Boys Top 25 Countdown: #22 Lake Norman

Overall Returning Rankings

NCHSAA 4A Returning Rankings

The #22 Team on our Pre-Season XC Countdown are the Wildcats of Lake Norman! Lake Norman finished 4th in the NCHSAA 4A West Regional and 18th in the State Meet last season. The Wildcats come into the season as the #39 ranked team in the returning rankings, but a Watauga transfers boosts them right into the Top 25. Gavin Sweeney is a rising junior who has already ran 15:39 for his career. Sweeney's time makes him the #12 returner overall, a huge boost for this Lake Norman squad. Lake Norman is only losing one member of their team from last season.

Sweeney was runner-up in last season's NCHSAA 3A West Regional. Sweeney will be front running this season with teammate and fellow rising junior Griffin Horner. Horner ran his PR of 16:09 at the Hare and Hounds Invitational. His three fastest times of the season all came on McAlpine Course in Charlotte, NC.

Rising sophomore Ayden Schott had a great freshman campaign. He ran a PR of 17:12 at the 4A West Regional and his second best time of his career the following weekend at the State Meet, where he ran 17:35. Sadly, he did not run during Indoor or the shortened Outdoor season, so it will be a big key for this team if Schott is in top shape in the fall. 

Dalton Graves and Carter Guerrin will likely be the 4-5 punch for this Lake Norman team. Graves has very solid personal bests across the board. He has ran 4:55 for 1600m, 10:48 for 3200m, and 17:35 for 5000m. Guerrin is right off Graves and holds his own personal bests of 2:56 in the 1000m, 5:02 in the 1600m and 17:36 in the 5000m. 

(Gavin Sweeney competing for Watagua last season)