Boys Regional Rankings, 10/6/16

By Paul Schmitz

Southeast

At the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C., Brentwood TN showed how fast it can be but also some vulnerability in large meets. The 1-4 runners scored an impressive 36 points led by Brodey Hasty's first place finish and Taylor Vroon's third. However, the fifth scorer was way back for 104 points and the Bruins were knocked off by region challenger and US#27 St. Xavier KY, 111-119. Brentwood won the team average 15:26 per top five to 15:50, but it needs to close that four-to-five gap in order to win highly competitive meets. 

1. St. Xavier KY

2. Brentwood High TN

3. Loudon Valley VA

4. Green Hope NC

5. Trinity Prep FL

South 

The Woodlands kept its perfect season intact with a win at the Nike South Invitational over College Park. Noah Wells and William Hunsdale led the way with a 1-2 finish at 15:30 and 15:32. El Paso Eastwood traveled to Casa Grande, Ariz. and defeated Brophy College Prep and Desert Vista in the Desert Twilight Festival. That win was not enough to move them up because College Park not only ran well against The Woodlands, it also traveled to the Rim Rock Classic and defeated a 43-team field, including St. Thomas Aquinas of Kansas.

1. The Woodlands TX

2. Southlake Carroll TX

3. College Park TX

4. El Paso Eastwood TX

5. Katy TX

Heartland

Wayzata has separated itself from the rest of the Heartland as the clear No. 1. Right now the rest of the region is a toss-up.  Wisconsin teams don't often compete outside of the state and results for top teams have been uneven. Edina is off to a slow start, like last year, but should be moving well in the postseason. Millard West surprised at the Roy Griak meet in Minneapolis with a solid third place finish over Dowling Catholic, Sioux Falls Lincoln and a depleted Edina.

1. Wayzata MN

2. Millard West NE

3. Edina MN

4. Dowling Catholic IA

5. Fremont NE  

Midwest

Solon kept its perfect record intact at the 26-team Midwest Meet of Champions in Hilliard, Ohio. A decisive victory over in state rival St. Ignatius keeps them on top of Ohio. Neuqua Valley kept the top of their line up out of its race this past week in Illinois, one week after an impressive 65-point total in the 58-team Richard Spring Invitational. Expect Carmel or Fort Wayne Carroll in Indiana to emerge over the next several weeks.

1. Neuqua Valley IL

2. Solon OH

3. Lyons Township IL

4. Downers Grove North IL

5. Lake Zurich IL

New York

Corning continued its impressive two-week run with a win in the McQuaid Invitational at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester. The incredible "merged meet" provided scores for 200 full teams and Corning came out on top over Burnt Hills-Ballston, Xavier, Ithaca and former NY#5 Baldwinsville. Class B school Burnt Hills joins the top five with its second place finish at the McQuaid.

1. Corning NY

2. Saratoga Springs NY

3. Fayetteville-Manius NY

4. Burnt Hills NY

5. Ithaca NY

Northeast

Christian Brothers Academy is still the team to beat. Using course averages to merge two races, CBA won the Bowdoin Park Classic over Cherokee, Colts Neck, Voorhees and Princeton to keep the top spot. Colts Neck finished the race with the second fastest team average to remain No. 2. Voorhees won at the New Balance Shore Coaches Invitational and the team merge over Ridgewood and Indian Hills bumps the Vikings to No. 3.

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. Colts Neck NJ

3. Voorhees NJ

4. Cardinal O’Hara PA

5. Indian Hills NJ

Southwest

Preseason No. 50 Palmer Ridge CO made a splash on the national scene with its second place finish at the Woodbridge Classic in California, losing only to Mountain Vista CO. PR rose in the national rankings last week to US#23. Then, the team turned the tables on Mountain Vista last weekend 50-69 at the Metro State Roadrunner Invitational. However, MV was missing two of its top five runners. Palmer Ridge is running great but has not yet cracked the top five in this super stacked region. Timpanogos UT continues to impress and moves up, while nationally ranked Lone Peak UT and Monarch CO join Palmer Ridge on the region bubble.

1. American Fork UT

2. Davis UT

3. Timpanogos UT

4. Mountain Vista CO

5. Ogden UT

Northwest

Bozeman MT traveled to Yakima, Wash. for Sunfair last weekend and came away with another convincing win. North Central WA was not there but still move up to the region’s No. 2 spot after their solid second place finish at the Bob Firman Invite in Idaho, losing only to US#4 Davis UT while defeating US#17 Ogden UT. Crater OR followed up a fifth place finish at Bob Firman with a perfect score at the 14-team State of Jefferson Invitational.  

1. Bozeman MT

2. North Central WA

3. Crater OR

4. Central Valley WA

5. Jesuit OR

California (by Erik Boal)

Great Oak’s victory at the Stanford Invitational vaults the Wolfpack into the top spot in advance of the first showdown of the season with Dana Hills at the Clovis Invitational. Loyola and Claremont remain strong and consistent in Division 2, looking ahead toward a potential showdown at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Brea-Olinda’s performances at the Dana Hills Invitational and Crestview League preview meet help the Wildcats elevate into the top five.

1. Great Oak (Southern Section Division 1)

2. Dana Hills (Southern Section Division 1)

3. Loyola (Southern Section Division 2)

4. Brea-Olinda (Southern Section Division 3)

5. Claremont (Southern Section Division 2)