2A Midwest Boys
Individual Battle
Erick Ramirez-Ramos (Surry Central) has yet to lose to another 2A runner this year, picking up four individual wins in five races so far this season including a 15:47 first place finish at the Greensboro XC Invitational.
Jason Thomson (North Lincoln) leads a pack of six North Lincoln boys inside the top 10. Thomson has thrown down multiple sub 16 times and has been a consistent low stick all season, and certainly is a threat to win it all. Ben Armentrout (Atkins) will be looking for his first sub-16 time after a 16 flat at Hare and Hounds, and should join Ramirez-Ramos and Thompson to form a front pack that could put some distance on the field.
Noah Julian (South Rowan) and Rex Mathis (West Stokes) have a shot at breaking up North Lincoln's pack and to move up within the top-10.
Team Battle
North Lincoln is projected to finish with only 26 points, and with excellent 6 and 7 runners supporting their impressive top 5, they don't even need everyone to have a good day to come away with a massive win
Lake Norman Charter has five runners within less than 30 seconds of each other, and if their pack performs then they can put a good bit of distance over the rest of the field for a strong second-place finish. Atkins, South Rowan, and Surry Central could all finish in the third spot. They each have strong low sticks in Armentrout, Julian and Ramirez-Ramos, so this race could be decided much farther down the pack. Atkins and South Rowan have every single runner in their top fives projected to finish three or fewer spots apart from their counterparts in the other top 5, so these individual battles will make a big difference in the final finish.