Upcoming Cross country season

[jjjones]

Been awful quiet on the cross country board of late, does anyone have any prediction for the up coming season and what kids to look out for?

[AT]

I plan on doing a XC preview soon for higher classifications. I'll just go ahead and put it in this thread when I do.

[jjjones]

Can't wait, Thanks.

[AT]

Just as a quick 5A preview:

The main contenders are probably going to be Little Rock Christian and De Queen. De Queen seems to have an advantage with their returning top 5 runners finishing higher than LRC's last year, but it's not a big gap.

After that you have GCT and Harrison who have a good group of 5 coming back, but will need to get their 3rd, 4th, and 5th guys up there to compete for a state championship.

Vilonia, SC, Greenbrier, and Lakeside seem to be wildcards. They have pieces to be top 10 teams, but they would need to fill some significant gaps to compete for a state title.

[NEASPORTSFAN]

looking for cross country meets. please contact me at shoffman@pangburnschools.org. thanks

[sevenof400]

Season kicking off at Shiloh Christian this weekend...it begins again!

[ogar_hog]

looking for cross country meets. please contact me at shoffman@pangburnschools.org. thanks

http://members.ahsaa.org/public/userfiles/XC/List_of_XC_Meets_-_2013.pdf

[AT]

Found the results for the Shiloh Christian invitational!

http://www.trxctiming.com/Arkansas/Shiloh_Christian/Cross_Country/Results/2013/hs_boys.htm

5A teams in action: Vilonia, Huntsville, and Shiloh Christian

In the 4A-5A category, Vilonia finished 2nd behind 4A Maumelle, while Huntsville finished 4th, and SC finished last.

Vilonia had one guy in the low 18s in Zach Rail (18:12). They also had two guys in the mid 19s in Dylan Mikeal (19:28) and 800 specialist Cody Moore (19:30). Their 4th and 5th guys were Jed Myers (20:32) and Bryan Sampson (20:34). Their 6th and 7th runners were in the 21:30s or above.

Huntsville's top finisher was River Gosvener (19:38). There was a significant gap to their second runner in Brandon Gragg (21:58). Their 3rd and 4th runners were in the 22s in Jonathan Keith (22:14) and Darius Bettinger (22:15). There was another significant gap to their 5th runner in Austin Grigg (25:22)

SC didn't have as good as a meet as I thought they would. Their top finisher was Austin Henley (20:45). A big gap to their next runner  Andrew Breeding (22:49). Their 3rd, 4th, and 5th runners ranged from 23-25 minutes. They were, in order, Caleb George (23:54), Barrett Beauchamp (24:17), and Luke Merrick (25:27).

Vilonia looks ready to compete this year. Rail will be a top 5 finisher at state. They need Mikeal and Moore to step up and dip under 19. Myers and Sampson getting in the low 19s would help them at least give LRC and DQ something to think about. Should be right up there with Harrison at conference.

I don't see Huntsville or SC competing for a state title or conference crown this year. Gosvener for Huntsville could be a high finisher at state, but if they have nothing behind him, then they won't do any damage. SC had more returning than this meet shows, but you can never tell with private schools who will move in and out. They don't look to make much noise on the state level, could still finish top 3 at conference depending on how Greenbrier and Alma show up.

Still a lot of time to improve.

[RATTLER43]

Eureka Springs looked decent in class 2A.

[Softball Dave]

We had several runners from Arkansas do well at the Memphis Twilight. Brock Ballard finished 5th in 16:29, Lane Alexander from Mountain Home finished 20th in 17:10, Cody Fox from DeWitt finished 27th in 17:21, & Cameron Hill from Bentonville finished 29th in 17:28. Carter Shelton from Valley View would have finished at least in the top three, but over heated & had to drop out. Luckily it was right where we were standing & we got him cooled down as quick as possible. So good run by several Arkansas runners.

[RATTLER43]

Congrats to Cody!
Hope Carter is okay. 

[Softball Dave]

Thanks Rattler! Very encouraged for the rest of the season. His chest started hurting about a mile in, but he continued. We're still trying to figure out what to & not to eat before races. I believe that's what cause the pain. He probably would've been in the 16's if it weren't for that. But now we know he can run faster, so very encouraged! Thanks again, good to your team this season!

[RATTLER43]

Home meet Tuesday starting at 4:00.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!
Going to be hot!

[jjjones]

I'm thinking of going to the meet at Conway this weekend, does anyone know what schools are going to be there and what kids to look out for?