The downhill start at WakeMed helps get the pace set very fast, and that often leads to fast times despite the challenging course.

It's a HUGE weekend for North Carolina cross country, with five major invitationals going on within the state's borders.  NCRunners has photographers at all five, as we hope to bring you the best possible coverage.  One thing is for certain: the state rankiings will be totally different by Sunday, especially with over 80 North Carolina teams in action at WakeMed and McAlpine tomorrow!  You can get yourself in the proper mood for tomorrow's onslaught of fantastic performances by checking out the information on each meet below.

This preview will be updated throughout the day.

Featured Meet: adidas Cross Country Challenge (WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary)

Once known as the Wolfpack Invitational, this meet has continued its strong tradition under a new name.  The course is nationally recognized, the competition is deep and strong, and the atmosphere is both intense and enjoyable.  With so many outstanding teams and individuals in attendance, it's hard to know where to even start with the preview, but here are some of the themes to keep an eye on:

• First and foremost, don't sleep on the Virginia runners.  The courses up there tend to be more challenging than WakeMed, and when those teams come down to North Carolina they usually run very well.  Also, reporting of the smaller, local meet results is not the same, and the season starts a bit later, so there are Virginia schools that don't have any results in yet.

• Once again, Wyatt Maxey (Providence) will square off against Tanis Baldwin (East Henderson) and Patrick Sheehan (Lake Norman), all of whom have started off the fall season in very strong fashion.  Add in William Roberson (Broughton), Philip Hall (Terry Sanford), and Ryan Brady (East Chapel Hill) and you have a formula for both an exciting individual race and North Carolina dominance.  The top out-of-state runner is Paul Adam (Lee-Davis, VA), and if he does indeed benefit from a bump in time due to the faster course, he could be right in the middle of the lead pack, as well.

• Broughton's boys appear to have the upper hand in the team scores coming into the meet.  Given that the WakeMed course should be a bit quicker than the one for Knights Crossing, can the Caps (currently US #7) continue to improve in the national standings?

• There could be an intense battle for second place brewing in the boys' race.  Midlothian (VA), Blacksburg (VA), South View, Providence, and Cardinal Gibbons all rank in the top 4 in one of the two virtual meets (see the link below).

• Coming into the meet, Alexa King (Marvin Ridge) has the best 2013 time, but that could be a bit misleading.  King will face a murderer's row of elite, experienced runners in this race, including defending champion Eliza Dekker (Durham Academy) and Carolina Alcorta (West Springfield VA), who entered the season as the US #13 returner (and tops in Virginia).  

• The girls' race is incredibly deep in talented runners.  Teammates Caroline Beakes (17:50) and Nora McUmber (18:06) from Bethesda-Chevy Chase (MD) should be right at the front, along with Blacksburg's Bonnie Angerer.  Rebekah Greengrass (Panther Creek), Megan Sullivan (Broughton), teammates Mary Grace Doggett and Sophie Ebihara (Cardinal Gibbons) will try to represent North Carolina well.

• Blacksburg's girls have already shown great depth and a close pack this fall with 4 runners already under 19 minutes, and that makes them the favorites here.  Bethesda-Chevy Chase (MD), Cardinal Gibbons, Broughton, Marvin Ridge, and Ocean Lakes (VA) all have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top 5.

• Even the "second tier" of varsity races here are the equal of many big meets in our state.  With individuals like Chris O'Brien (Raleigh Charter), Fisher Ramsay (East Mecklenburg), Arden Vessie (Corinth Holders), and Maddie Ringenbach (Ravenscroft), as well as some strong teams, make sure you don't skip the Invitational races!  Expect New Hanover's girls to battle several out-of-state teams, including Reservoir (MD), Sherwood (MD), and Lee-Davis (VA), as well as a Ravenscroft girls' team that returns a lot of firepower but hasn't really posted much in the way of results yet this fall.  On the boys' side, Science & Math has started off strong, but Reservoir (MD), Cosby (VA), Galax (VA), and East Mecklenburg could all be in the hunt.

Virtual Meet

Video Course Walk

(Including links to course records)

Meet Records: Boys | Girls

(Taken from MileSplit database)

Hare and Hounds Invitational (McAlpine Greenway, Charlotte)

This meet has rapidly grown to enormous proportions, drawing a wide variety of public and private schools of all sizes in just its third year of existence.  Originally conceived as an alternative for private schools that are locked out of Wendy's, the meet has an interesting name: Cross country can be dated back to the early 1800’s in England where it was a team sport in public schools. At that time, the sport was named “Hare and Hounds” or “The Paper Chase.” The sport would consist of a group of runners that would lay a trail of paper or other devices to mark a trail and another group of runners would follow the trail. In 1837, the first competition was held at Rugby School, which later turned into the sport having a course pre-set over open country land. Participants sometimes had to run through streams, jump fences, and go through hedges. (Thanks to Coach Joe Vignolini of Charlotte Country Day for the quote).

• It appears as though Castle View (CO) and St. Pius X (GA) came to town looking for trophies; both schools rank in the top 3 of the boys and girls races based on the virtual meets.  Millbrook (whose only major race this season was the Jungle Run three weeks ago), Ardrey Kell, and Charlotte Catholic will try to defend our state's turf (and the Charlotte Latin girls could get in there, as well).

• The boys' individual competition seems pretty wide open, featuring four guys who have run between 15:42 and 15:57 so far this year.  Austin Sprague (St. Pius X, GA) and Forrest Barton (Castle View, CO), representing the two schools that travelled the farthest to get to the meet, also share the top time coming in (although Barton could have an edge as he has come down from higher elevations).

• Sydney Foreman (Ardrey Kell) and Malia Ellington (Community School of Davidson) will face each other for the second time this season (and who knows how many times over the last few years?).  By all measures it looks like those two will pull away, while teammates Emily Pettis and Ashley Starnes (Millbrook) will try to bridge the gap.  Margot Corcoran (Charlotte Catholic) hasn't recorded a time yet this year, and if she is healthy she could be in the top 5, as well.

• One last question: can Foreman break 18 here?  She ran 18:19 at McAlpine four weeks ago, and the weather forecast indicates that the temperature will be around 70 at race time.

Virtual Meet

Video Course Walk

(Including links to course records)

Meet Records: Boys | Girls

Freedom Invitational (Freedom Park, Morganton)

In the past this has been a major meet for the western third of the state, especially when it has been a regional course preview meet.  Although that isn't the case this year, and even with the large number of big meets going on this weekend, Freedom has still drawn a large and strong field.  This course is quite challenging, especially now that it is a full 5K, as it has several root-filled trails that require close attention.  Also, the narrowness of a few sections can lead to difficulty passing, and that can lead to some unexpected results if top runners don't get out quickly.

• It can be hard to predict a winner on this course, and that's doubly so when there isn't a clear favorite coming into the meet.  Such is the case with the boys' race this year, where Travis Leppi (North Buncombe), Shad McGrew (Butler), and Jacob Schattel (Asheville) all come in pretty much equal (and there are a few others within striking range, as well).me.

• The same is true when you look at the boys' team scores: Asheville and South Mecklenburg have been better than expected this season, while Lake Norman Charter is as good as always.  Those three teams are too close to separate, at least until the course does that for us.

• On the girls' side, however, we have the complete opposite situation.  Anna Vess (A.C. Reynolds) is clearly the best runner in the field, and her Rocket teammates are likely to dominate against this level of competition.  South Mecklenburg looks like a good contender for second place, with Asheville Christian and West Henderson not far behind.

Virtual Meet

Video Course Walk

Meet Records: Boys | Girls

Course Records: Boys | Girls

(NOTE: course was adjusted from 2.9 miles to 3.1 miles last year)

Beeson Park Invitational (Beeson Park, Kernersville)

This brand-new invitational comes with an experienced director and meet crew, and it has attracted a solid group of schools hoping to preview the state meet course.  The races themselves will not be huge, but there will be quite a lot of talent on the course once the gun fires.

• Based on the entries, it appears that Mount Tabor is not running their top 7 in either the boys' or girls' race, but instead has entered a "second 7" in each varsity race..  That makes this a much more cut-and-dried meet to predict, with Grace Sullivan (Providence) the heavy favorite to win the girls' Championship race.  In fact, teammates Bianca Biship and Kayla Glova might be the next two runners in, giving the Panthers a 1-2-3 sweep.  The only potential monkey wrench in their plan is one Blake Dodge, who does not have a result yet this fall (but really, can you ever count her out from doing something amazing?).

• The boys' race could be much more interesting, however, as now there is no clear winner coming into race day.  Nik Kreiling (Jordan) is tough to beat, but North Lincoln teammates Andrew Fea and Ryan Shannon have a lot fo experience winning against good competition.  Chris Kelly (Pinecrest) and Daniel Beamer (Jordan) should also be part of the lead pack, and are worth watching due to their potential to break through with a strong race.

• The absence of Tabor also makes the team scores plain to see.  Unless something very unusual happens, Providence will win the girls' race, while Pinecrest could run away with the boys' title.  North Lincoln poses the closest threat in the boys' race, while the battle for second in the girls' race could be fierce between Reagan, Pinecrest, and North Lincoln.

Virtual Meet

Video Course Walk

(With links to course records)

Bo Run (Boyd Lee Park, Winterville)

A "must" meet in the Greenville area and east, this memorial event also provides competitive races on a course that has been used for conference and regional meets in the past.  I can't say it any better than the meet founders have already expressed, so check out their explanation of the meaning behind this meet.

• The Croatan girls appear to be for real: the only non-4A team that beat them at UNCW was Carrboro, and that was only by 14 points.  They are especially strong up front, with Tyler Glynn and Savannah Pugh, and they should run roughshod over the competition here.

• Mason Zeagler (South Lenoir) is the favorite to win a boys' race that lacks individual stars.  New Bern returns a strong team from last year, but based on this year's times the meet could be a sweep for Croatan.  Keep an eye on Holly Springs, a team that hasn't posted any results yet this year but has a solid core back from last fall.

Virtual Meet

Meet Records: Boys | Girls

Course Records: Boys | Girls

Winthrop Invitational (Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC)

Meet Records: Boys | Girls

Course Records: Boys | Girls