Championship streaks on the line this year in girls cross country

INDIVIDUALS RANKED BY NCRUNNERS

No. 4 - Sloan Walter, Cardinal Gibbons: Fourth in 4A last year.

No. 5 - Katherine Dokholyan, Chapel Hill: Fourth in 3A.

No. 6 - Marissa Bishop, Cardinal Gibbons: Ninth in 4A.

No. 7 - Calli Parlier, Apex: Eighth in 4A.

No. 8 - Kathrine Priu, Cardinal Gibbons: Fifth in 4A.

No. 10 - Shannon Sefton, Panther Creek: 18th in 4A.

No. 13 - Alessandra Rodriguez, Green Hope: 15th in 4A.

No. 18 - Erin Spreen, Wake Forest: 70th in 4A.

No. 22 - Lila Peters, Sanderson: 64th in 4A.

No. 23 - Kelsey Vogel, Green Hope: 14th in 4A.

No. 24 - Olivia Lackner, St. Thomas More: Fourth in NCISAA 2A.

CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS

4A: Cardinal Gibbons has won seven straight state championships (two 4A, five 3A), and brings back four of its top five. Green Hope, a back-to-back 4A runner-up, may be Gibbons’ only competition.

3A: Back-to-back state champion Chapel Hill brings back six of its top seven runners from last year.

2A: Durham School of the Arts was fourth in 2A, and joins a conference with fellow top-10 2A teams Carrboro and N.C. School of Science and Math.

1A: Franklin Academy, fresh off its first cross country state championship, returns individual runner-up Caitlyn Burkett, a junior. Raleigh Charter, led by 10th-place finisher Gillian Scott, was fourth.

NCISAA: Cary Academy will be in the running to defend its 3A state championship. St. Thomas More and Cary Christian are among the top 2A teams while defending 1A champ Wayne Country Day brings back most of its team. Community Christian’s Morgan Lane is back to defend her 1A title.

STORYLINES

4A Mideast: Much like the boys’ side, the competition will be fierce to be among the top five teams in the 4A Mideast: Cardinal Gibbons, Green Hope, Panther Creek, Apex and Pinecrest.

New conferences: Wake Forest, Heritage and Corinth Holders should have a close competition in the Northern Athletic 4A. Sanderson and Broughton should make the Cap-7 4A race interesting with Gibbons.

This story was originally published August 28, 2017 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Championship streaks on the line this year in girls cross country."