Skip to Girls' Preview
Boys' Preview (Championship Race)
Teams to Watch
Many of the teams from various NCHSAA East Regionals will have their first big race of the season at South View on Saturday. Preseason #2 South View will be looking to demonstrate the success of their summer training; based on preseason rankings they should be a strong favorite, and they are looking to repeat their sweep of all three boys divisions last year. Pinecrest, Terry Sanford, and West Johnston are all strong candidates to advance out of the 4A East, and improving Rocky Mount aspires to the 3A East crown Joining the fray from other regions will be Lake Norman Charter, a team in the hunt for a 1A title, and Millbrook, a possible top-4 team from the cutthroat 4A Mideast. Carrboro and Cedar Ridge will begin establishing the pecking order for the Carolina 12 Conference, and West Stokes is a top 2A team as well. Orange is ranked highly in the 3A classification, and they will be part of an intense competition for second place, with four teams ranked between 18 and 25 in the preseason.
Individuals to Watch
This looks like a very competitive individual race, as there is no dominating runner in the field to pull away like Blake Williams last year. South View's own Josh Crawford gets the nod as the favorite, while Jeremy Gower (West Johnston) improved mightily in the spring and might be able to challenge. In this field, Crawford's teammate Xiomar Ruckel is a likely top-10 runner, as is Zach Nifong (Laney). Sam Wimberly (Orange) may get into the mix, as well. Look for Leesville road teammates Sam Sarakbi and Andrew Byrum to break into the top 10. Behind them, there could be a large chase pack with about 40 guys who ran under 17:15 last year (several of these teams rely on strong pack running instead of front-loaded power, and that can make for an exciting race).
Boys' Virtual Meet
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Girls' Preview (Championship Race)
Teams to Watch
The girls field at the Jungle Run is loaded, with 4 of the top 12 teams in the entire state present. It also looks like the top 5 teams in the 4A East region may all be in this meet. West Johnston, with a preseason #6 ranking overall, is a favorite here and in October, while #10 Terry Sanford has a chance to show they are legit after faltering at the state meet last fall. Pinecrest's girls (preseason #12) are showing signs of real strength so far this season, both New Hanover and Laney have solid teams, and don't count out a South View team with a reputation for sneaking up on people. All of them may very well lose to 2A Carrboro, ranked #8 in the preseason and reportedly sporting a strong freshman class. They will be joined by fellow Carolina 12 members Northwood and Cedar Ridge, both of whom are likely 2A state meet teams. Lake Norman Charter is a serious threat to win the 1A title this year, while perennial 2A East power Topsail and 3A East contender Fike are also in attendance. Orange almost made the preseason all-classes top 25 for girls, and they will be a solid state meet team out of the Mideast 3A.
Individuals to Watch
Defending champion and course record-holder Sammy George returns with her Millbrook team, and wouldn't it be great to see this blistering-fast course produce a sub-18 time right out of the gate? Jentzen Jones (Fike) and Shelby Howell (New Hanover) both ran under 19 here last year, while the track speed of Carrboro's Grace Morken and Frankie Perone will be well-suited to this course. Trey Lesane (Terry Sanford) should be in the lead pack, as well, and Jenny Cunningham (Pinecrest) is always competitive; watch out for her teammate Jaliegh Jensen, who went sub-12 last spring without any cross-country training. Lauren Pollard and Dakota Foskey (West Johnston) both had strong track times, and they will be in the mix on Saturday, as will Esther Fisher (J.H. Rose). Indy Reid-Shaw (Orange) and Charity Lackey (Southeast Raleigh) have a chance to finish in the top 10 when all is said and done.