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* Cuthbertson's Stella Kermes is one of the championship contenders on Saturday at Great American
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit
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The rising North Carolina sun will be the backdrop for the Great American XC Festival on Saturday in Cary as a meet record number of participants will run in this year's edition of the event.
Roughly 3,790 athletes are scheduled to compete over Friday and Saturday's action at WakeMed XC course, roughly 12 miles west of Raleigh, and the championship installments are oozing with potential.
Here are some of the talented teams and athletes set for the championship race on Saturday morning:
Girls Teams:
Cuthbertson (NC): Currently ranked No. 6 in our national rankings, the Cavaliers began the year with a win at Friday Night Lights before heading to California, where they finished fourth in the sweepstakes edition of the Woodbridge XC Classic. But their biggest test awaits.
Cardinal Gibbons (NC): This could be Gibbons' time to take back the No. 1 position in North Carolina. Like a hawk circling its prey, the girls of Gibbons are in perfect form following wins at the Knights Crossing -- with a perfect 15 points -- and adidas XC Challenge. In fact, the squad is ranked No. 21 in our national rankings and ran on this very course at adidas XC Challenge. No, there's more: WakeMed is basically the team's home course, just a skip away from their headquarters in Raleigh. Saturday's race will be a boxing match between two of the very best from North Carolina.
Mount Tabor (NC): Currently an honorable mention pick in our national rankings, Tabor will offer some stiff competition.
Tatnall (DE): Annually one of Delaware's best high school programs. Great American will be a measuring stick.
Girls Individuals:
Abby Faith Cheeseman, The Webb School (TN): She dusted off the nation's third-fastest 5K this past weekend in 16:27.60 and now it seems reasonable that she could go after Katelyn Tuohy's record of 16:22.8, which the North Rockland legend set in 2019.
Hannah Rae Shaffer, Cardinal Gibbons (NC): She's won two straight races and ran 17:18 on this very course at adidas XC. Can she keep up with Cheeseman, Stegall and Kermes? We think so.
Claire Stegall, Nolensville (TN): A nicely-managed win at Wingfoot XC gave the Tennessee star an opening time of 17:21 for 5K. But her performance at WakeMed could eclipse that. Her PR is 17:08.
Stella Kermes, Cuthbertson: The No. 1 on the Cavaliers has already broken 18 minutes for 5K and 17 minutes for 3-miles. That's good enough reason for us to think she'll be a front-packer.
Boys Teams:
Belen Jesuit (FL): Ranked No. 4 in the U.S., Belen Jesuit is amid quite possibly its best season yet. The squad has a veteran star in Josh Ruiz (senior) and an underclassmen prodigy in Marcelo Mantecon (freshman). Everything is clicking for this Miami program. Next up is a chance to face battle-tested, and nationally-ranked, teams.
McCallie School (TN): The Tennessee team fell to No. 43 in the national rankings, largely because of issues with depth toward the back of its lineup. But hey, that's what the season is for, right? McCallie could surprise with a result here.
Calvert Hall (MD): This Towson, Maryland-based team is sneaky good. They currently own the 22nd-fastest 5K average in the country and are ranked No. 32 in our national rankings.
Winfield (WV): The road ahead on Saturday will difficult for this West Virginia team, considering the talent involved, but they're led by Brayden Marshall, considered one of the top runners in the nation.
Boys Individuals:
Joshua Ruiz, Belen Jesuit (FL): Up until Thursday, Ruiz held the nation's fastest 5K time from his performance at the Southern Showcase, where he netted a cool 14:38.79. Ruiz also lost for the first time this past weekend at the FSU Pre-State Invitational -- to returning Florida champion Patrick Koon -- giving. him ample motivation.
Tommy Latham, Marist (GA): It's been a few weeks since Latham's last race, and that may be a good thing. He raced three times over a three week period, pocketing some very impressive results, such as wins at Wingfoot XC and the Starr's Mills Panther XC meet, not to mention a fourth-place finish at the Southern Showcase. A rested and healthy Latham is going to be dangerous here.
Jake Liebert, Wando (SC): The next few weeks will present some championship moments for Liebert, who's the defending large school South Carolina champion. He has yet to win this season, but a victory at Great American would be a nice notch on the belt.
Brayden Marshall, Winfield (WV): One of the country's toughest -- and coldest; shout out Big Ice TC -- runners is Marshall, who's won three of fourth races this year. This would be an impressive mid-season result for Marshall, a returning Foot Locker qualifier who has also won two straight West Virginia state titles.
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