Junior High Girls
Abbey Sanders - Tupelo High School
The top ranked runner going into Watson next weekend, and the #3 ranked JV runner in the state, is Tupelo's Abbey Sanders. Sanders is the only runner entered that going into this weekend that has run under 13 minutes for the 2 mile this season, which was her 12:58 that she ran on her home course against the top 2 JV runners in the state. Sanders is the huge on-paper favorite, and will be looking to get her 4th win of the season at Watson in the JV 3000m this weekend.
Isabella Iles - Brookhaven High School
Matching up against Sanders for the first time this season is Top-10 ranked JV runner in the state Isabella Iles of Brookhaven. Iles has had 2 wins this season over the 2 mile distance and comes in with a PR of 13:28 over 2 miles. Iles competed in The Opener back in early September, in which she came away with a 7th place finish in one of the most contested middle school girls fields this season. Iles will have surely learned from the experience of a high-class girls fields as well as the course layout, and will be looking for a big 3k PR this weekend.
Elise Fisher - Germantown Middle School
Another Top-10 ranked JV runner in the state competing this weekend, and somewhat of a rival of Iles after their close finish at the Clinton XC Invitational is Elise Fisher of Germantown. That Clinton race is Fisher's PR, which is 13:34 over the full 2 mile distance. Fisher was also at The Opener back in early September, but will surely want to improve on her Choctaw Trails 3k PR this weekend as she has shown much improvement from that race 6 weeks ago. Fisher has had two 2nd place finishes this season but has yet to come away with a win, so will she surely have her eyes set on the W this weekend.
Carson Chandler - Madison Middle School
The final runner to be previewed is another runner that has raced Iles a good bit this season, and has actually beaten her once this year, is Carson Chandler of Madison Central. Chandler ousted Iles at Choctaw Trails at The Opener with a very impressive 4th place finish, so she knows how to race good on that course. As for the rest of the season, Chandler has finished merely seconds behind Iles in 3 races. Watch out for Chandler for this weekend, as she has the mental notes on where to make moves on each part of the course as she did at The Opener.
Honorable Mentions: Tejasvi Uppu, Kaelyn Fair, Mari-Fran Lewis, and Elliott Neal