Midwest 1s: Sandburg boys, Naperville N. girls

 The Midwest Boys

By Paul Schmitz 

After five straight years of sending three teams to NXN, the Midwest did not receive an at-large bid in 2014 and finished a disappointing 15th (Sandburg, IL) and 16th (Carmel, IN).  Both of those teams appear poised to make another run at NXN and improve upon those placements. However, the Midwest is stacked this year and there are several other serious contenders for those spots. This depth signals that a new streak of at-large bids could begin in 2015. 

1. Sandburg IL:  The defending NXN Midwest champions are senior-led, have a tight pack and depth. They had 10 runners under 10 minutes for the 3,200 last spring.  If their pack moves up or if single digit scores emerge, they have the makings of a team with a shot at the national title.

2. Lafayette MO: Along with returners from Sandburg and Carmel, the rise of Lafayette is our biggest reason for optimism for the Midwest Region sending three teams to Portland.  The Lancers return their top five runners from a dominant Missouri state championship team and their runners went 1, 2, 3 this spring at the state meet in the 3200. 

3. Carmel IN:  Led by DyeStat preseason No. 4 Ben Veatch.  Carmel finished second in Indiana last year and second at NXN Midwest (on the same course). Carmel returns six of its top seven and are the team to beat in Indiana and are looking to travel to Portland again. 

4. Neuqua Valley IL:  The Wildcats, the NXN Midwest fifth place team from last year returns four of their top six.  They are led by Connor Horn, fourth in the Illinois state 3,200 and seventh last year in cross country. Behind him is a tight pack that can run within 10 seconds of one another.  This could be the surprise team of the region if the pack moves up.      

5. York IL:  The first ever Nike Team National Champion (2004) is back in the mix.  This is one of the great cross country programs in U.S. history after dominating the state of Illinois for decades and finishing second at the national level in 2005 and 2008.  The Dukes return five of their top six but need to close the gap on No. 1 (super sophomore Charlie Kern).   

Watch List:  

Fishers IN

Hinsdale Central IL

St. Ignatius OH

Lake Zurich IL   

West Lafayette IN

Rockford MI 

Mason OH   

The Midwest Girls

By Adam Kopet

Based on performances at Nike Cross Nationals last year, the Midwest region was the strongest overall with third, fourth and 12th place finishes. Coming into the 2015 season, the top two teams are unchanged, but the three who complete the top five are in a new position. Will there be a changing of the guard in the Midwest?

1. Naperville North IL: Last year's fourth place finisher's at Nike Cross Nationals return five from their varsity squad. Led by Judy Pendergast, the Illinois 3A 3,200-meter champion in the spring, the Huskies are looking to make a return trip to Nike Cross Nationals and could be one of the best Illinois teams ever.

2. Carmel IN: The Greyhounds have made five straight appearances in Portland, never finishing worse than seventh. They are in good shape to extend that streak to six years. However, after graduating three from last year's team, Carmel may not be able to match their most recent success on the national stage.

3. Northville MI: The Mustangs were only third at the Michigan D1 State Cross Country Championships, but they finished a strong sixth at NXN Midwest in Terre Haute. Returning their top five from one year ago, Northville will be looking toward higher finishes.

4. Glenbard West IL: Major questions concern whether Lindsay Graham can return to help this team, but there is still talent here, beginning with fast rising sophomore Lindsey Payne.

5. Columbus North IN: Rachel Brougher, Sierra Lax and Allison Coffey return to give the team a nice trio up front.

Watch list:

Lockport Township IL

Yorkville IL

Palatine IL

Minooka IL

Mason OH

The Road to Portland and the Introduction of the 2015 Dyestat Nike Regional Rankings.

The DyeStat regional rankings offer a glimpse of who we think has the best chance to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore. on Dec. 6.

As such, the "regions" are established by the nine areas created by Nike for their qualifying purposes. There have been slight variations to this configuration over time but since 2008 they have remained consistent:  New York, given its dominance in the sport over the years, is a region unto itself.  California, given its massive population and success, is also a region and its qualifiers come from a power merge at the conclusion of the CIF state championships. The rest of the country is divided into 7 areas:

The Southeast:  Delaware, Maryland, Virgina, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and District of Columbia.

The South:  Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Mississippi.

The Heartland:  Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The Midwest:  Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

The Northeast:  New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

The Southwest:  Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.

The Northwest:  Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii. 

These regional meets are open to any high schools from its corresponding states. If there is high demand, selectors ensure that the top teams are guaranteed a spot in the championship race.   The top 2 teams in each of the eight regions and the top 2 teams from the California merge all automatically qualify for NXN.  Nike also invites the top five individuals from the nine regions.  In addition to the automatic qualifiers, there is a committee that selects the next four deserving teams in the nation, bringing the total of participating teams to 22 each year. 

Every two weeks on Dyestat, Paul Schmitz (boys) and Adam Kopet (girls) will examine each region and make predictions about which teams are most likely to auto qualify for NXN. It is a big country to cover and we welcome your feedback. DyeStatCal editor Erik Boal handles the California rankings.