By Ka’Deem Wynn for DyeStat

Here are five high school storylines to follow Saturday at the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina:

Loudoun Valley faces test

Loudoun Valley is familiar for a couple of reasons: First, it is the school where high school boys indoor mile national record holder, Drew Hunter, graduated from in 2016; and second, the boys team is currently the NXN title favorite this fall.  

Loudoun Valley of Northern Virginia has been No. 1 all season. The Vikings’ top seven, which features Sam Affolder, Peter Morris, Colton Bogucki and Hunter’s younger brother, Jacob, has been as good as advertised. At the Loudoun County Championships, the team put seven guys across the finish line in less than 16 minutes. 

The Vikings could face challenges from other teams ranked in the NXR Southeast region. Third-ranked St. Xavier of Louisville, Ky., No. 4 Green Hope NC and No. 5 The Bolles School FL make this a regionally important meet. Additionally, Bishop Hendricken RI, Northeast No. 3, is also in the mix.  

Kingwood thrilled with opportunity

Hurricane Harvey left a path of devastation and destruction along the gulf coast of Texas. Unfortunately, Kingwood High near Houston suffered extensive flood damage.

The students at Kingwood were displaced, creating an additional burden to a strong program hoping to compete among the state’s best.

The National Scholastic Athletics Foundaion (NSAF), which runs the Great American Cross Country Festival, learned of Kingwood’s plight and invited the school to Saturday’s meet. NSAF is paying for the boys and girls teams to travel to North Carolina and compete. 

The boys and girls are both entered in the Race of Champions division. The boys finished third Sept. 23 at the Texas A&M Invitational and the girls were second.

How Good Is Cheeseman? 

The junior from Fort Worth Christian TX has put together some eye-opening results and moved up to No. 10 in the latest DyeStat national individual rankings. Carter Cheeseman, a two-time Tennessee cross country state champion, moved to Texas over the summer. He previously competed for Brentwood Academy as a freshman and a sophomore.

Cheeseman has been running very well and clocked a 5-kilometer personal best of 14:42 at the Keller Classic. 

He will return to Cary, N.C., for the first time since last year’s NXR Southeast meet, where he finished 12th. Cheeseman will find out a bit more about where he stacks up against some high quality runners, such as No. 7 Dalton Hengst of McDonogh School MD and No. 14 Sam Affolder of Loudoun Valley.  

Hengst looks to rock the ROC

Dalton Hengst has been on a roll heading into the weekend, especially after a strong 14:57 on Sept. 29 at the Paul Short Invitational in Pennsylvania. 

The senior from the McDonogh School might be testing the waters for a possible run at NXN after going the Foot Locker route last year.

Regardless, he could be the guy to beat this weekend. But he’ll have to work for it.  

Saratoga Springs star highlights girls field

Kelsey Chmiel, No. 2 in the DyeStat individual rankings, broke a course record Sept. 23 by running 17:35 in her season opener at the Ocean State Invitational in Rhode Island. 

Chmiel, and her teammates, are traveling a long way in order to test themselves against a regionally strong field. She’ll be looking for a result similar to her performance at the Wingfoot XC Classic in Georgia last year, when she won by 59 seconds. 

Saratoga Springs is the No. 3 team in New York. Southeast No. 2 Blacksburg VA should serve as a worthy competitor.