Storylines
*Gabe McElwain winning the 2022 Watson title
Photo credits: Ben Woolhouse
MHSAA 2A Boys: Gabe McElwain gets a shot at the MHSAA 2A state meet record
Walnut's ace runner gets a shot at shattering the MHSAA 2A State Meet record by maybe a whole minute. The Mississippi College distance signee currently has the fastest 5k time in Mississippi with a 15:30.2 and is also the unanimous All-Milesplit Mississippi XC No. 1.
READ NEXT: All-MileSplit Mississippi XC teams: Edition No. 3
Additionally, he has the second fastest 5k average in the whole state behind Jaheim Bridges' 15:56.8 average with 15:57.2. McElwain has broken the 16-minute barrier a total of four times now and has consistently run under the old record time of 16:42.8 every race he has been to with the exception of the Hickory Flat "mud-fest".
The record is currently held by Austin Epting of Union High School in 2008. The question now is how much time McElwain will shave off the old record to cement his place as the greatest Cross Country runner the 2A division has ever had.
MHSAA 1A Girls: TCPS vs French Camp
The French Camp Lady Panthers will be facing a very strong challenge from Tupelo Christian Preparatory School to decide who will take home the title of 2022 MHSAA 1A Girls team title.
Last year, French Camp scored a fantastic 17 points to take an easy win against TCPS at the 2021 MHSAA 1A Cross Country Championships.
The two teams are very evenly matched based on PRs, with the Tupelo Christian girls having the slightest advantage with 35 points against French Camp HS's projected 36 points. However, when the question of who will show up ready to race on the day, French Camp is known to show up and show out. They have the most consistent team in MHSAA 1A, and also have a great low stick in Lucy Littlejohn, but as do the Lady Eagles in Anna Bishop Powell.
*Anna Bishop Powell, TCPS
Photo credits: Ben Woolhouse
The runners with the biggest impact on the final scoring will be the 3-5 runners on each team. Whoever gets their bottom half in first will be the winner.
MHSAA 1A Boys: West Union vs. TCPS
The boys of West Union High School and Tupelo Christian Preparatory School will be battling it out to see who can have the best day at the 2022 MHSAA 1A Cross Country Championships.
Based on the virtual meet, West Union is predicted to win with a score of 46 points to Tupelo Christian's potential 47 points. The placement that will decide the difference between the championship trophy and the second place medal is not in the runners leading the charge in Bounds Simmons and Brodie Moore, nor will it be in the hands of the fifth men. The placement of each team's three and four runners will be the metric that determines who takes the win that day.
On paper, West Union has the better PRs that could give them the edge, but Tupelo Christian is far more consistent and can be counted on when the day comes.
MHSAA 2A Girls: Young Talent vs. Young Talent, Ally Murphy, and Eliza McCarley
The closest race of the small school divisions on paper will be between Ally Murphy of Myrtle and Eliza McCarley of Baldwyn.
Murphy is the favorite with a 5k PR of 19:57.0 compared to McCarley's season best of 20:27.0. Murphy has only ever raced two 5ks, so McCarley could use her experience to give her an opportunity to close the gap between them. However, Murphy is one of the best middle school talents in Mississippi history, having just broken the 3K state record in 11:27.8 at the 2022 MHSAA Middle School Classic en route to a middle school state title.
*Ally Murphy at the 2022 MHSAA Middle School Classic
McCarley, the eighth grader from Baldwyn, Miss., is the defending champion in MHSAA 2A. She ran 20:00.5 to take the win while also setting a new MHSAA 2A State Meet Record with that time. She was also the youngest athlete across all classifications to win an individual title, doing so as a seventh grader at the 2021 MHSAA 2A Cross Country Championships.
Murphy, however, has shown that she has the ability to challenge both of those impressive feats. Whatever the case, it will be exciting to see the battle between these two young stars and how it unfolds.