Girls XC Preseason Rankings: #9

<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>

In the shadow of their more famous male counterparts, the Broughton girls have been posting impressive team results the last 3 years.

 

	Broughton (NC)
	1) Savannah Jones		18:51.14	37
	2) Ayla Gizlice		19:25.77	75
	3) Katie Wadsworth		19:27.04	76
	4) Anna Grace Casadonte		19:47.34	110
	5) Isabel Perry		19:56.10	128
	Average Time: 19:29.48 Total Time: 1:37:27.39 1-5 Split: 1:04.96
	6) Margaret Chapman		20:27.00	211
	7) Brienna Kane		20:35.00	239

Although the Broughton boys have gotten much more press lately, the Capitals' girls team has been doing extremely well over the last 3 years (average final all-classes ranking: 7th).  This is also the first team in the rankings to have 5 returners under 20 minutes, and the depth behind them is solid.  The teams in this tier of the rankings are very close to each other, and Broughton could easily have been ranked as high as 7th, were it not for two other teams having superior credentials during outdoor track.  Still, the recent track record of improvement here suggests that the Caps can get significantly better over the summer, maybe even good enough to threaten for the top 5 in 4A.  After a 6th-place finish last year, Broughton lost two seniors to graduation; however, the projected top 7 for 2014 has only one senior, meaning this is actually a fairly young team with a two-year window to maximize its potential.  Returning 5 and 7 runners Isabel Perry and Brienna Kane both showed excellent improvement during outdoor season, running under 12:30 for 3200; if that jump continues into the fall, this team will have a very strong front 6 with close packing, and they will be hard to beat.

Important Data:

• 2013 XC Returning Ranking: 7th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 1600 Ranking: 11th

• 2014 Outdoor Returning Team 3200 Ranking: 6th

• 5-Year Improvement Rating: 9.757 (9th)

• 3-Year Improvement Rating: 14.111 (6th)