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* Jenna Hutchins, the high school national record holder in the 5K, will debut at the adidas XC Challenge
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adidas XC Challenge
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When: Sept. 18
Where: WakeMed Soccer Complex -- Cary, North Carolina
Get ready for the debut of the MileSplit50 No. 1 athlete.
Jenna Hutchins, the record holder for fastest girls 5K in high school history, will make her season debut at the adidas XC Challenge in Cary, North Carolina on Saturday.
The BYU commit is undefeated since February 2020.
At the RunningLane National Cross Country Championships last November, she became the first girl to break 16 minutes for 5K when she crossed the finish line in 15:58.42.
Even though the Science Hill (TN) senior is the heavy favorite for the girls race, there are still talented runners that make up this field.
Alyx Beausoleil of Weddington (NC) competed at this meet in 2019, finishing 11th in a personal best of 18:28 for 5K. Her performance ranks her 46th on the all-time list for this course.
Coming in from Virginia, Aniya Mosley, the ninth-place finisher at the VHSL Class 6 State XC meet in 2020, will contend. So far this year, Mosley won the Albert E. Dorner: Newport New Invitational Cross Country meet.
The Cuthbertson (NC) and Weddington (NC) girls teams are the top programs entered. These teams already went head-to-head twice already at the Providence Cross Country Invitational and Friday Night Lights.
In the team's first meeting, Weddington took the victory by just three points. A four-second average separated the Warriors from the Cavaliers that day.
However, last weekend the results were a bit different. Cuthbertson's Alyssa Preisano finished second at Friday Night Lights and helped the Cavaliers to the team title with 45 points and an 18:42 average. Weddington finished second with 89 points and a 19:06 average.
* Gavin Sweeney returns as the top returner for the adidas XC Challenge
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Meanwhile, on the boys side there will be a matchup filled with history between Lake Norman's (NC) Gavin Sweeney and Broughton's (NC) Dylan Core.
Two years ago, Sweeney finished 11th with a time of 15:39.50 and enters as the top returner. Core finished 22nd and was the top freshman when he crossed the finish line in 16:03.80.
Also in that race, Elliott Kleckner finished 21st.
Last year, Sweeney and Core finished 54th and 55th at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships, respectively. In the Class 2A classification, Kleckner finished fourth in 16:00.34.
Coming in from Georgia, Georgia Private School Division 2 state cross country champion Joey Sandel of Johnson Ferry Christian Academy (GA) will line up against the North Carolina standouts.
The Mount Tabor (NC) boys will look to have a strong meet after finishing 13th in its last two meets.
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