Bold Predictions for the NCHSAA State Meet

The Science & Math title streak will end (but narrowly).



There are only two teams that are carrying multi-year championship streaks into this meet: the Science & Math boys have won 3 straight, and the Cardinal Gibbons girls are on a run of 6 consecutive titles.  That first streak is under serious threat,   I have a feeling that the Unicorns will end up second to Lake Norman Charter this time around, for a very simple reason: they have a huge gap between their 2nd and 3rd runners.

Science & Math is clearly better up front than the Knights, but that nearly 1-minute gap leaves a big opening for LNC to try to pack in front. The Unicorns clearly ran hard at their regional; that hasn't always been the case, but 6 of their top 7 ran season bests last weekend. Lake Norman Charter ran on a MUCH tougher regional course, and will be coming to an easier course. Can the Knights put their 3-6 runners - who clocked 17:46, 17:57, 18:06, and 18:12 at Freedom Park - in front of the guys who went 17:38 and 17:42 at WakeMed? If so, they have a real chance to win. Either way this is going to be VERY close, and if it does turn out to be a tie then LNC's 6 & 7 have the better PR's.

I'm certainly not going to bet against Cardinal Gibbons, who have won 11 titles in 12 years across 4 different classifications. However, the Crusaders will also have to run well to keep up their run, as Green Hope is definitely within striking range. This is the classic cross country match-up: Gibbons has great firepower up front, whereas the Falcons have superior depth in their tight-knit pack.