The 3A meet is this Saturday at Tanglewood Park. It seems that on paper 3 of the 4 state titles are locks, and that the girl's individual title is up for grabs. However, as we know in running, anything can happen.
TC Roberson's girls looked to be a state and SE region powerhouse this year with the talent they were returning. Have they run to expectations? That's not for me to say. They had an outstanding race in the Race of Champions at the Great American XC Festival finishing 11th. Then at the Wendy's Invitational they put two girls under 19:00 and set a new school record for "team average". It doesn't look like any other team can touch them this year. However, Reagan, Catholic, Asheville, Walter Williams, and Jacksonville have been running well this year. Can one of them step it up and battle TC Roberson? We'll see.
On the boy's side, Mooresville sort of came out of nowhere this year, and now looks to be the heavy favorite. Currently they are the 3rd best team in the entire state of NC, regardless of class. They got out hard at McAlpine during the regional race and it may have hurt them in the 3rd mile. Could it be a weakness? There weren't too many blazing Mooresville kicks going down the final stretch, but they may be too strong for it to even matter. Charlotte Catholic ran well in the West Regional, upsetting TC Roberson and Asheville. Don't count any of these 3 schools out for the title. There is tradition, brave youth, and determined individuals on these teams. But again, this is something Mooresville has had circled on the calendar for exactly a year.
The boy's individual race should be just that, Ryan Hill should be in a solo battle with himself. Ryan Hill's 14:55 at the Wendy's Invitational proved he is at a different level than most of the runners in the state and maybe the region. The real battle will likely be for 2nd place. TC Roberson's Josh Dubin has had an incredible year, with his 15:38 at McAlpine. Not far behind him should be Catholic's Jonathan Sunde, Asheville's Andrew North, Franklin's Daniel Hamilton, and Kevin Wanichko of Southern Nash. Of course, you will also find 3 of Mooresville's runners right up with the chase pack.
The girl's race looks to be the most exciting. The top 3A girls have not raced eachother yet this year. There has been a ton of speculation by all sorts of people on the NC High School Message Board. Plain and simple, it should be a great race. The favorites look to be: Lindsay Ester of Williams, Lauren Brentnell of Ragsdale, Caroline Kirby of TC Roberson, Jordan Gaddy of Enka, and Stephanie Chapman of TC Roberson. Then you also have a couple unknowns from the east, Sarah Hart, White Oak, and Kaitlyn Davis, Jacksonville, who have been racing each other quite a bit and putting out some solid times. There are also others who will be up there, VanEpern, Royals, Humphrey, Hobbs, Smith, etc. . . the battle for the top 10 is going to be awesome!
3A Boys Teams
West Region:
Charlotte Catholic - led by Jonathan Sunde, they have a tight group behind him, if they keep it together, look for a strong finish
TC Roberson - Josh Dubin could be a lock for 2nd, Roberson will need Dawson on his game to finish 2nd
Asheville - they had an incredible race at McAlpine, but Tanglewood is a very different type of course, they need their freshmen to run without fear
Franklin - Williams & Hamilton will get it done up front, they need their others to run like they did at the Tanglewood Invite for a top 5 showing
Midwest Region:
Mooresville - should be your state champs, the shaved heads may get a little cold on Saturday though
Reagan - a team talked about all year, led by Thomas Young, they will need Nick Freeman to run like he was early in order to finish top 5
Ragsdale - Elliot Hall has been running well, nice to see them back on the 3A state scene
NW Cabarrus - a very distant 4th in the Regional, Chase Fisher is running well and could finish in the top 10 with a great race
Mideast Region:
Union Pines - Blake Boyd has had better races, he needs a good one for the top team in this region to be competitive
South Johnston - led by Seth West, he'll have a good race
Eastern Alamance - glad to be there, their top 2 runners, Patrick Lynn & Jack Fladeland, are both seniors, so they are going out on a high note
Rockingham County - led by the regoinal winner, Jimmy Anderson, good job on making it to states as a team
East Region:
Jacksonville - no real front runner, but they seem to have a good pack, packs are crucial in big meets
White Oak - led by Andre Smith, he seems to be up and down, look for him to run well at states, they will be out for revenge after being upset at the regional
Nash Central - 2 up front in the regional and then a big drop off, led by Dillon Hawley and Fabian White
Southern Nash - led by possible top 5 finisher Kevin Wanichko, they went 1,2 in the region and still finished 4th, where's the rest of the team?
3A Girls Teams
West Region:
TC Roberson - like I said before, they are the best team, it is their title for the taking
Charlotte Catholic - didn't look like they had great races at the Regional, but Coach Airheart will have them ready to roll as she always does
Asheville - like their boys, they had a great race at Wendy's, really stepped up, could be top 5
Enka - Jordan Gaddy will get them a low score, and then they have a great pack, could be dangerous on a tough course coming from the mountains?
Midwest Region:
Reagan - the girls are tough, probably a top 3 team when they run well, they had their top 5 under 21:00 on a slow day at McAlpine
Sun Valley - ran well at the Regional race, not many people had them picked 2nd, with the Hobbs sisters running well, the team could be up there
Lake Norman - Alexa Van Epern is a solid #1 runner, they were coming on the 2nd half of the race at Regionals, but will need a better start to finish near the start
NW Cabarrus - a ways back in the Regional race, the race will be a great experience for their top 2 runners . . . who are 9th graders
Mideast Region:
Walter Williams - Lindsay Ester leads a good team out of this region, they need their 4 and 5 to run much better to see a top 5 finish
Western Guilford - they have a good top 3 led by Ali Cupito, but will also need their 4 and 5 to step up
Union Pines - senior LeAnne Godwin had a nice race at the regional, they need their 5th to run well
Northeast Guilford - a good team, but probably happy to make to states
East Region:
Jacksonville - led by 9th grader Kaitlyn Davis, their 2 and 3 are running much better as well, need their 5th to run much better for a top 5 finish
White Oak - Sarah Hart has been running great, their 5th runner may also hurt in the big meet
West Carteret - their top 4 are near eachother and then they have a huge drop off to #5, to you feel a theme in this region?
Nash Central - Chelsey McKeel must feel good leading her team to states her senior year, good job