Girls NXN Southeast Team Rankings
Last Years Videos and Interview
Girls Championship Race
Cardinal Gibbons has the best shot to advance to NXN out of all the NC teams competing at the regional meet. They currently rank 4th in the regional backed by a very strong top 4 group of girls. Sloan Walter, Katharine Priu, Annie Pierce and Marissa Bishop all rank in the top 100 in the entire Southeast, only one team (Riverside, SC) has the same credentials. Also rankings ahead of them are Blacksburg (VA) and Lake Braddock (VA). Gibbons has faced Blacksburg twice this season, first a Knights Crossing where they took a narrow second place. Then the following week at adidas XC Challenge where they were without Sloan Walter and Molly McGowan.
Gibbons need a big day out of #5 girl Molly McGowan tomorrow morning if they're going to make the trip to Portland. McGowan missed a lot of the middle of the season, but has bounced back and ran 19:27 for 24th at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships. McGowan definitely has a lot of potential heading into this weekend and if she has a great day, Gibbons chances are fantastic to head to NXN.
Gibbons are lead by sophomores Katharine Priu and Sloan Walter. Walter missed a lot of the season due to an illness, but came back in great shape and took 4th at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships in 18:11. Just behind her was Priu, who was in great form last week at the Dash for Doobie where she had a huge PR of 10:42. I'm expecting big things from these two this weekend, and both are capable of earning an individual birth if the team doesn't finish in the top 2. Annie Pierce is the senior leader for this team, and is certainly one to count on when they need someone to step up. She had the breakout time she'd been waiting for all season at the NCHSAA State Championships of 18:23, and will look to go even faster this weekend on a fast WakeMed course.
Some key NC Individuals racing are Savannah Jones (Broughton), Calli Parlier (Apex), and Lindsey Ickes (FCDS). Parlier has been very strong over her last two races, and has run 18:33 this season. She took 8th at the NCHSAA State Championships and ran 11:06 at the Dash for Doobie last weekend. This is a course she is very familiar with, and will hope to put everything together to cap off an excellent junior season. Ickes posted a break out perforamnce on this course earlier this season where she won at Great American running 18:59. She will hope to stick in the pack, and be pulled to a fast PR this weekend.
Sarah Bodmer will be racing with her Cary Academy teammates, but will be looking more of a top individual qualifier spot in this race. She is the top NC returner from this race last season where she took 19th, but will hope to mix it up in the top 10 this weekend. Green Hope ranks 16th in the Southeast region, but always seem to run well when it comes to NXN Southeast. They were the last NC team to make the trip to Portland in 2014 where they took 2nd.
Boys NXN Southeast Team Rankings
Boys Championship Race
Green Hope and Broughton both rank in the top 5 in the Southeast and will both hope to finish in the top 2 to advance to NXN. St. Xavier (KY) is a big favorite to win the region and have 5 boys under 15:45 this season. Brentwood High School (TN) also have been fantastic this season and have two boys under 15, and both ran 8:57 for 3200 last week, Green Hope comes in just behind Brentwood. Brentwood has over 1 minute gap between their 4 and 5 and Green Hope can easily have 7 guys in before Brentwood has 5. Finn McBride has had a breakout postseason which really helps Green Hopes chances this weekend. McBride went from their #3 guy running 16:11 to running a 15:38 and running as their top guy the last few races. He and Peyton Barish make a strong 1-2 punch followed by a tight pack from 3-7.
Broughton comes in tied for 4th with Marist (GA), just behind Green Hope. Broughton has an incredible split of 14 seconds with their season's bests ranging from 15:49 to 16:03. They have been one of the top teams in the Southeast Region for the last 6 seasons, but an NXN Auto-Qualifying spot has seemed to evade them. Broughton has three strong senior leaders in Lanier Derbyshire, Andrew Brooks, and Stuart Holmes who have been great on the XC course for some time now. They had a rough patch in the middle of the season where they all got sick and raced through it. So at their two big midseason meets, Great American, and Manhattan Invitational, they did not perform close to where they knew they could have. After coming back and winning the State Meet by 1 point over Green Hope, they'll have a lot of confidence, and are certainly hungry for a trip to Portland.
Coleman Mitchell (Cary Academy) and David Melville (Northern Guilford) lead a strong group from NC who hope to grab an individual qualifying spot, which is the top 5 boys not on a team advancing. Mitchell and Melville ran 15:21 and 15:22 respectively at adidas XC Challenge on this course earlier in the season. Melville improved on that two weeks later at Great American running 15:12. Both boys are great on the XC course and will look to go under 15 minutes this weekend. Last season Jeremy Brown ran 15:19 to take the 5th qualifying spot to NXN, but I expect this year to be a little bit faster up front. Ben Savino (Apex) and Ian Shanklin (Page) will also be in the mix up front. Savino was 14th last season at this meet, and Shanklin ran 15:19 this season at Great American. Ben Mitchell finished just behind Coleman Mitchell at the NCISAA State Championships, and ran a PR of 15:38. WakeMed is a much fastest course than Hagan Stone is, so he could once again run a big PR and be in the mix for a top spot in this field. All five will certainly be in the mix to advance, but it'll certainly be tough against a hard an always tough Southeast Region.