Aug 09, 2011

Boys Preview

East

Teams to watch: Defending champs Nash Central were hammered by graduation, leaving a weaker region that is wide open for teams but bereft of individual stars. Rocky Mount appears to be the slight favorite on paper, but at least three other teams are close enough to aspire to the title. West Carteret, Havelock, and South Central are all a little weak at the 5th runner, and the battle for the team slots at the state meet could be decided by summer training. Conley is in the mix as well, so one of these teams will have to stay home, disappointed, on November 5th.

Individuals to watch: Dillon Warren (Nash Central) remains to carry on the cross country tradition of his school, but he will be strongly challenged by James Bonds (Rocky Mount) and James Council (West Carteret). Watch out for Nepolian Patel (Southern Nash) and Paul Lilley (Rocky Mount), who both had strong improvement during the spring. Nathan Raynor (South Johnston) and Kevin Cosnahan (Currituck) will seek to join Patel as the top individual qualifiers.

Mideast

Teams to watch: Chapel Hill is the favorite (again) but Cardinal Gibbons is much closer than a lot of people think (check out the rankings by returning 3200 runners below). This is shaping up to be a great two-team battle for the championship, with Orange positioned to take third and step up if one of the top two falters. Northern Guilford looks like the fourth and final advancing team, as all the teams behind them suffer from serious depth issues.

Individuals to watch: Jimmy Hollingsworth (Northern Guilford) is a legitimate 3A title contender and one of the best runners of any classification (although his track times were a just a bit underwhelming). Mitch McLeod (Chapel Hill) broke through with a 9:22 3200 in the spring, and Steven Phillips (Cardinal Gibbons) led one of the deepest groups of two-milers in the state. Chapel Hill and Cardinal Gibbons both have several runners capable of top-10 finishes. John Baranik (Western Alamance) and Anthony Hughes (Ledford) headline the individuals looking to advance to states.

Midwest

Teams to watch: This may be the deepest of the 3A regions, with five teams of state meet caliber vying for the four spots available. East Rowan appears to have the early advantage with their superior returning depth, but Robinson and Weddington will be hard on their heels. Marvin Ridge seems like the fourth team on paper, but Charlotte Catholic has a history of getting to the state meet. This region could easily place its four teams in the top 8 at the state meet.

Individuals to watch: Jonathan Bivens (Weddington) has a 20-second advantage in PR over anyone else in the region, and that gives his team an advantage at the regional and state level. Cole Honeycutt (East Rowan) and Drew Buckley (Marvin Ridge) are the nearest contenders in a region that doesn't have many individual stars. Clifford Buck and Andrew Fried (Robinson) showed good improvement during track season. Michael Dilks (Mt Pleasant) and Jose Navarette (AL Brown) will be the leading contenders to get out of this region individually.

West

Teams to watch: This might be the most hotly-contested region, although the teams don't appear to be as strong as those from the 3A Midwest. North Buncombe has the best returning five, followed by nearly identical teams in East Henderson and Ashbrook. Asheville, West Henderson, and Patton are all in the mix for the final spot, and any of those three could be close enough to move up even further with a good summer and a healthy season.

Individuals to watch: Ryan Johnson (Erwin) has by far the best returning time in the region, though Allen Worth (Asheville) and Eli Clevenger (North Buncombe) has strong 3200's in track season and may be closing the gap. Noah Green (Patton) and Andrew Bradley (Ashbrook) lead their teams, while Grant Smith's track results suggest he may join Brandon Garren at the top of East Henderson's squad. After Johnson, the four remaining individual state meet berths seem wide open.

Boys Stats

3A Boys Team Rankings

(You can sort these by region, county, or conference)

Note: our team rankings are a dynamic virtual meet, meaning that they are different depending on the teams included. This ranking is not just pulled out of the overall list of teams used for the Top 25. It is a separate ranking considering only 3A teams.

3A Boys Individual Rankings

(You can sort this by grade as well as the dimensions above.

Be sure to click on "Returners? Yes" if you sort beyond this one.)

Boys Individual Rankings Sortable by County

(Choose county first, then 5000m, and don't forget "Returners? Yes")

3A Boys Team Ranking by 3200 Times

(Must have 5 returning runners with 3200 times from Spring 2011 only)

Girls Preview

East

Teams to watch: In contrast to the boys' 3A East, there is plenty of star power in the girls' race. West Carteret and Fike are clearly the best teams, and both are led by individual studs. After the first two, the depth of the teams is a little suspect. Nash Central and Havelock are very similar on paper, and they will likely battle for third and fourth, leaving Currituck and Rocky Mount at home in November.

Individuals to watch: Blake Dodge (West Carteret) took the region and the state by storm in her freshman year; what does she have in store as an encore after a strong track campaign focused on the 800? Jentzen Jones (Fike) will be hard on her heels, and her time spent running the mile in the spring might be a slight advantage. After those two, there is a big drop off; Michaela Williams (Northern Nash) headlines the second group. The competition for the five individual spots in the state meet will be fierce in this region: Kaitlyn Jacob (Rocky Mount), Carmen Hilliard (South Brunswick), and Hannah Cook (Havelock) are clustered together in the low 20's, while another three individuals are grouped in the low 21's. That means the team title will be decided deep in the race, which is always exciting!

Mideast

Teams to watch: Cardinal Gibbons, the defending 3A state champs, are the favorites in this region, and they are also the favorites for the state title now that they have added a top runner (see below). Expect Chapel Hill to improve beyond their expectations, and give the Crusaders quite a battle. Lurking behind those two is an underrated Orange team that seems to be on the rise; Northern Guilford rounds out the clear top 4.

Individuals to watch: Cardinal Gibbons has a dominating four of the top six returning individuals here, led by Mary Grace Doggett; teammate Megan Cuomo ran 11:37 in the spring, and could make a charge toward the top 3. I just found out today that Rachel Bartolomeo, formerly of Charlotte Catholic, has moved to Raleigh and will joing the Gibbons team. Tristan Van Ord (Chapel Hill) and Indy Reid-Shaw (Orange) are the only two that break up the Crusaders' powerful front five. Behind Emily Vance (Overhills) the competition for the individual advancers should be wide open.

Midwest

Teams to watch: Charlotte Catholic has the best returning team in this region, and looks like a top 3 team in the state. Marvin Ridge is within striking distance of the title; after them there is a big drop off. Weddington, despite being hammered by graduation, has a good chance to advance to the state meet, but they will have to fend off Robinson and Cox Mill. If Robinson can find a strong 5th runner, they could lock themselves into a spot in the state meet and make it all the way up to 3rd in this region.

Individuals to watch: This region is dominated by the team contenders, with the top 16 returners coming from the five teams mentioned above. That means a completely wild race for the 5 individual qualifying spots. Catholic has three of the top four and 6 in the top 10, led by Jamie Vezolles and Margot Corcoran. Mallary Price (Weddington) showed huge improvement in the spring with her 11:26 for 3200, and she could be in contention for the individual crown. Caitlin Colo leads Marvin Ridge, and teammate Ailish Dwyer may have moved up into the top 10 with her sub-11 track time. Brooke Johns (Robinson) and Sarah Coffelt (Cox Mill) are the returning leaders of their teams.

West

Teams to watch: West Henderson is the early-season favorite in this region, followed by very closely-matched North Buncombe and Foard teams. Ashbrook and Hickory will battle it out for the final team spot in the state meet. The 2-5 teams are pretty close to each other, and it will be interesting to see how this develops over the course of the season.

Individuals to watch: Rachael Johnson (Erwin) leads the returning runners in the 3A West, and she looks like a sure bet to advance as an individual. Angela Gross (West Henderson), Rachel Lee (Ashbrook), Katarina Ruehl (North Buncombe) and Courtney Hull (Foard) lead their teams and battle for valuable team points in a balanced top 5. Ruehl had a great spring track season and could challenge Johnson for the title.