. The three have been strong all season and will look to repeat their dominant team performance from Friday Night Lights. Sloan Walter (Cardinal Gibbons) will race for the first time since Knights Crossing after being plagued with an illness for the last two weeks. Calli Parlier (Apex) is coming off a strong race from Wendy's where she ran 18:56 and set a new PR and placed 12th in a strong girls field. Emme Fisher (West Carteret) is not able to travel with her school due to the hurricane, but if we see her race unattached she could be in for a huge day. She's dominated the two invitationals she's run this year and it'll be the first time we see her against stout competition.
Reagan girls will now be attending NCRunners Elite instead of Furman's Gene Mullen Invitational due to weather and will have two girls that should lead the field with Isabel Zimmermann and Sophie Faircloth. Zimmermann has run 18:26 this season and Faricloth posted a 18:41 at Hagan Stone last weekend, which would score them the top two spots in our virtual meet. Sophia Jantomaso (Patriot Pacers, VA) ran 18:47 at Hagan Stone last weekend coming in just behind Faircloth, so she will certainly be with the lead group.
Sarah Bechtel had a breakout performance last weekend running a 30 second PR of 19:01 at Wendy's and will hope to improve on that this weekend. Holly Bailey (Lake Norman) did not race at Wendy's, assuming she took the SAT, but is registered to compete tomorrow. Bailey has run 19:08 this season. Lindsey Lanier (Providence) has been strong all season and will certainly put herself towards the front of this field. Olivia Lackner ran 18:55 at Jungle run and comes in the top 5 of our virtual meet as she looks to take down some stout competition.
Green Hope comes in atop the virtual meet and should dominate if they run as well as they did on this course earlier this season. Patriot Pacers, VA come in at second and have a very strong top 3. Gibbons will be resting at least 3 of their top 7 girls, but not having a full squad hasn't slowed them down at all this season. Providence girls put together a strong top 4 at Wendy's, if they can find a 5th to run with their #3/4 they will be a very strong team this weekend. Reagan girls will look to challenge Green Hope and when you add them to the virtual meet they score right around Patriot Pacers. Hough girls looked very impressive at Great American last week winning the Girls Red Race and had a strong top 5 that held a 43 second gap. Apex and Weddington will also challenge for a top spot tomorrow.
Chapel Hill will just be running a few girls and Cuthbertson is not allowed to travel due to the weather.
Boys Championship
This
will be a loaded race up front, with 6 boys in the field with season's best
marks under 15:30 this season. David Melville (Northern Guilford) and Ian Shanklin (Page) headline the field
after both dipping under 15:20 last weekend at Great American. Melville
runs well in all conditions, but when its wet and muddy he seems to be a step
above everyone else and he proved it at the NCHSAA 3A State Meet last year in
the rain and mud. Gable Dershem (Cleveland) finally put it all
together for the first time this season and ran a new PR and huge season's best
of 15:22 last weekend. Todd Holbrook and John Tatter (RJ Reynolds) finished 2nd and 4th
last weekend at Wendy's and certainly will be up front, as always.
Peyton Barish (Green Hope) has not been afraid to go
out hard and contend for the win and it's benefited him this season. He
ran 15:26 last weekend and was crowned the new school record holder for Green
Hope in XC! Nathan Gamble (Leesville Road)
has had a very strong season so far and ran 15:38 last weekend at Great
American and will certainly be up with the front group. Micah Pratt (Patriot Pacers,
VA) has had a strong two weeks at Hagan Stone where he took 2nd to Shanklin at
the Greensboro Invitational and won the Hagan Stone Invitational last weekend.
He was a Footlocker Finalist last fall and will certainly put himself
into the mix.
Some other guys to keep an eye on, first Ian Delgado (Green
Hope) set a new PR last weekend at Great American of 15:50. Thought XC
isn't his strong suit he's putting together a great season for a half-miler. David Cart (Apex)
showed a lot of promise early on this season with a 3rd place finish at Friday
Night Lights. But after he caught the flu and it certainly hindered his
training a little. Kyle Hinson (Weddington)
has looked strong all season and set a new PR of 16:07 last week. He will
certainly be a sub-16 guy this season. Evan Harris (Lake Norman) was 3rd in August at
Providence and ran 16:17 in hot conditions. We didn't see him race last
weekend, but if he can perform like he did in August he can possibly be in the
mix.
