The boy's team race is a way more unclear than the ladies. At the top you seem to have 3 teams who are very good. The majority of years in the NCISAA, these teams wouldn't have much of a problem winning a state title, but not this year. Here's a look at how the 3 teams break down. Take note that these times are very comparable since PD ran at McAlpine while CA & DA ran at WakeMed.
Providence Day
16:32
16:45
16:53
17:07
17:13
17:22
17:27
Cary Academy
15:28
16:25
16:53
17:11
17:32
17:53
18:18
Durham Academy
15:59
16:00
16:46
17:14
17:55
17:57
18:02
Looks like it's going to be a very tight race. After these three teams there are a few other teams that look like they could battle for the 4th spot.
Cannon School, like the girls, are much improved from early in the season and looked very good at the CISAA Championships. They are led by Tim Gruber who will be looking for a top 4 spot of his own. North Raleigh Christian is tough as well, but are a completely different looking team than Cannon. Cannon has a front runner, then a tight pack in the upper 17's. NRCA has a tight pack in the low 17's, high 16's and then waits awhile for their 5th to come through the finish. Don't count out Asheville School as they have two possible All-State runners . . .
Thomas Graham (photo courtesy of Cary News) is only a junior for Cary Academy, but he has already won 2 XC state titles. Nothing changes headed into this Friday's meet, as he is once again the favorite. Graham's season PR is 30 seconds faster than the nearest competition.
Behind Graham, there could be a nice battle between 3 guys for the runner-up spot. The Ward brothers, Carl & Fred, are the first two guys to jump into your head as they finished 2nd and 3rd last year. They have season personal bests of 15:59 and 16:00, but not far behind them is Cannon's Tim Gruber. Tim finished 4th last year and will be looking for a higher finish this year. Tim ran 16:07 this past week in a solo effort at McAlpine park.
After that it may be quite a group battling for the remaining All-State spots. Here's a list of guys who could find themselves in the top-11. They are in order based on times reported to NCRunners.com:
Scott Foy, Asheville School
Coin Godwin, Cary Academy
Jacob Dordick, Providence Day
Ben Fiedler, Asheville School
Drew Thompson, Wesleyan Christian
Reed Payne, Providence Day
Michael Cunningham, Durham Academy
John Good, Charlotte Christian
Luke Robinson, Charlotte Christian
