Sophomores, Samantha George of Millbrook and Thomas Graham of Cary Academy come into the 2009 season with the fastest returning 5k's from the 2008 season.
Both athletes obviously had very successful XC seasons last year, as 9th graders. Samantha and Thomas were the top 9th graders in the South Region at the Foot Locker Regional held at McAlpine last November. Samantha's time of 17:48 was good enough to earn her a 14th place finish, just 4 spots away from making the National meet in San Diego. Thomas placed 24th, with a time of 15:37, a time that was 30 seconds faster than the next fastest 9th grader.
With the 2009 XC season fast approaching, these two, among many, many others are gearing up for some fast times and many personal bests. Two other athletes to watch out for this coming season are Carolyn Baskir of East Chapel Hill and Mohamed Abushouk of Cary HS. Carolyn ran 17:50 at the Mideast Regional at WakeMed. Carolyn then went ton to crack the 5:00 barrier during the outdoor track season. Look for her and Samantha to push one another and hopefully both throw down some very fast times by the 2009 Foot Locker South meet. Mohamed had an outstanding track season as well, running a very solid 9:12 for 3200 & 15:10 for 5k. Hopefully we get to see the Graham vs. Abushouk matchup a few times this coming season.