Meet Preview: NCISAA State Championships, 6 athletes look to defend their titles Friday at Hagan Stone

NCISAA 2A Boys 

From this individual side of things, the 2A boys are similar to 1A where Luke Evans (Westchester Country Day) should dominate the race from an individual standpoint.  Last year he ran 16:28 to win by 25 seconds.  He had a very strong outdoor track season and has returned in much better form this year.  He has already clocked 15:56 this season.  Will Sossaman (Grace Christian) has had a strong season as well and will be the favorite to challenge Evans.   Jackson Harris (Halifax Academy) was second last year in the NCISAA 1A State Championships and has improved by over a minute since then.  Two weeks ago he broke 17 for the 2nd time this season running 16:43 at the MileStat Invitational.  He will certainly challenge Sossaman for the 2nd place spot.  Sam Markoff (St. David's School), Matthew Fowler (Concord First Assembly), Reece Collie (Asheville Christian Academy) and Brady Gingrich (Epiphany School) will also all be in contention for a 2nd place finish.

Last year we say an epic battle between Cary Christian, Grace Christian, and Epiphany School that had them separated by 6 points with 1 point deciding the win.  Cary Christian scored 120 to Grace Christian's 121 to claim the NCISAA 2A State Title.  This year looks to be the same story with a close three-way battle determining the winner.  Grace Christian comes in as the favorite in our virtual meet, but St. Thomas More is not too far off.  Much like the girls, if St. Thomas More can find a fifth man they will put a ton of pressure on Grace Christian.  Cary Christian had everything come together for them last season at this meet and they'll hope to do so once again.  The come in 20 points off of St. Thomas More in the virtual meet, but at the state meet that gap can be easily erased.  This will certainly be a battle to keep an eye on throughout the race.