Boys Regional Rankings, 10/20/16

By Paul Schmitz

Southeast 

It continues to be a tale of two teams and two contrasting running styles. St. Xavier KY continues to impress after team domination at the Lexington Catholic Invitational. The team's 23 points in a 36-team invitational was highlighted by an incredible seven second 1-5 split as they finished 2-3-5-6-7 and a 15:39 5K average. Contrast that with regional rival Brentwood TN, who also won a meet within the past week, the MSCCA Championships.  Brentwood won a 30-team meet with 40 points but in a very different fashion. The Bruins finished 1-2-3 led by low stick Brodey Hasty and the Vroon brothers Taylor and Jackson.  However, they had a 1:22 split 1-5 and that will make the team vulnerable as the meets get more competitive.  Rounding out the top five are the best teams in Virginia (Loudoun Valley), North Carolina (Green Hope) and Florida (Trinity Prep).  

1. St. Xavier KY

2. Brentwood TN

3. Loudoun Valley VA

4. Green Hope NC

5. Trinity Prep FL

South

The Texas  district meets are under way with all of the 32 district races taking place this week or this weekend. The Woodlands has already taken care of business in District 12 scoring 31 points with a 15:17 5K average and a 37-second 1-5 split. The biggest surprise so far has come from the same a very competitive district where Conroe Oak Ridge tied College Park 52-52. College Park had the team average advantage as well as better depth, keeping it ahead of Oak Ridge in the rankings. Another very competitive district in 6A Texas is District 5. Southlake Carroll will be defending its title this weekend against Flower Mound, Lewisville Hebron and others.  Moving up is El Paso Eastwood. The Desert Twilight XC champions are led by low stick Daniel Bernal, who is undefeated.    

1. The Woodlands TX

2. Southlake Carroll TX

3. El Paso Eastwood TX

4. Kingwood TX

5. The Woodlands College Park TX

Heartland

Wayzata continues to be the dominant team in the region with a convincing win at the Lake Conference Championship over Edina 33-68.  At this point it appears the biggest challenge Wayzata is going to have before Portland is internally cutting the lineup to seven runners. The team's 3-10 runners have been changing positions with each race and running for a spot on the team every time they step to the line. Edina was once again without its full lineup and was almost knocked off by conference rival Minnetonka. Ediana will once again be in a dogfight finish for the top-two in region 6AA in order to advance to the Minnesota state meet. Dowling Catholic IA and St. Thomas Aquinas KS are both rounding into form and are the teams to beat in their respective states. 

1. Wayzata MN

2. Millard West NE

3. Dowling Catholic IA

4. St. Thomas Aquinas KS

5. Edina MN

Midwest

The 1-2 punch of Lyon's Township's Danny Kilrea and Vince Zona was not enough to overcome the pack running and 17-second split of Downers Grove North at the West Suburban Silver Conference meet this week. The 48-52 win flip-flops those two teams in the rankings for now, but Lyons' team average was actually faster than Downers Grove North and it will be interesting to see how those scores shake out in larger meets. Neuqua Valley kept its perfect season intact with 16 points at its conference meet that included a 26-second 1-5 spread and seven of the top eight runners in the meet. Also on the radar is 2A Illinois school Mahomet-Seymour.  M-S is coming off of a 17-point team score at its conference championship that included No. 2 state ranked Normal University. M-S hasn't fared well against the bigger schools in the past finishing 15th and 27th in the past two years at Nike Midwest, but that could change in 2016.    

1. Neuqua Valley IL

2. Solon OH

3. Downers Grove North IL

4. Lyons Township IL

5. Lake Zurich IL

New York

Corning remains the class of the state after their 17-point team score at the Bob Greene-Newark Valley Invite.  They placed 1-2-3-4-7 led by senior Kevin Moshier. Saratoga Springs slips from our top 5 after a disappointing finish at the Manhattan Invitational. Enter Xavier, which placed 10th in the Manhattan merge.  Fayetteville-Manlius moves back into the regional No. 2 spot after their seventh place finish at Manhattan.  Class B team Burnt Hills maintains its regional No. 4 spot after a convincing win at its home invite.

1. Corning NY

2. Fayetteville-Manlius NY

3. Xavier NY

4. Burnt Hills NY

5. Ithaca NY

Northeast

St. John’s MA was one of the surprise teams of the month when it won the Varsity E race at the Manhattan Invitational and won the merge from that day. However, the team lost to Wellesley MA at the Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational, bumping it down a spot in this week's regional rankings. Also in the mix in the region is Lowell MA, which placed second in the Manhattan merge. Several teams could make a case to be included in our list including Princeton, Indian Hills and Voorhees NJ and Cardinal O’Hara  PA.  

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. Colt's Neck NJ

3. Wellesley MA

4. St John’s MA

5. Lowell MA

Southwest

In the preseason we loved the depth and pack running potential of Davis UT and we have consistently moved them up the rankings throughout the season. The Darts' form held true at the Utah State Cross Country Championships on Wednesday with the fastest seventh runner.  However, the Davis pack was about 15 seconds slower than it needed to be to win. After U#1 American Fork, the newly crowned Utah 5A champion, the region gets fuzzy. Colorado contenders Mountain Vista and Palmer Ridge are in the mix with several teams from Utah. Class 4A champion Olympus defeated nationally ranked Timpanogos and Ogden as well as Springville and emerged from the state meet as the second fastest team in the athletic.net meet merge. At this point the 2-8 spots all appear up for grabs with Mountain Vista, Palmer Ridge, Olympus, Timpanogos, Springville, Ogden, Lone Peak and Davis all stepping to the line knowing a trip to Portland is within reach.    

1. American Fork UT

2. Mountain Vista CO

3. Olympus UT

4. Palmer Ridge CO

5. Timpanogos UT

Northwest

Bozeman remains the class of the region and appears poised to defend their Montana State AA title. North Central WA maintains the No. 2 regional ranking after a perfect score in its GSL dual with Mount Spokane.  However, Crater OR appears to be closing the gap on the Washington team after an impressive win at the Max King Invitational. The Comets scored 19 points in the 17-team invite and put all seven of their runners in the top 11 with a 15:51 top five 5K average.  

1. Bozeman MT

2. North Central WA

3. Crater OR

4. Central Valley WA

5. Jesuit OR

California (by Erik Boal)

Following a disappointing third-place effort in the championship race at the Clovis Invitational, Dana Hills responded by winning the Orange County Championships sweepstakes race for the second year in a row. The Dolphins won't be competing in the team sweepstakes at the Mt. SAC Invitational, but Great Oak will, seeking its third invitational victory following wins at Stanford and Clovis. Loyola, Claremont, West Ranch and Mira Costa will square off for the first time this season in the Mt. SAC team sweepstakes race in a showcase of the top teams in Southern Section Division 2.

1. Great Oak (Southern Section Division 1)

2. Dana Hills (Southern Section Division 1)

3. Loyola (Southern Section Division 2)

4. Claremont (Southern Section Division 2)

5. West Ranch (Southern Section Division 2)