Team Contenders:
Last year, Bolton made sure that there was no doubt who was going to win the Region 7-AAA title, putting their entire top 7 in the top 10, en route to putting up a low winning score of 20 points. It was arguably the best female team performance in region 7-AAA ever. That being said, they lost two of their runners from last year’s squad. Will they reload and run off with another title, or does this open the door for the rest of the field? Regardless, there will be at least five teams looking to secure only three spots to Nashville, this year. Who makes it?
Bolton graduated two very talented runners from last years stellar squad, however, they do return Caroline Daniels, Kasia Mitchell, Halley Brown, and Ellen Sutton from last year, while adding talented Emily Anderson in the mix. Look for Bolton to put a number of runners up front in their attempt run off with their third straight title.
Arlington did not qualify for state, last year, however, they don’t plan on that happening this year. Newcomer Celine Roan has burst onto the running scene to join her talented teammate Amanda Leatherwood, as they will try to return the Lady Tigers team back to Nashville. In the process, they may just try to make things interesting for the over all region title.
Hardin County is led by the trio of Rachel Swanson, Abby Ray, and Nicole Penick. They look to book a return trip to the state meet in Nashville, after doing so last year. If their pack tightens up, this very well could be a reality. Look for them to put a group that will be hot on heals of Bolton and Arlington.
Cordova was last year’s runner up. but lost two of their scorers from last year. They are still led by Abigail Topham , and that is an excellent start. Look for the rest of the team, led by Morgan Mitchell, to pack up and challenge Arlington, Bartlett, and Hardin County for that spot in Nashville.
Bartlett has a nice pack that works together and is led by Haley Todd and Ashley Peterson. If they can lead the rest of their pack in front of Hardin County and Cordova, then they will be taking the trip to Nashville next week.
Munford looks to continue to improve on their times, and Freshman Katie Tolbert looks to help the Lady Cougars make life difficult on the other teams as they too will be gunning for a top 3 spot and a trip to state.
Individual Contenders:
Chelsea Ladd (Dyer Co.) and Abigail Topham (Cordova) have been taking turns up front the past three years: Topham taking the title her freshman year (2010) and Ladd taking the titles in 2011 & 2012. The two seniors look to battle it out once again with Ladd going for the three-peat and Topham looking to even the score. However, both need to pay attention to first year cross country runner Celine Rone of Arlington. She has steadily improved over the course of the season and will look to spoil the party for both. She is followed closely by teammate Amanda Leatherwood who just missed qualifying individually, last year, and does not plan on that being an issue this year. Bolton still throws out a number of top runners, but Caroline Daniels has become the leader of the Wildcat pack and will also look to mix it up with the top runners.
Others to look for:
Halley Brown Bolton
Emily Anderson Bolton
Ellen Sutton Bolton
Daniela Ramirez Dyer Co.