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Boys Championship
What more could you ask for in this boys championship race than the four NCISAA 3A Individuals squaring off in the first big 5K of the season? Coleman Mitchell (Cary Academy), Ben Mitchell (FCDS), Noah Dolhare (Providence Day), and Chase Coley (Cary Academy) finished first through fourth respectively last season and will kick off the season with an epic rematch. Coleman Mitchell is the two time defending 3A champion, but should be up for his biggest challenge yet in his senior year. Mitchell holds the fastest PR of 15:21 and also won this race last year clocking 16:30.
Ben Mitchell hasn't really races since last fall, so it'll be great to see what kind of shape he's in as the season gets off. Also Dolhare will be ready to prove that he's still a serious contender despite getting third to both Coleman and Ben last fall. He got the better of C. Mitchell twice on the track at the state meet, so should come in with a lot of confidence. Coley has been a little behind this front group over the last year, but I think this season he's going to close that gap and make it a four man race up front for the NCISAA 3A State Title.
Someone you won't see in the virtual meet is Dorman's (SC) Wynn Johnson who missed the 2016 XC season. But he's certainly going to be in the mix up front as he is the SCHSL 1600 and 3200 State Champion from last fall. He has run 4:19, 9:15 and 9:40 and is a rising senior as well. Expect him to contend for the win in this event as well. Johnson holds a PR at Jackson park of 16:14 from his sophomore year.
Also I'm very excited to see how much Dwayne Lillie (A.C. Reynolds) has improved since a monster freshman year on the track. Lillie has run 16:22 in XC and 4:35 for the 1600 and should become a star this season. In his debut last season he ran 18:17 on this course, but should be significantly faster this weekend. Also look out for Andrew Kiss (Cuthbertson) and Noah Mclain (Dorman, SC) who should be up in the lead group early on in this race and will look to have breakthroughs early on in the 2017 season.
The main story from the team sides I pull from this race are how close is Providence Day's young group to NCISAA 3A preseason favorites Cary Academy. PD brings back a very young team, but the sky is truly the limit to how strong they can be this season. Also A.C. Reynolds has a very young squad I'm expecting big this from this season. Though it might not show this weekend as their #2 Noah Clifford isn't in the Championship Race. Both Providence Day, Cuthbertson and A.C. Reynolds have some stud freshman that'll make a big debut this Saturday. So it'll be interesting how they adjust from the middle school 3K to high school 5K. Those should be the top teams this weekend, and I'd also throw Dorman into the mix with the addition of Johnson.