In order to get the ball rolling on the state meet discussion, here is your 2014 meet preview and predictions! Feel free to post your own predictions, etc.
Top 7 Races To Watch:
7) 1A Girls- This will end up being a tight battle between Ascension Catholic and Metairie Park Country Day. CD has a stronger mid pack, but AC has been known to bring the pain in championship races. This ought to be a great race decided by less than 5 points.
6) 4A Girls- Depending on if Alexa Breaux of Vandebilt Catholic is ready to go, any one of the top three teams in this race have a realistic shot of winning. St. Thomas More has been driving the whole season, but SSA might be able to take advantage of their young 4th and 5th runners to usurp the title from STM.
5) 3A Girls- While the winner might be a forgone conclusion after decimating nearly the rest of the 3A field at district, the race for second could go to any one of four teams. McGehee, University, Lusher, and John Curtis all have flip flopped with each other throughout the season. It could be interesting to watch this race which, through 5 teams, is most likely the deepest of all divisions save for 5A.
4) 4A Boys- On paper for 3 miles, St. Michaels is the top 4A school, but for 5k Benton is nearly equal. Benton is known for showing up out of nowhere at the state meet, so expect a fight to the finish. Assumption might also make some noise if the back of their pack has a great day.
3) 2A Girls- Menard looked to have this wrapped up a month ago, but EHS has improved rapidly down the stretch in hopes of taking the 2A titans down. Lurking in third place with a loaded squad of their own is STA.
2) 5A Girls- This race looked a lot tighter in September, but now Mandeville has the slight edge. Will SJA running the Pre-State meet give them the advantage they need? With countless injuries and illnesses on both teams throughout the year, who knows who shows up? Also, MCA has quietly been putting the makings together to hunt down one of these teams if they smell blood. Can they break the top 2, or even pull the ultimate upset?
1) 5A Boys- This should come as no surprise. The 5A boys race should be downright dirty this year. Everyone has a reason to win. St. Paul’s did what no other team could do, beat John Curtis, without their top runner. Parkway spanked the rest of 5A when they raced them a month ago. Brother Martin has a duo that can really lower their score in this deep race and have 3 freshman on their varsity so might be ready to make a big leap like SPS did last week. Catholic High is known for putting it together at State and have some top flight runners so should not be discounted. And last but not least, Jesuit has the strongest pack in the state right now. There are no favorites. Everyone is the favorite. It’s madness. Will Eric Coston be ready for state? Who will win the battle for second individual if so? Will Natchitoches have the lights up in time for the fans of cross country to enjoy? All these questions will be answered soon enough!
And lastly we have the predictions for top 3 teams and individuals for each state race:
Class C Boys-
1) Holy Rosary 2) Georgetown 3) Claiborne Christian
1) Alex Lewis- Holy Rosary 2) Randy Carter- Jehovah Jireh 3) Thomas Crowley- Holy Rosary
Class C Girls-
1) Claiborne Christian 2) Georgetown 3) First Baptist
1) Gabrielle Jennings- First Baptist 2) Maddie Jennings- First Baptist 3) Rebecca Jowers- Claiborne Christian
Class B Boys-
1) ESA 2) Choudrant 3) Grace Christian
1) Nathan Anderson- Choudrant 2) Colton Cochran- Simsboro 3) Zach Brenner- Grace Christian
Class B Girls-
1) Choudrant 2) ESA 3) Grace Christian
1) Samantha Withers- ESA 2) Marissa Bennett- Choudrant 3) Grace Pecoraro- ESA
Class A Boys
1) Ascension Catholic 2) St. Martins 3) Country Day
1) Zach Capello- AC 2) Antonio Imbornone- St. Martins 3) Mark Golay- Ridgewood
Class A Girls
1) Country Day 2) Ascension Catholic 3) Catholic- PC
1) Stephanie Breaux- AC 2) Kirsten Landry- Ascension Episcopal 3) Sophie Daigle- AC
Class 2A Boys
1) EHS 2) Newman 3) STA
1) Eric Greene- Lakeside 2) Michael Brown- Newman 3) Kris Jackson- EHS
Class 2A Girls
1) Menard 2) EHS 3) STA
1) Alicia Stamey- EHS 2) Alissa Landers- Lakeside 3) Bobbi Amar- STA
Class 3A Boys
1) John Curtis 2) ED White 3) West Feliciana
1) Devyn Keith- John Curtis 2) Austin Ballow- Sumner 3) Hank Patrick- University
Class 3A Girls
1) Sacred Heart- NOLA 2) McGehee 3) Lusher
1) Megan Jackson- SHNO 2) Madeline Kling- SHNO 3) Ellie Pennington- University
Class 4A Boys
1) Benton 2) St. Michaels 3) Assumption
1) Jacob Daigle- Assumption 2) Steven Singleton- Benton 3) Dylan Oliver- Northwood
Class 4A Girls
1) St. Thomas More 2) Vandebilt Catholic 3) St. Scholastica
1) Kaitlin Tanner- Loyola 2) Hannah Bourque- STM 3) Ellen Feringa- St. Scholastica
Class 5A Boys
1) St. Paul’s 2) Jesuit 3) Parkway
1) Eric Coston- SPS 2) Hayden Kingfisher- Parkway 3) Connor Killian- Rummel
Class 5A Girls
1) Mandeville 2) SJA 3) MCA
1) Annie Hill- SJA 2) Ally McCulley- Mandeville 3) Isabella Hemb- MCA