3 Triangle-area teams seek to repeat in cross-country finals
Three Triangle-area teams are defending their state titles in this weekend’s high school N.C. High School Athletic Association cross-country championships in Kernersville.
Chapel Hill, which edged a pair of Charlotte-area track and cross-country powerhouses for the 3A boys’ crown a year ago, will go for a repeat Saturday.
The Carrboro girls (2A) and Research Triangle Academy girls (1A) also are competing off Regional championship efforts last weekend.
All of the competition is at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. The NCHSAA is putting strict limits on attendance at the competitions, due to COVID health concerns.
Here is a look at Triangle-area prospects:
4A boys: Broughton was last year’s champion, with Cardinal Gibbons running second. Neither team is running in the state meet this year. That puts the focus on Cary and Green Hope, which finished 1-2 at last weekend’s Mideast Regional.
4A girls: Panther Creek looks like the area’s top hope. The Catamounts won last week’s Mideast Regional, placing four runners in the top 10. Individually, Apex’s Sarah Mitchell, second in the regional, is among favorites to top the field.
3A boys: A year ago, Chapel Hill edged Weddington and Cuthbertson for the state crown. Those three teams are expected to battle for top honors again this year. Chapel Hill swept to the Mideast Regional title last week, with Max Reisinger, Emil Arangelo and Ben Hawley running 1-2-3. Hawley was sixth individually at last year’s state meet.
3A girls: Chapel Hill, second to Cuthbertson for the team title in 2019, won last week’s Mideast Regional and should compete for the state crown this year. Also contending is the Mideast runner-up, East Chapel Hill.
2A boys: Durham School of the Arts, led by senior Ryker Mattioli, and Carrboro finished 1-2 last weekend in the Mideast Regional. They will battle defending state champion North Lincoln.
2A girls: Carrboro has a solid chance of repeating as state champ. The Jaguars were big winners in last weekend’s regional, placing five runners in the top six. Junior Hannah Preisner, eighth in the state meet a year ago, won the regional last week.
1A boys: Senior Adam Rovnak of Franklin Academy will attempt to defend his individual state title. He was first in the regional last week. Among teams, Research Triangle Academy will lead Triangle-area runners.
1A girls: Victoria Swepson, first in last week’s regional, and McCarty Hudson will lead Research Triangle Academy in its bid to repeat as state champion.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 11:38 AM.