Girls Cross Country 2015 PreviewThe girls had a few seniors at the top of the overall rankings at the end of the season last year, but unlike the boys, they weren't the dominant force by any means. The year closed out with two talented sophomores, Taylor Cuneo (Central Magnet) and Rebecca Story (Christian Academy of Knoxville) at the top of the rankings for returning athletes. Taylor and Rebecca went 1 and 2 at the state cross country championships last season and I fully expect the same outcome this season, however, which athlete takes the first spot might be up for discussion.
Since Taylor and Rebecca are both in the D1 AA division, let's jump into that and see what their competition is like. Taylor ran a season best 17.27.30 at the Nike Cross Regionals and Rebecca ran her best earlier in the season at the McCallie XC invite with her 17:43.22. Taylor also took top honors in the 1600 and 3200 at state and so in their head to head competition, it appears she has the edge. But personal bests also tell a story, especially for Rebecca with a 10:36.16 for the 3200 which is a good few seconds ahead of Taylor's best. The 1600 & mile is better for Rebecca too. So is Taylor just more suited to cross country or can we expect Rebecca to suddenly burst to the top in the 5K? We are talking mere seconds here, so let's keep an eye on these two this season. Heck, they are only sophomores, so we'll keep an eye on them for several more seasons! Got to love that for the sport!
Following in this division's very young group of talent is freshman Taylor Cosey a teammate of Rebecca and the third fastest in this division. Taylor ran a season best of 18:48.99 in early October last season and was the youngest finisher at the State meet coming in 4th overall. There were only 3 seniors in the top ten for the AA division girls. What's more impressive, there was an 8th grader, three freshman, two sophomores, and one junior in the top 10. They all have moved up a year, but that still is a significantly youthful, and very talented, group of returners this season. In the number four returning position is Shila Kapaya (18:54.00) of Knoxville Catholic and then wrapping up the top five is Taylor Luthringer of Signal Mountain (19:09.05). And one other girl in the under 19:30 spot is 6th returner Kailey Schuyler of Columbia Academy with a 19:19.19. I didn't just want to point her out since she's under 19:30, but the odds of getting a triple 19 time is really impressive… 19:19.19! How did she do that!!
Bottom line here, this group has some very talented athletes! With only four seniors in the overall top returning 15, the girls in this division are going to know each other well by the time they graduate. That could make for some interesting races. Interesting and fun to watch for a long time too!
For the AA girls' team standing, Christian Academy of Knoxville would seem to have an edge with a couple ranked in the top 5. However, with Taylor L leading the way for them, Signal Mountain might just be the team to beat at the end of the season here. Central Magnet is not likely to let either of those teams get in their way as they fight for the top spot too. And they may be a long shot, but Knoxville Catholic could surprise and be right there near the top too. It all comes down to the last couple of runners on the team and where they place… should be pretty exciting this November!
As I did with the boys, I'm going to try review the girls D2 without breaking down in too much detail between the A and AA classes. Starting out, Claire Cheeseman of Brentwood Academy is the 3rd overall returner in all divisions and sits ahead of the pack in D2 this season. Watching Claire race, you can tell she's a comfortable and fluid racer. One of those athletes that when you watch her run, she just makes it look easy! Having a 5:08.20 PR in the 1600 and a 10:57 3200, it's no doubt she has the leg speed to back up her standing as well. She also continues to improve her 5K time each year, from a 19:14.94 in 2012 to her 18:02.25 she ran at the Jesse Owens Classic last season. I fully expect this young talent to break deeply into the 17's this season.
About 20 or so seconds behind Claire is Briarcrest's senior talent, Ruth Wiggins. In her second year in the heat and humidity of the MidSouth here, it'll be interesting to see how she's adapted and how she is going to improve this season. Having run a 2:16.87 for the 800 at the Music City Distance Festival and a runner up finish in the distance at a chilly state championships last season, you know for sure she has the leg speed to outkick just about anybody in the last steps of a 5K. I can't say that the cross country distance is her favorite, but I can say that Ruth is a true competitor and works very hard on her training. That combination isn't going to fare too well for her competition, especially with her standing that close to the top of the rankings here. Another great competitor is Laura Lys Shallow (St. Agnes) who continues to improve on her 5K cross country times each year and coming into the season with her 18:30.78 puts her at the top 3rd spot for returning cross country D2 athletes. With Laura Lys also being a senior, then adding in her grit and competitive nature, I'm going to be looking for a good seat near the finish line at the Steeplechase course in November… that race is going to be impressive!
The number four returner with the last sub 19 time of 18:45.61 is Grace Carlson of Baylor School. Grace is also a senior and after making a huge improvement from her sophomore to junior year in cross country (19:26 to 18:45.61 season bests), I wouldn't be surprised at all to see her climb towards that top spot! Same goes for Harpeth Hall's Caroline Daniel who is quickly sneaking towards a sub 19 mark. Caroline has only run the 5K cross country for two seasons, but has improved 50 seconds during that span. That is an impressive level of improvement and we should see her third year in the distance be just as exciting. There might be some surprises in this division too, with the likes of Caroline Daniel (Harpeth Hall) who has a 50 second improvement for the 5K distance last season. And with very little experience in racing, Niki Narayani probably is the top D2 A runner at 19:28.82. Be nice to see if she races more how well she can do. Then I wouldn't count out St. Benedicts Meghan Underwood. Cross country isn't Meghan's favorite sport, but with an unparalleled understanding of what real competition is like, she could easily be near the top. Having run a 57.72 on the oval for the 400, I would not want to be her competition with a half mile or so left to the finish line. With the range of talent these girls have, this division is going to be fun to watch too!
Two of the top girls at the end of the season last year have graduated and that puts Makenzie Jones of Morristown-West as the top returner. She finished last season with a very good run at the Nike Cross Nationals regional last November and has already taken a 1st place finish at the Panther Creek XC meet the other day, so no doubt her confidence is solid. Makenzie is a strong runner, and that was very evident last year when she won the Tri-Cities 2K steeplechase in 7:26.54. As a matter of fact, she also has a very diverse running background -- and that truly is an understatement! Steeplechase, cross country 5K, 100 and 200 meter dashes, 1600's and 3200's… She has a ton of experience and is going to be very difficult to chase down. And yes, chase down is correct as I fully expect her to be in the lead at a lot of the races this season. So gear up and train hard, that's what it's going to take to catch this athlete.
Another senior, Megan Murray of West HS ran the foot locker south regional in 18:19.00 to clock her best time of the year in that late season race. That puts her in the 2nd fastest returning spot and only a 0.7 of a second ahead of Houston sophomore Ella Baran. Meghan has a 5:05 1600 time that she ran at the highly competitive state championships for track last season. That 1600 time is the fastest out of the top 5 returning girls in this division. Halle Hausman of Science Hill is the only one in this division that has a faster time in that distance. Halle comes in top 6 for 5K with her 18:40.53 which is a touch slower than the top 5th returner, Hailey Hendry of Brentwood (18:31.61). And not to leave off anyone, Annika Sleenhof with an 18:22.16 comes in 4th overall for this division. Makenzie, Megan, Ella, Annika, Hailey, Halle, Hannah, Victoria, Zoe and Elizabeth are names you want to remember because you'll be hearing them a lot this season. They make up the top ten out of this division, a very talented division for sure.
There are eleven girls coming into this season for the D1 AAA class that have ran sub 19 times last year. And 25 that are under 19:20. This is impressive for sure. With all that in mind, taking a poke at the best team this year is a tough one. The rankings put Morristown West as the top team, and with Makenzie Jones leading the way, it likely is the one team to beat this season. Statistically they are at the top, talent wise they also have a lot of depth with their fifth position runner having a 19:45 and the 3rd and 4th runners very tightly matched with Maggie Layer at 19:12 and Katlyn Hass at 19:14. Their number 2 runner is Elizabeth Liposky (18:51). Elizabeth has a fairly limited resume at the moment, but even at that, it includes some very strong times. She started out this season with a 21:42 at the Panther Creek meet the other day, but that time doesn't nearly reflect what I believe she is capable of running come the end of the season. She could be a key component of this Morristown West team this season.
The next couple of teams are fairly closely matched in their top five times. In the statistics posted early this season, Ravenwood has the guns to get into the top 2 and most likely the consistency within their top 5 runners is what will do it. Lead by Annika Sleenhof's 18:22.16 and Julia Henderson's 19:04.55, this team starts out strong for sure. The 3rd thru 5th next spots are only about 20 seconds apart from each other, with Hailey Erickson at 19:42, Addison White at 19:55 and Olivia Kuban at 20:02. That close a group usually translates to a team that is going to improve as the season progresses. I don't know if they can beat Morristown West, but if a team is going to, it's likely to be this Ravenwood group. Houston High school is another team to watch and with a change in coaching, I'm curious how the team will respond. Ella Baran is their leader with a fast 18:19. That time is a minute ahead of their second place runner, Shian Mallory (19:19). Shian has some leg speed after posting a 5:04 1600 and a 60 in the 400 last track season and she might just have some senior pride in her and want to push the limits in cross country this season. The next 3 thru 5 girls are also pretty tightly matched with a minute spread between them. Amelia Baran (19:32), Maddie Lindemann (19:34), Marah Barnhart (20:33) and at sixth with a good time of 20:53 is Allison Boden. This group is solid and enjoy the sport so may be a sneaky finisher this season, even after losing some great talent to graduation.
As we go full speed into this cross country season now,
there is a host of talented runners to watch.
There's a chance I missed someone in this article and if so, let me know
so I don't miss them throughout the season.
Lace them up everybody… time to run!
See you on the Track… and grass!
Coach Ted