Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #22

<p> <span style="font-size:14px;">NCRunners is counting down the top 25 girls teams heading into the fall season. &nbsp;The full rankings will be released on the first day of official practice: Friday, August 1st. &nbsp;These are subjective rankings (not computer generated); they take into account returning team rankings, returning team averages, team rankings in the 1600 and 3200 from indoor and outdoor track, and a school&#39;s &quot;Improvement Rating.&quot; &nbsp;Improvement Rating is a custom metric developed by researching the improvement in a team&#39;s 5-person average from year to year, in comparison to that same team&#39;s ranking. &nbsp;Improvement Rating numbers and methodology will be released on the weekend of August 2nd.</span></p>

Paige McKinney took a big leap forward during track season, just as Hough may be poised to do as a team this fall.

 

	Hough, William A (NC)
	1) Malea Smith		19:48.00	113
	2) Paige McKinney		19:53.00	124
	3) Heloise Hedlund		20:08.00	154
	4) Breana Jenkins		20:39.00	253
	5) Sara Lackey		20:53.00	293
	Average Time: 20:16.20 Total Time: 1:41:21.00 1-5 Split: 1:05.00
	6) Grace Riley		20:55.00	301
	7) Lexi Powers		21:10.00	343

This is the first girls team so far in these rankings with 6 girls under 21 minutes.  Depth and pack-running will be the Huskies' key to success this season, as they lack a true front-runner to battle with the superstars in the 4A West (although Paige McKinney made a huge leap forward during track season, running 11:18).  Hough showed their depth and development during a spring season that produced a 5-girl average of 12:35 for the 3200, and returning #6 Grace Riley and #7 Lexi Powers were in that top 5.  That bodes extremely well for a team whose only weakness was the presence of gaps between their 3-4-5 runners; if those spaces are closed, this will be a classic pack team and a difficult squad to beat.  Little-known fact: Hough High School opened during a year when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was placing severe restrictions on personnel due to budget issues, and that definitely impacted the Huskies' sports programs (through an inability to hire the full coaching staff the school desired).  Now, it looks like this program is on the right track, although these girls will still have a hard time advancing from a loaded 4A West region (the top 6 returning teams in the region are all in the top 22 of these rankings).  With four seniors projected in the returning top 7, there should be enough leadership and motiviation to make a run at the state meet.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Team Rankings: 24th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 1600 Rankings: 18th

• 2014 OUtdoor Returning Team 3200 Rankings: 9th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: No Rating (opened in 2010-2011)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 7.485 (18th)