Weddington have not lost this meet since 2010, and were hit heavy with graduation losing their top 4 who finished 1-2-3-4 at this meet last season. Rivals Marvin Ridge return their entire top 7 from last year and have brought home a team title in every race they've ran this season. They've focused more on winning as a team rather than running fast times early on this season, and hope to continue that tradition Thursday.
Kyle Hinson has the best PR in the field running 16:11 at the end of last season. He ran 16:24 last week and looks to keep the individual Union County title at Weddington once again. Jacob Lipsey (Marvin Ridge) has been injured early on this season, but raced last weekend at adidas and will likely get better and better as he is able to get more training in. Andrew Kiss (Cuthbertson) has fared well after moving from Providence and hopes to win a Union County title in his first attempt. Sophomore Tate Johnson (Metrolina) was second in a controversial finish two weeks ago at Royals Twilight
Girls
Like the boys, Marvin Ridge girls have not lost the Union County title since 2010. Jannae Jacob lead Marvin Ridge to their 6th straight team title last season running 19:07 for the win with Sarah LaTour (Cuthbertson) in 2nd in 19:07. Two of the top returners in Union County were Danielle Rinn and Lexi King, who have both moved to different states. Looking at this seasons results the team battle should be tight amongst at least 6 individuals. Jacob, LaTour, Lexi Noch (Cuthbertson), Lindsay Harrison (Marvin Ridge), Sydney Burke (Weddington), and Sarah Bechtel (Weddington).
This year, we could see Marvin Ridge's streak end. Cuthbertson and Weddington return very strong teams and are the favorites to take the Union County title. Cuthbertson girls return the best squad on paper and are currently the #5 team in the state. But Weddington have looked strong this season and really been a surprise despite looking Rinn. This should be a very intense three way battle for the Union County Title.
Middle School
On both the boys and girls side Cuthbertson are hoping to defend their team titles. Cuthbertson girls have looked really far so far and return a strong class of 8th graders. The battle between Cuthbertson and Weddington boys will be tight and every place could make the difference in who wins the Union County Title. The beauty of this middle school championships is that it creates a 7 year rivalry for all of the Union County schools.