Coming in at No. 2 on the pre-season boys' team countdown are the Capitals of Broughton. 

Broughton finished 9th at last fall's NCHSAA 4A cross country state meet, but they return their top four finishers from the event. 

Led by upperclassmen Will Venable and Cooper Widmayer, this Capital team is ready to push back to the top of the state. 

Venable, a junior, ran 4:18.97 over 1,600m at the NCHSAA 4A state meet where he placed 5th. His time is good for sophomore class NC No. 2 on the season and No. 19 overall. He also ran 9:49.56 over 3,200m during the spring. He was 10th at the cross country state meet and holds a personal best of 16:03.51.

Widmayer is the senior leader of this group. He ran 4:29.55 and 2:01.66 on the track last spring. Last fall, he ran 15:57.23 at the NCRunners Elite XC Invitational before going on to finish 2nd at the CAP 6 Conference Championship. He went on to place 25th at the state meet. 

Their depth is going to be their key once more for the Capitals. They hold a 1-5 split of 23.97 seconds which is second amongst all North Carolina high schools. 

Marr Lakins had a solid season on the track, running 4:35.25 over 1,600m. He also opened his 2022 cross country season with a 8th place 9:25.73 3,000m run at the BaySix Kickoff. 

Senior Lawson Pollard is ready to bring this team to the championship level. He was 18th last fall at the NCHSAA 4A East Regional where he ran his personal best of 16:14.39. He ran 4:38.02 in the 1,600m this spring. 

Another rising senior in Jack Howell is looking to add value to the back end of this Broughton scoring squad. He ran 4:40.00 and 10:03.89 this spring in the 1,600m/3,200m.

Leo Molinoff is off to a strong fall. He was runner-up in the 9-10 BaySix Kickoff 3,000m running 9:36.38.

Broughton is going to rely on their depth to carry them back to the top of the state. A big state meet performance from these athletes, and they can easily reclaim the thrown.