Hunter looks to book first trip to San Diego

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Andrew Hunter was on the outside looking in after placing 16th at Foot Locker South at year ago.

Don't expect that to happen again. The junior from Loudoun Valley VA, who has been dominant all season and broke Sean McGorty's Virginia state meet record, is a heavy favorite going into Saturday's race at McApline Greenway in Charlotte, N.C.

Hunter is eager to find out where he stacks up among the nation's elite and Saturday's race is the first step.

The lone returner from last year's top 10 is Ben Barrett from Oklahoma, who was sixth last year amongst a crowd of seniors.

The lead pack -- or in this case perhaps the chase pack -- should include Texans Carter Blunt and David Strome, who are trying to double book the national championship events. Blunt and Strome both qualified for NXN last weekend.

Tanis Baldwin and Phillip Hall, a pair of North Carolina State recruits, look like strong bets to make the top-10 field. Among the additional contenders are Arkansas 7A champion T.J. Sugg, South Carolina 4A champion Jackson Ellenburg, Kentucky 3A champion Brennan Fields and Florida 4A champion Joshua Jacques. Another couple of runners to keep an eye out for are Seamus Love from Hilton Head SC, who was ruled ineligible after transferring from Pennsylvania, and Brandon Marquez from Florida.

Fast girls race expected

A compelling matchup of the top girls in the South includes Virginia state meet record breaker Libby Davidson, Texas state meet champion Devin Clark, four-time Kentucky champion and returning Foot Locker finalist Gabriella Karas, North Carolina's Ryen Frazier and newcomer Weini Kelati.

Davidson, a sophomore from E.C. Glass HS in Virginia, beat Eritrean immigrant Kelati, of Heritage VA, in back to back weeks at regionals and the state meet. But Kelati has a 3K PR of 9:12 -- meaning that on paper she is one of the top talents in the country.

Frazier ran 10:12 in the 3200 meters recently at the Dash for Doobie and also clocked 4:44.20 to break her older sister Wesley's state record in the indoor mile. She also ran 16:44 in a collegiate meet.

Paige Hofstad of New Braunfels TX beat Clark last weekend at NXN South and the two of them will try to advance to a second national championship event.

Kathryn Foreman of Landmark Christian GA is also a returning Foot Locker nationals participant.

Other top entrants include Lindsay Billings GA, Caroline Gosser KY and Ciara Donohue VA.

Regional Records

Boys
Sean McGorty
(2012) 14:28

 
Girls
Aurora Scott (2004)
16:26