Sometimes more than ten athletes are deserving of a nod in the pre-season top ten based on their last track and cross country seasons. This is one of those cases where we have a three-way-tie for the preseason No. 10 spot on the girls' side:

Listed alphabetically 

Grace Hanson - Weddington

Lily Nasta - Cuthbertson

Chandler Welsh - R.J. Reynolds

None of the top ten lists seemed right without these three on the list, which goes to show the remarkable depth on the girls' side of the course this fall. 

Hanson was 3rd in the 2021 NCHSAA 4A Midwest XC Regional, helping her squad secure a runner-up finish. She went on to run 10:58 over 3,200m on the track in the spring. She was also able to dip under 5:00 in the 1,600m, clocking 4:57.87.

Nasta, a rising senior, has been a focal part of this Cuthbertson team for some time now, and she looks to wrap up an outstanding career with one more season of cross country. She was 11th at the 2021 NCHSAA 4A XC state meet, where she helped her squad capture the team championship. She went on to place 3rd in the 3,200m at the NCHSAA 4A Indoor State Championship and 6th in the same event outdoors. She also dipped under 5:00 in the 1,600m, running the full mile in 4:59.62.

Welsh had a breakout sophomore campaign that was capped off with a 10:46 3,200m performance at the NCRunners Elite Tune-Up. She was 13th in the NCHSAA 4A XC State Meet last fall.