Brevard and Lake Norman Charter girls will TIE.
It's actually not as uncommon for this to happen as people think. Nearly every year there are 2-3 VERY close team battles out of the 8 races, and there have been ties in the past. However, there have been no ties for the championship in the last few years.
The best bet for a tie this year is the 2A girls race, which has been close in nearly every recent state meet. Last year, the top 3 teams in the 2A girls race were separated by a total of 6 points (and only 2 points between champion Brevard and runner-up Carrboro). In 2013, the classification was even closer: the top three teams were separated by a total of 3 points, with a tie for second place. This year, look for Lake Norman Charter and Brevard to battle to an extremely close finish.
If they do tie, the team with the better 6th runner gets the win. The advantage there likely goes to Brevard, the deeper team - but LNC is very motivated after falling just short last year, and the Knights will certainly try to get out hard and put the pressure on early.
Other races that could end in ties (which means this is a REALLY interesting year for team competition):
- 4A Boys: Broughton vs. Green Hope
- 4A Girls: Cardinal Gibbons vs. Green Hope
- 1A Girls: Lincoln Charter, Franklin Academy, and Bishop McGuinness
- 2A Boys: Science & Math vs. Lake Norman Charter
- 3A Boys: Chapel Hill vs. Weddington
- 1A Boys: Walkertown vs. Raleigh Charter