Boys Regional Rankings, 9-22

By Paul Schmitz

Midwest  

The big mover is Downers Grove North IL. DGN had a strong performance at the First To The Finish Invitational where they beat state rivals Lyons Township and Hinsdale Central. Neuqua Valley looks deep and deserving of its preseason #1 regional and #3 national ranking. Falling out of the top 5 is Lake Zurich, which looks like it needs more depth to compete for a state title in Illinois. A team to watch is 2A Mahomet-Seymour IL, coming off a strong second place finish at the Richard Spring Invite, bested only by Neuqua Valley.

1. Neuqua Valley IL

2. Solon OH

3. Downers Grove North IL

4. Lyons Township IL

5. Carmel IN  

Southeast

Preseason #1 Brentwood looks locked in and in late season form. The team scored 40 points at the 27-team Voyles Classic with Taylor and Jackson Vroon going 1-2 in a race with 267 runners. Then the group went to the Chickasaw Trails Invitational in Alabama and swept 1-4. St. Xavier holds on to the No. 2 position after winning the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational over Carmel IN (MW #5) by 11 points with a 16:05 average. After Needham Broughton NC at No. 3 there are two newcomers. The youngsters of Loudon Valley VA came through in a big way at the PTXC 8 New Balance Invite and defeated preseason US#20 and NE #3 Carlisle and New York #3 Corning. Also new to the region is a new darkhorse: Marist GA, which won the Warpath Invitational with a 16:05 5K average.

1. Brentwood TN

2. St. Xavier KY

3. Needham Broughton NC

4. Loudoun Valley VA

5. Marist GA  

South

The separation between the top two and the rest of the teams in the South continues. The Woodlands is the class of the region and our preseason US#5 team is living up to those expectations. Southlake Carroll has dominated its regional meets but had a setback when they traveled to California for the Woodbridge Classic, where it finished sixth. SLC will have no margin for error in order to beat The Woodlands. New to our list is El Paso Eastwood TX, which knocked off South #5 Flower Mound by two points at the Southlake Carroll Invitational. Jenks OK slipped off the list as it has yet to show all of its cards.   

1. The Woodlands TX

2. Southlake Carroll TX

3. College Park TX

4. Eastwood TX

5. Flower Mound TX 

New York

F-M opened the season as the #1 team in New York and the early results have increased its lead over the rest of the field. The Hornets dominated the Chittenago invitational, led by Patrick Perry (16:15). The emergence of sophomores Garrett Brennan (16:53) and Matthew Tripp (16:57) aids the cause. Baldwinsville was impressive at Chittenago, too, and move to NY#5. Shenendowa slips out of the top five after a loss to Burnt Hills. The big mover in New York is Saratoga Springs, which bumps up from fifth to third after winning the Queensbury Invitational.  Corning bounced back from getting beaten at the PTXC New Balance Invite by beating Ithaca in a dual meet.    

1. Fayetteville-Manlius

2. Corning

3. Saratoga Springs

4. Ithaca

5. Baldwinsville

Southwest

Davis and Ogden beat Lone Peak. American Fork and Lone Peak beat Dana Hills CA (US#4). Mountain Vista and Palmer Ridge finish 1-2 at the Woodbridge Classic in California over Great Oak CA (US #8), Desert Vista AZ (a solid fourth), West Ranch CA and Southlake Carroll TX (South #2).  Monarch CO then beats Palmer Ridge. We have no less than nine teams in the region that will be considered for the Top 30 in the country next week.  

Monarch lost by one point to Mountain Vista at the St. Vrain Invitational. Led by Isaac Green and Charlie Perry (15.49 and 15.51) this team is one to watch but they don’t crack the top five. Timpanogos UT is undefeated so far, including a win at the 34-team Highland Invitational. Timp is currently on the outside looking in, too.      

1. American Fork UT

2. Davis UT

3. Mountain Vista CO

4. Ogden UT

5. Lone Peak UT

Northwest 

There hasn't been much head to head races or national level competition among the top teams in the Northwest so far. The Bob Firman Invite and Nike Portland XC this weekend changes that. Bozeman dominated the 12-team Great Falls Invitational with 26 points and remain the team to beat. Crater OR (Crusader Invitational), Bellarmine Prep WA (Bellarmine Invitational), Jesuit OR (Bill Chapman Invitational) and North Central WA (Tracy Walters) all won their first meets of the season and keep the Northwest status quo for now.  

1. Bozeman MT

2. Crater OR

3. Bellarmine Prep WA

4. Jesuit OR

5. North Central WA

Heartland

Previously unranked St. Thomas Aquinas KS knocked of Edina MN at the Heartland Classic in Ames, Iowa. Edina showed it is vulnerable in large meets if it can’t close the gap on a 1:13 1-5 spread. However, even with a one-point loss, Edina had a faster team average than STA and we feel that Edina’s gap will close. Small edge to Edina for now. Wayzata kept its varsity at home and still won the Metro Invite last week with 32 points. Wayzata might have the fastest 10th runner in the country. More will be revealed about the 1-5 guys at Roy Griak this weekend. 1. Wayzata MN

2. Edina MN

3. St. Thomas Aquinas KS

4. Middleton WI

5. Fremont NE 

Northeast

Christian Brothers Academy opened its season with a double dual win over Colts Neck and Manalapan extending their dual meet winning streak to 345. CBA is the team to beat in New Jersey and the region. Carlisle finished second to SE#4 Loudon Valley at the 27-team PTXC New Balance Invite. New additions Noah and Sam Affolder finished 1-3 in the race and Carlise finished in second by four points and defeated New York preseason #3 Corning. However the Carlise team average was actually faster than Loudon Valley, and if it can close a 1:42 1-5 gap this could be a tough team to beat.   

Elsewhere, Cardinal O’Hara PA defeated preseason NE#4 Indian Hills NJ by three points to move into the top 5. Lowell MA came out of the gate quickly at the 23 team Amherst Invitational scoring 26 points and are on the radar.  

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. Colts Neck NJ

3. Carlisle PA

4. Cardinal O’Hara PA

5. Indian Hills NJ

California (by Erik Boal)

Although reigning NXN champion Great Oak placed third in the Woodbridge Classic sweepstakes, it was behind Colorado programs Mountain Vista and Palmer Ridge. Loyola continued its impressive early season schedule with a convincing victory at the Mt. Carmel Invitational. West Ranch moves into the top five after being the second California team in the Woodbridge sweepstakes. After competing in the Viking Invitational in Utah, Dana Hills is scheduled to race Saturday at its own invitational. 

1. Dana Hills (Southern Section Division 1)

2. Great Oak (Southern Section Division 1)

3. Loyola (Southern Section Division 2)

4. Claremont (Southern Section Division 2)

5. West Ranch (Southern Section Division 2)