Want to head down under? Ben Hovis Jan 24, 2009

Would you like to run Cross Country in Australia this summer?

For the past 2 years a team made up of NC/SC athletes, Team Carolina, has traveled to the land down under. This team not only has nad a blast spending time in both Hawaii and Australia, but it has also dominated the competition. Want to know more?

North Carolina Looking Strong Indoors Ben Hovis Jan 19, 2009

The Eastern HS Challenge, Liberty HS Invitational, & Arkansas Invitational have put some of North Carolina's athletes among the nation's best. Let's take a closer look at who's ranked among the top 25 in the nation after the Jan. 17th weekend.


Photo: (Hoerner-VAMilesplit) Polk County's John Spencer Wolfe won the Liberty HS Invitational and is now in the US top-25.

Eastern HS Challenge - Saturday Action Ben Hovis Jan 17, 2009

NCRunners is on site today at the Eastern HS Challenge. Races begin at 9:00 am with all of the 55 meter heats and 55mH heats. Also many of the field events will begin at the 9:00 hour.

Check out Friday night's highlights. Many of the distance races were held as well as the girl's pole vault.

Results & other updates will be posted here throughout the day. You can also check out LIVE RESULTS.

Finals
*Huge shot by Kenneth Rowland of Northside(2A), breaking the 60' mark. He threw 60-04, US #3
*Wayne Davis II, SE Raleigh, ran 7.15, US #1. Justin Crawford, Ashbrook, was 2nd in 7.37.
*Sherice Walker of Cummings ran 8.19, US #7. She also won the LJ in 18-09.50
*Sushannie Blake of NW Cabarrus in 7.06, US #2(tie). Stormy Kendrick of Forestview ran 7.11 for 2nd, US #5.
*Dejor Simmons of Green Run(VA) won in 6.36, US #7(tie). Torrence Hunt from Jordan 2nd in 6.38, US #10.
*Hicks from Thomas Edison in 5:16 for the 1600
*Bobby Peavey of Kellam(VA) won in 4:14. Alex Taylor of Providence and Steven Bollinger of Olympic clocked 4:24s
*Sanura Eley-Oreilly of Jack Britt ran US #3 in 1:16.64. Becca Deloache of Myers Park ran 1:16.94, US #4, in the 2nd heat of the 500
*Breanna Staves of Leesville Rd. won the girl's high jump with a clearance of 5-2
*Stephen Hodapp of Butler won the pole vault with a new personal record of 15-02
*RJ Reynolds's Lamont Jackson won the boy's 500 in 1:06.95, US #13
*Logan Elliston of Western Alamance cleared 6-6 in the boy's HJ to win
*Bobby Peavey of Kellam outran Alex Taylor of Providence in the 1000m, 2:33 to 2:35. Both times put them US top-20
*Marlena Wesh of Landstown(VA) broke her own meet record in the 300, 39.4?, US #2
*Lamont Jackson of Reynolds won the 300 in 35.02, US #5
*Lincoln Carr of Pine Forest jumped 23-03 to win the long jump, US #7
*Sherice Walker, Cummings, won her 3rd event of the day. She jumped 37-10 in the triple jump.
*Aslynn Halvorson of Butler won the shot with a throw of 41-00.50, US #13
*Landstown(VA) won the girls 4x400 is just over 4:00
*West Charlotte's boys ran 3:27.78

 

Boys-Will we see more National Champions? Ben Hovis Dec 09, 2008

North Carolina has been spoiled with some amazing talent over the last few years . . . the best part, many former National Champions are still competing. Wayne Davis II of SE Raleigh is the best hurdler in the US (has the stats to prove it). New Bern's athletes are relay specialists and have won multiple National titles over the last couple years, not to mention Fuquawn Green's 200m title last year.


Photo: Will New Bern win more relay titles? My guess is the Hendrix twins and Green will get it done.

Dedication Pays off for Broughton Ben Hovis Dec 03, 2008

Like many other Cross Country teams around the country, Broughton's boys team set goals at the beginning of the season. Usually the team sets 3 goals, but early on this felt like a different season. The team decided to set a 4th . . . "the season ends in Oregon," said Coach David Christian.

This Saturday, Broughton HS will compete at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon. The team earned this right by finishing 2nd at the Southeast Regional held in Cary last weekend. Nike puts on quite a show for the athletes. Here are some of the perks of being a national qualifier:

  • meet Nike sponsored athletes
  • paid flights for team
  • decorate team vans
  • rock star status, includes hospitality suite
  • new team uniform and warm-ups

NCISAA Top 10/NCHSAA Predictions Ben Hovis Oct 29, 2008

What a great time of year it is in North Carolina. The weather is cooling just in time to make for perfect racing conditions.

Last Friday the NCISAA schools competed in their State Championships. This weekend the 4 NCHSAA classifications will hold their Championships and many will be crowed "State Champs".

This week's poll is different than any so far. After scoring the NCISAA meet as a combined meet, you'll see who the top 10 teams were. Also, the coaches who normally participate in the coaches poll predicted the team order for the upcoming NCHSAA races. So check out what these coaches are thinking.

NCRunners.com XC Coaches Poll #6 Ben Hovis Oct 21, 2008

With the conference meets over, here's a look at the latest coaches poll. NCRunners.com didn't receive all the conference results, but did get a number of them.

This is a huge week for NC teams.
1) The NCISAA teams will be competing at their state meet on Friday at the Wake Med Soccer Complex. The 1A/2A teams will compete mid-morning and the 3A schools around noon.
2) NCHSAA schools will be competing for births to their state championships. All the regional meets are held this weekend and only the top 4 teams will move on.

NCRunners.com XC Coaches Poll #5 Ben Hovis Oct 14, 2008

With the Wendy's Invitational and the Tanglewood Invitational the last couple weekends, many of the states finest were able to race one another. Both meets saw teams running with incomplete top 7's, but I'd say coaches noticed.

The next 3 weeks are an excited time with conferences, regionals, and state meets. The first state meets are actually in 2 weeks at the Wake Med Soccer Complex. The NCISAA 1A, 2A, & 3A teams will finish up their seasons and crown the state champs.

Note on upcoming polls:
*The next poll will be next week, after the conference meets have been run. So votes will be due next Monday night. Also the Independent school classifications will be broken up for the first time.
*Then a special "State Meet Prediction" poll will be conducted the following week. Coaches will be asked to predict the top 16 in each classification that they feel comfortable voting for.

NCRunners.com XC Coaches Poll #4 Ben Hovis Sep 30, 2008

A lot has been going over the last 2 weekends and the polls reflect it. Again, first place votes are in parenthesis. You'll notice that a few classifications have very tight first place races. States should be interesting!

Also new this week, you will see the point totals next to each team. Thanks so much to the coaches who are taking the time to vote . . . this week set a record for numbers of voters.

NCRunners.com XC Coaches Poll #3 Ben Hovis Sep 16, 2008

There were some major Invitationals this past weekend. A number of teams are jumping into the rankings that haven't been there yet. There are also teams who made big jumps with their stellar racing over the weekend.

New this week: Instead of an asterisk, you will see the number of 1st place votes in parenthesis.

Hurricane Hanna disrupts weekend: NC still competes Ben Hovis Sep 07, 2008

Despite the Seahawk Invitational, the Campbell Invitational, and then the Hurricane Hanna Invitational being cancelled, NC teams traveled to SC for some much needed competition.

The Eye Opener meet, held in Spartanburg, is traditionally a solid meet with some great out-of-state competition. This year's meet was no exception.

A few teams from the Charlotte (and surrounding) area made a short trip to Northwestern HS in Rock Hill for the Trojan Invitational. Thanks to Northwestern HS for being so accommodating.

Photo: (SCRunners.com) John Harwell of Asheville continued his successful season with his win at the Eye Opener Meet.

NCRunners.com Preseason XC Coaches Poll Ben Hovis Aug 19, 2008

This weekend officially begins the '08 XC season in North Carolina. Many athletes have worked hard all summer for the upcoming season and there will be many surprises. The NCRunners.com Coaches Poll will be released every other Tuesday/Wednesday beginning with today's Preseason Poll.

Any coach in the state may participate, heads & assistants. Just vote for the top 10 teams in your classification and send your votes to me at ben.hovis@providenceday.org. If you'd like, you may also vote for any other classification that you feel comfortable voting for.

2008 Rankings - Returning Athletes Ben Hovis Aug 12, 2008

North Carolina XC should be very strong this year. There is a chance we could see some of the toughest competition ever in all the classifications.

Here you will find your resources for checking out who the top individuals are coming back in each classification and who may be the top teams.

Photo: Last year 4A State Championships . . . many return.

North Carolina Conference Meet Results Ben Hovis Apr 24, 2008

This week marked the beginning of the conference meet season. Over the next 3 weeks many schools will be competing for conference championships and individuals for conference titles. Check back for results.

Please encourage your conference's host to send in results.

 

The Weekend Ahead 4/5/08 Ben Hovis Apr 02, 2008

This weekend, Vance High School is hosting the Cougar Invitational at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte. Many of the top Charlotte area teams will be competing along with other schools from around the state, including SE Raleigh and Southern Durham.

Also this weekend is the Blue Ridge Track & Field Classic at AC Reynolds. This meet typically brings in a few teams from TN and most of the schools in Western NC.

Mooresville HS is hosting the first ever Blue Devil Invitational. Teams from all over the area will be attending.

Finally, the 13th Annual Western Guilford Invitational is on Saturday. Look for great competition as most of the top Guilford County athletes will be there.

Blue Devil Heat Sheets | Cougar Invitational Performance List

Blue Ridge Performance List | Western Guilford Performance List

52nd Queen City Relays Preview Ben Hovis Mar 27, 2008

The 52nd Queen City Relays are Saturday at Myers Park High School. There look to be teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio. Some of the states top teams will be competing and looking to set new meet records.

Boys Meet Records | Girls Meet Records

If you are in the Charlotte area and need your fix of track and field, plan on heading over to Myers Park for what should be an outstanding meet.

Boys Performance List | Girls Performance List

"Miles 4 Micah" This Weekend Ben Hovis Mar 08, 2008

Many of you may remember the story of Micah Arrants. If you don't, below is a link to the story from December.

Micah Arrants story

This weekend, NW Cabarrus is hosting an event in order to raise money for the Micah Arrants Memorial Scholarship Fund. Find more details inside this article.

 

4A Boys Indoor Preview Ben Hovis Feb 07, 2008

New Bern looks to be the favorite, but there are a number of teams ready to pull off the victory. New Bern is loaded with talent, from the relays, to the middle distance, to the sprints, to the horizontal jumps – they will be very tough to beat. However, East Forsyth, led by Dylan Ferris will look to steal a victory. Another team, flying under the radar, may be West Charlotte. This team has sprints, middle distance, and relays, too. Some other teams that will be towards the top could be: Wakefield, Knightdale, SE Raleigh, Butler, and Vance.

Photo by Mark Keenen

NCRunner\'s New Performance Standards Ben Hovis Jan 27, 2008

Beginning with the 2008 Outdoor Season the following will be the new NCRunner's Performance Standards.

These marks can serve as starting points for many of you as your prepare to set goals for the upcoming season.

Best of luck, North Carolina.