XC Top Ten Team Countdown: Girls' No. 9 East Chapel Hill

Coming in at No. 9 on the pre-season cross country countdown are the ladies of East Chapel Hill. 

This East Chapel Hill squad is very senior heavy. They are led by Margaret Sept and Anna Ivanisevic, who have both established themselves as notable runners in the state. Sept was 13th in the 1,600m at the NCHSAA 4A state meet and as a sophomore in 2020 she was all-state cross country. 

The duo placed 4-5 at the 2021 NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional last fall, and the three in front of them have all gone on to graduate.

They finished runner-up at the regional by only four points, but they are returning their entire varsity squad from that race. 

Eliza Gilliom was 8th in the regional as a sophomore, but we only saw her race once since cross country, an indoor meet back in December. If her fitness it in tune with the rest of the front pack she could make for a dangerous No. 3 or No. 4. 

On the track, rising senior Sofia Cagnoni really came into her own. She ran 11:51 over 3,200m and was the No. 3 girl on her squad. As a team, they ranked No. 7 in the 3,200m if it was scored like a cross country meet. She ran 20:51 in cross country last fall, so if Cagnoni can break out into the 19:00's, the ceiling is much higher for this team.