2A State Meet Preview

2A Preview

Last year Owen won and this year it doesn’t really look like anything has changed.  Owen has a deep team that should put them over the top once again.  Orange andWest Stanley will battle it out for second place, while Cardinal Gibbons will be lurking and seems to be running better each week.  The 2A team race should be exciting for spots two through six.

For this individual race it appears that Mark Sullivan of Cardinal Gibbons can win it again, although he will have some company.  Ben Sterett of Swansboro and Daniel Yeakley of West Stanley have proven that they can run times to put them in position to win the race.  Yeakley ran his best time at McAlpine, while Sullivan and Sterett posted their times at the Jungle Run in August.  Look for these three guys to be together for most of the race, until Sullivan pulls away from them.

Owen (1) Last year’s champions they look like they will repeat again as well.  They dominated the West regional meet, and it looks as if they will dominate the state meet as well.  Owen doesn’t have a guy that has posted a time under 17 minutes, but they have the best collection of runners in 2A and that is what matters the most.

Wilkes Central (12) Chase Miller leads Wilkes Central with the fifth best time in 2A with a 16:39.  The rest of the team is a nice steady pack that will help out Wilkes Central.

East Rutherford (-) Not much is known about this team, although they did finish three points in front of West Henderson at the regional meet.  Looking over this team in just a short preview, they have a solid number one, then a steady two through four, then their lack of depth comes into play.  They were able to edge out West Henderson and they might surprise some more teams at states.

West Henderson (2) Last year’s runner up in the state meet they had what looked like an off day at the regional meet.  Look for this team to run better at Tanglewood, they probably won’t be in the top five this year, but they should be in the top ten.

West Stanly (7) Lead by Daniel Yeakley, who could be a contender for the individual crown, this team looks as if it could be a top three team.  Yeakley has improved throughout the season and his break out race happened at McAlpine during Wendy’s.  Although it will depend on how that time translates to Tanglewood.  Also Andrew Smith is a solid number two runner on this team, he also ran well at Wendy’s.  If they can get a good run from their number five then they could do some damage.

Central Davidson (10) Runners one through four have developed into a nice pack, while their fifth ran a 19:39 at regionals.  That needs to improve at the state meet.

Ledford (-) Ledford is another team that relies on a pack of runners, instead of one standout runner.  The pack that they had was good enough for them to finish third at regionals, but could not move them into the top two spots in the race.

East Lincoln (15) Their top runner, Greg Kielar, ran a 16:56, but that was at the United Way Invitational, which is rumored to be a little short of a 5k.  Nevertheless he looks to be the top runner for East Lincoln, and will have to run a time close to that to help out his team.  The lack of depth that they have needs to be countered by a low score from the number one runner.

Orange (3) They were able to beat Cardinal Gibbons at the regional meet, they look to be the second best team in 2A, and that raises a big question.  Can they beat Owen?  That will be a tough question to answer.  Orange has the runners to do it, but can they all come together and run a perfect race?  That may be a little too tough to pull off, but they should finish second in the state this year.

Cardinal Gibbons (6) Mark Sullivan will look to win the individual title and his team looks to be running well when it counts.  They were close to Orange at regionals placing one and two in the race, but their number five runner proved to be the difference.  If they can improve on that then they could be as high as second.

Northwood (9) Northwood is a good solid team that has issues with depth.

Carrboro (-) Carrboro has a nice steady pack and could probably finish in the top ten, the advantage that they will have is that they have run in enough big meets so inexperience shouldn’t be a problem.

Swansboro (16) Ben Sterett may be a close competitor to Mark Sullivan, he should be an individual to watch during the 2A race. 

Croatan (-) Another team that has a pack mentality, Croatan can try and aim for a top ten finish, which should be something that they can do.

First Flight (5) They had the second and third place runners from the East regional, but their lack of depth hurt them in the race.  Last year they were the highest finishing team from the East at states, it will be tough for them to do it again.

Richlands (-) They mirror First Flight in that they have a solid one-two, but then their lack of depth hurts them.  I think that three of the teams from the East will be close to each other in the state meet, they all seem to be about the same.

2A Women’s Preview

Cardinal Gibbons has won the 2A meet for three years, it looks as if they will win it again for a fourth straight year.  I’m sure most teams are thankful that they are moving up to 3A next year.  After them it seems as if Orange and Carrboro should fight it out for second place.  It seems that Carrboro has the upper hand, beating Orange at Greensboro and at the Mideast regional meet.  Both teams are evenly matched up so that should fun to watch. Other interesting subplots: can a team from the East crack the top ten?  Can North Henderson displace one of the three Mideast teams?

For the individual race it could be between Sarah Willingham of North Henderson and Sarah Rapp of Cardinal Gibbons.  Although don’t overlook Emily Wirzba of Orange, seeing that she has gone under 19 this year, along with Willingham.  It should be a tight race and may not be decided until the last kick.  I don’t see any one individual taking it out from the start and winning by a wide margin.

North Henderson (4) Lead by Sarah Willingham, who has run an 18:53 this year, North Henderson could be a team that could find its way to a top three position.  They have the front runner in position, if they can just have their number five improve then they could sneak in there.

West Henderson (3) They have a nice pack of runners, but it will be tough for this team to place third as they did last year, unless some of their runners step it up.

Madison (-) This team was a surprise team at the beginning of the season, and it looks as if that could continue at the state meet.  They were able to have three runners in the top ten at the West regional, and probably would have been closer to the two Henderson’s if their number five ran better.  But they could be the sleeper team of the meet.

Brevard (-) This is another surprise team, haven’t really heard anything about them until the regional meet.  They were able to beat a couple teams that thought they should be going to the state meet, and Brevard should be able to hold their own at the state meet.

Salisbury (10) They were able to win the Midwest regional by a comfortable margin. 

Central Davidson (-) A nice steay pack of runners, they return to the state meet after finishing second in the Midwest.

West Stanley (15) This team has a nice steady pack that should help them out at states.

Lincolnton (-) Lead by Morgan Turner, who has run an 18:55 at a disputed course, Lincolnton does not have the depth that most teams have in order for them to do well.

Cardinal Gibbons (1) Last year they won the state meet by over sixty points, they probably won’t win it by that much again, but they have to be the odds on favorite to win another state championship.  Sarah Rapp is a runner to watch, and could provide a battle with the other Sarah, Sarah Willingham of North Henderson, for the individual crown.  Cardinal Gibbons is a good enough team that even if they have an off day they can still win.

Carrboro (-) Can this team be in the top two?  I think the answer to that question is a yes.  Carrboro has the runners to do that, and they have produced at the big meets, don’t doubt them for one second.

Orange (5) Orange has two runners to could help them out if they want to be in the top two, Emily Wirzba and Mackenzie Robinson, who will probably be in the top five.  What they need to help them is the rest of their team picks it up.

Northwood (-) They didn’t run that poorly at the regional meet, it’s just that compared to the other teams in their region they don’t stack up well.  But Northwood can definitely finish in the top ten.

Croatan (6) Croatan was able to win the East regional by twenty points, it will be interesting to see how they run at Tanglewood. 

First Flight (13) Another team from the East it will be interesting to see how they stack up against teams from other regionals.

Swansboro (16) They were close to First Flight at the regional meet, look for them to use that at motivation at the state meet.

East Duplin (-) They only had five runners complete the regional meet, that puts a lot of pressure on their team.  Nobody can have a bad day or drop out of the race.