The Carolina 12 is the largest conference in the state, and also one of the most diverse, as it contains rural, urban, and suburban schools in both the 1A and 2A classifications.  It is also one of the newest, having been formed as the Carolina 10 just last school year before expanding to 12 teams this year.  Finally, this is a very competitive conference, with teams and individuals that can contend for state titles in both classifications.  When the gun fires on Tuesday, the sizes and locations of the schools will be forgotten, and all that will matter is who runs the fastest.

Meet Page

The Course: Northwood High School, Pittsboro

Northwood's home course is NOT one of the speedier courses in the state.  The MileSplit course rating system gives it a +20 compared to Tanglewood, making it moderately slow for a course in the Tarheel State.  A comparison of last year's Carolina 10 Conference Championship to last year's Wendy's Invitational (with 34 athletes running both courses) shows an average difference of +29 seconds for the boys and a whopping +1:07 for the girls (which has a small sample size and could be skewed by a less-competitive meet than the boys).  Northwood hosted the Mideast 2A last year, and will host it again this year, as well, making it an important course for that area of the state.

Northwood's Venue Page

Comparison of 2010 Carolina 10 Meet to 2010 Wendy's

Boys' Preview

The boys' meet should be closer in the team scores than the girls, but Science & Math comes in as the clear favorite.  Led by Steve Mulherin, Levi Rolles, and Robert Baraldi, who are projected to go 1-3-4, the Unicorns are pretty deep for a 1A school and could take the conference from the bigger schools for the second year in a row.  Carrboro's boys, the defending 2A champs, have not quite developed as much as expected this fall, but they are still very strong.  Dominic Collichio and Andrew Witcher lead that squad, and both have a shot at a top-5 finish.  AJ Tucker is the early favorite to win a 2A individual title, and he leads a Cedar Ridge team that should really push Carrboro.  A strong showing here could catapult Cedar Ridge to greater success at the regional and state meets.

Predicted Team Scores (from Virtual Meet below)

Championship Meet - 12 Teams Team Scores

Boys Virtual Meet

Girls' Preview

Carrboro's girls are as close to a lock as you can get at a championship meet, as they come in with 4 of the top 5 times and 6 of the top 8.  The race for second place could be very intense, though, with Northwood projected to edge Science & Math by only one point (meaning anything could happen during the race).  Franklin Academy is also within striking range of second place, if they have a good day or get some help from the two teams in front of them.  Individually, Carrboro's Grace Morken is the likely winner, unless one of her teammates (Frankie Perone, Maysa Araba, or Helen Morken) has a great day.  Hana Ratcliffe (Durham School of the Arts) is better than advertised, and you can expect her to get in with those top 4 and race them hard.  Maria Vanderford (Northwood), Cassie Lindquist (Science & Math), and Celeste Kerry (Franklin Academy) all lead their teams and have their eyes on top-10 finishes.

Predicted Team Scores (From Virtual Meet Below)

Championship Meet - 12 Teams Team Scores

Girls Virtual Meet