The Tanglewood Invitational concludes the regular season of cross country in North Carolina.Conference meets follow next week, and then there are the separate Regional meets on October 25, and then the State meet on November 1st.The Tanglewood Invitational provides teams an opportunity to run on the state championship course.There are nearly 1800 athletes and over 60 schools scheduled to run.This meet will also be the first chance for many teams to see how the new Tanglewood course runs. Will it be fast like McAlpine?Or will the course changes not make a difference at all?For those who don’t know the course is still the same standard two loops, with the small hill right before the mile on the first loop.But the finish line has been moved up 20 meters, and the biggest change has been with the course near the river.Instead of running farther down the gully and having to make a narrow left to get back onto the fields, runners won’t have to run as far down and will be able to have a wider turn going onto the fields.
Now with this meet numerous teams take this as a chance to “run” the course but not race it.There are many reasons why a coach will do this with their team.Teams might treat the race as a tempo, or run the last mile hard.With conference championships rolling right around, coaches want to save their runners for a bigger meet, but still have the experience of running at Tanglewood.With this preview NCRunners.com is unaware of what teams will be racing and what teams will be running it as a workout.Instead we will highlight teams and individuals to watch.Although it can be said that there is a big difference between running on a course and actually racing it.
Girls Championship
The two fastest Women’s time in North Carolina will go head to head in the first race.North Mecklenburg’s Kimberly Spano and East Chapel Hill’s Carolyn Baskir will get a chance to run against each other for the first time this season.Both achieved their best times of the season at Wendy’s last weekend.This could foreshadow the 4A State meet three weeks later. Also appearing in this race will be Durham Academy's Adrianne Soo, her best time was at the Wolfpack Invitational with a 18:46.
Two number 1 one ranked teams will also go head to head, representing 4A will be East Chapel Hill and for 2A Cardinal Gibbons. A team from 3A that ran well at Greensboro, Reagan, might be a team that people have forgotten, but they did finish second last year in the state meet.
Boys Championship
The number 1 and 2 teams ranked in 4A will be in this race, Broughton and Chapel Hillstart off this preview. It's going to be a battle between these two teams in the upcoming weeks (and Green Hope as well) at the Mideast Regionals and then at the State meet. Chapel Hill looks to be running well at the right time. Broughton, the defending 4A champ, has a nice pack that could lead them to a repeat. Two other ranked 4A teams are Hoggard and Ardrey Kell. Ardrey Kell started the season strong, now might be the time to remind everyone what they still have.A team that might be a sleeper is Jay M. Robinson who has quietly posted some nice times throughout the season.It will be interesting to see what they do here.
Girls Invite
In this race Bishop McGuinness, the number 1 ranked 1A school, will see how they far against the bigger schools. Sun Valley comes into this race looking to improve on last weeks race at Wendy’s. Two other teams that depending on how they race might be factors: Marvin Ridge and Mooresville.
Some individuals to watch: Lucy Love of Marvin Ridge, Danielle Hobbs of Sun Valley, and Kenyetta Iveybele of Olympic.
Boys Invite
Last week Steven Bollinger, of Olympic, made a name for himself with his impressive time of 15:39.This week he ran a 16:01 at his home course.Now he gets to showcase his talents away from Charlotte.This will be his third race in a week, one can wonder how he will hold up?Joseph Newman of Mooresville will look to challenge Bollinger in this race, and he is also another individual who might pull off a win at the state meet in 3A.The race for that title is wide open and there might be 5 to 7 guys who have a legitimate chance for it.
Joseph Newman leads Mooresville in the quest for a third straight 3A title.
Two teams that were affected by the SAT’s last week, MarvinRidge and Charlotte Catholic, look to be at full strength.These two teams might battle it out for the 3A Midwest crown down the road. Marvin Ridge is lead by Chris Colo, who posted his best time this year in a win at the Union County Championship. Charlotte Catholic has their top 5 running in a pack, only having 25 seconds separating their number 1 to number 5 runner.
Girls Open
Three teams all ranked third in their own classification, Carrboro (2A), Topsail (1A), and Forsyth Country Day (Indy), look to be teams to focus on for this race.Topsail won states last year, so they have a special history at Tanglewood.Carrboro is looking to write its own history here, the second year school has made itself a serious contender for a podium spot.Forsyth Country Day has only two weeks left for the Independent Schools Championship in Cary, this meet might be a final tune up for them.
Zatha Loewen of Topsail was the individual winner in the 1A race last year, this year she has posted a time of 20:29, this might be an opportunity for her to reclaim her top spot.
Boys Open
In the last Varsity race, Northwood appears to be the top team in this race.Cedar Ridge is a team that is receiving votes in 2A.There are a handful of 1A schools in this race that could mix it up and make a name for themselves.
