Northeast 1s: CBA boys, Milton girls

The Northast Boys

By Paul Schmitz

There are three competing storylines in the Northeast Regional this year. The most obvious deals with the dominance of the New Jersey teams, claiming four of the top five spots in the region. Among those teams are Colts Neck, Indian Hills and Cherokee, all teams hoping to earn their first trip to Portland.

The second and least obvious story line is the improvement that we are predicting in the region. In the final XC ranking of 2015, only two Northeast teams made the Top 30 with Downingtown West at 18 and Christian Brothers Academy at 23. This region returns a good number of quality runners from some of its top teams. It may not be the best region in the country, but it is better than it was in 2015.

The third storyline in the northeast region involves Christian Brothers Academy (CBA). This fall will be the first time in 46 years that a CBA team has started a XC season without Tom Heath as the coach. CBA has qualified for NXN for six straight years under Heath’s watch, including a national title in 2011. During those 45 years they have won 21 Meet of Champions titles. We have them as the favorite to win new coach Sean McCafferty’s first ever cross country state title and to keep the NXN streak alive.

Elsewhere in the region we have a close call in the state of Connecticut with Danbury as our preseason pick to edge out Staples. Carlisle is the favorite and our pick in Pennsylvania with Downingtown West right behind. Other top schools Pinkerton Academy - ­ New Hampshire, Lowell - Massachusetts and La Salle Academy and Bishop Hendrickson - ­ Rhode Island lost heavily to graduation and we will wait for early results to see who emerges as contenders from their states.

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ. CBA has a slew of elite 3200 times from the spring just as it did from the previous year. It translated to a Meet of Champions title and a second place finish at the NXN Northeast regional in 2015 but a disappointing 20th place finish at NXN. Those spring times are once again enough to earn them the top spot in the region and a prominent spot in our national rankings coming out next week.

2. Colts Neck NJ. The data says, surprisingly, that Colts Neck is the second best team in this region. The ninth place finisher in New Jersey in 2015 returns four of its top six and had some stellar times this spring in the 3200 to put them on the radar. Led by seniors Jordan Brannan (9:08 3200) and Anthony Russo (9:13), the Cougars have a shot to take a big leap this year and make a run for Portland.

3. Carlisle PA. Carlisle's fortunes skyrocketed ­­ from hopes of being a top-­five team in Pennsylvania to a NXN Northeast contender ­­ with the transfers of Noah Affolder and his younger brother Sam Affolder. The addition of those two propels Carlisle into the national conversation even as the guys on the team are still getting to know each other.

4. Indian Hills NJ. Indian Hills returns five of its top six from a team that finished sixth at the Meet of Champions and 13th at NXN Northeast. This team will rely on depth and balance to compete given they had only one runner finish in the team top 50 at regionals last year, Tom Holster at 23rd.

5. Cherokee NJ. Unlike Indian Hills, Cherokee does have potential low stick in the No. 3 returner from regionals, Jack Shea. Behind Shea there is a group of solid runners and hopes of improving on a seventh place Meet of Champions finish and 10th place NXN Northeast finish.

Teams to watch:

Downingtown West PA

Don Bosco Prep NJ

Cardinal O’Hara PA

Danbury CT

Voorhees NJ

Council Rock North PA

St. John’s MA

Bishop Hendricken RI

Wellesley MA

Staples CT

The Northeast Girls

By Adam Kopet

The top teams in the Northeast Region last year were hit hard by graduation. That leaves the door open for other teams to come to the forefront. The state of Massachusetts could have a good year, with two teams in the top five and another on the watch list. New Jersey also figures prominently.

At this point, there is little that separates the top teams in the Northeast. If current predictions hold true, we could see four or more teams within 30 points at the regional meet. Unfortunately, it does not appear that a close result will earn an at­-large berth to NXN.

1. Milton MA: The Wildcats return their top four runners from a squad that dominated the Division 2 level in Massachusetts. Despite only finishing seventh at the Northeast Regional, they are in prime position to compete for a place in Portland. Bridget Mitchell, a junior, is the top returner with multiple sub-­18:00 races.

2. Kingsway Regional NJ: The Dragons were sixth at the Northeast Regional last year. They return their entire team. Last year the season's bests from their top-­five had a spread of 53 seconds with three girls under 19:00. If the pack as a whole can improve on last year's performances, Kingsway Regional could be the top team out of the Northeast.

3. Unionville PA: Returning only three scoring runners from a year ago, Unionville is led by standout senior Anna Juul. If they are going to challenge for a spot at NXN, they will need to develop a No. 5 to match the teams ahead of them.

4. Newton South MA: The Lions have not competed at the Northeast Regional in recent years. However, this may be a year that they do. Despite graduating one of the girls that gave Newton South one of the best one-­two punches in the country, this team has the potential to challenge for a spot in Portland.

5. LaSalle Academy RI: The Rams finished second at the Northeast Regional last year, but they lose four runners to graduation, inlcuding their top two. Despite that, they still return a strong team, led by juniors Grace Connelly and Emily Kane.

Watch list:

Ridge NJ

Central Cambria PA

North Hunterdon NJ

Lenox Memorial MA

Souhegan NH