Northwestern Championship, practice Thursday?, rankings and the future

• 32 degrees on the Greenway this morning.  Black dog cooling his belly in the frost.
• Northwestern 3A/4A Championships this afternoon in Lenoir.
• All boys run at 4:30 and all girls at 5:15pm.
• Directions to Lenoir Soccer Complex  (Map):  From Boone, take Highway 321 through Blowing Rock to Lenoir. Take a left at Nuway Circle (stoplight before Bo's), go about 0.5 miles and turn right onto Zack Forks Road, which will take you to the soccer complex (on your right) and the start and finish of the race.
• Don't expect the team home early.
• A reliable source tells me that there is a mandatory practice Thursday for all runners.
• NC Runners has their all class and 4A rankings up and Watauga does well.  The rankings are based on best times for the year, and Watauga has just run on some fast courses.  6 of the top 10 4A Girls teams are in the West, so the West Regional should be fun.
• Runners should be thinking about running in the Foot Locker races in Charlotte November 24.
• Cross Country banquet November 13.  Lots of opportunities and needs.