Troutner's NXN performance vaults him to No. 1

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Aidan Troutner of Timpview UT was slightly off the radar coming into the 2017 season, opening at No. 23 in the preseason ranking. He was the top returner in the NXR Southwest region and he was well-prepared to have a great season. He went through the Utah regular season undefeated, won the NXR Southwest title and then outsprinted Brodey Hasty and James Mwaura to win the biggest race of the year at Nike Cross Nationals. Troutner followed the path of Casey Clinger to the NXN crown and the No. 1 overall ranking.

Note: The final rankings are heavily weighted on the outcomes of the two national championship meets, Foot Locker and NXN. Consideration was also given to state and regional performances.

1. Aidan Troutner, senior, Timpview UT: NXN champion; NXR Southwest champion; Utah 5A champion

2. Brodey Hasty, senior, Brentwood/unattached TN: NXN runner-up; NXR Southeast champion

3. Liam Anderson, junior, Redwood (Larkspur) CA: NXN third place; CIF Division 3 champion

4. James Mwaura, senior, Lincoln (Tacoma) WA: NXN fourth place; Washington 3A champion

5. Dylan Jacobs, senior, Sandburg IL: Foot Locker champion; NXN 13th place

6. Graydon Morris, sophomore, Aledo TX: Foot Locker runner-up; UIL 5A state champion

7. Danny Kilrea, senior, Lyons Township IL: Foot Locker third place; NXN fifth place; Foot Locker Midwest champion; Illinois 3A champion

8. John Tatter, senior, TJ Reynolds NC: Foot Locker fourth place; Foot Locker South champion; North Carolina 4A champion

9. Dustin Horter, senior, Lakota East OH: NXN sixth place; NXR Midwest champion; Ohio D1 champion

10. Drew Bosley, junior, Homestead WI: Foot Locker seventh place; NXN seventh place; Wisconsin D1 champion

11. Jake Renfree, junior, Knoxville Catholic TN: Foot Locker fifth place

12. Conant Smith, junior, Middletown OH: NXN eighth place

13. Charles Hicks, junior, The Bolles School FL: NXN ninth place; Florida 2A champion

14. Carter Cheeseman, junior, Fort Worth Christian TX: Foot Locker sixth place; NXN 36th place; NXR South champion

15. Drew Thompson, senior, Fairfield Prep CT: Foot Locker eighth place; New England champion

16. Khalid Hussein, senior, Wayzata MN: NXN 10th place; Minnesota AA champion

17. Duncan Hamilton, senior, Bozeman MT: NXN 11th place

18. Peter Morris, senior, Loudoun Valley VA: NXN 12th place

19. Alex Maier, junior, Flower Mound TX: NXN 14th place

20. Clayton Mendez, senior, Whitney Young IL: Foot Locker ninth place; NXN 18th place

21. Matt Strangio, sophomore, Jesuit CA: NXN 15th place

22. Devin Hart, junior, Point Pleasant Boro NJ: Foot Locker 10th place; New Jersey MOC champion

23. Chad Johnson, senior, Galion OH: Foot Locker 11th placce; Ohio D3 champion

24. Nicolas Russell, junior, Bishop Kelly ID: NXN 16th place; Idaho 4A champion

25. Stetson Moss, sophomore, Bonneville ID: NXN 17th place; Idaho 5A champion

26. Silas Derfal, senior, Itchaca NY: NXN 19th place; New York A champion

27. Zachary Kreft, senior, Buckeye Valley OH: Foot Locker 12th place; Ohio D2 champion

28. Justin Hazell, senior, El Camino Real CA: NXN 89th place; CIF Division 1 champion

29. Harrison Scudamore, senior, Denver East CO: Foot Locker 13th place

30. Kashon Harrison, junior, Kirtland Central NM: Foot Locker 14th place; Foot Locker West champion; New Mexico 5A champion

31. Brandon Garnica, senior, Springville UT: NXN 20th place

32. Cole Sprout, sophomore, Valor Christian CO: NXN 21st place; Colorado 4A champion

33. Easton Allred, sophomore, Rock Canyon CO: NXN 22nd place

34. Sam Affolder, junior, Loudoun Valley VA: NXN 23rd place; Virginia 4A champion

35. Carter Coughlin, senior, Webb of Knoxville TN: Foot Locker 15th place; Tennessee D2-A champion

36. Michael Phillips, senior, Lawton Chiles FL: Foot Locker 16th place; Florida 3A champion

37. Derick Peters, senior, West Central SD: NXN 26th place; South Dakota A champion

38. Collin Ullrich, senior, Liberty Ranch CA: Foot Locker 17th place

39. Shayan Zarrin, senior, Mountain Vista CO: NXN 24th place

40. Ryan Raff, senior, Lehi UT: NXN 25th place; Utah 4A champion

41. Fahd Nasser, senior, McNair Academic NJ: Foot Locker 18th place

42. Parker Stokes, junior, Maine Endwell NY: NXN 27th place

43. Matt Scrape, senior, Pickertington Central OH: Foot Locker 19th place

44. Cameron Ponder, senior, Mount Tabor NC: North Carolina 3A champion

45. David Melville, senior, Northern Guilford NC: Foot Locker 20th place

46. Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau, senior, Bellarmine Prep CA: Foot Locker 21st place

47. Matthew Meinke, junior Neenah WI: NXN 28th place

48. Darius Riley, senior, Rancho Cucamonga CA: Foot Locker 22nd place

49. Rusty Kujdych, senior, Neshaminy PA: Foot Locker 23rd place; Pennsylvania AAA champion

50. Dalton Hengst, senior, McDonogh School MD: Foot Locker 24th place

51. Charlie Perry, senior, Monarch CO: NXN 30th place; Colorado 5A champion

52. Carter Dillon, senior, Mountain Vista CO: NXN 29th place

53. Tristan Shelgren, senior, St. John's Prep MA: Foot Locker 39th place; Foot Locker Northeast champion

54. Jonah Franco, senior, Kamiakin WA: NXN 31st place

55. Carlos Carvajal, senior, Great Oak CA: NXN 32nd place

56. Brian Hill, senior, Christian Brothers NJ: NXN 33rd place

57. Nathan Lawler, senior, Pittsford Mendon NY: Foot Locker 28th place; New York B champion

58. Grant Gardner, junior, Springville UT: NXN 34th place

59. Sam Bowers, senior, Milton GA: NXN 35th place

60. Colin FitzGerald, senior, Crescenta Valley CA: NXN 40th place

61. Gabe Fendel, senior, Hamilton Southeastern IN: Foot Locker Midwest 11th place, NXR Midwest 13th place

62. Damien Dilcher, senior, Brick Township NJ: Foot Locker 25th place

63. Mason Gatewood, senior, St. Anthony's NY: Foot Locker 36th place; New York Federation champion; Manhattan Invite champion

64. Nick Foster, junior, Ann Arbor Pioneer MI: Foot Locker Midwest 12th place; Michigan D1 champion

65. Colton Bogucki, senior, Loudoun Valley VA: NXN 37th place

66. Garrett Brennan, junior, Fayetteville-Manlius NY: NXN 46th place; NXR New York champion

67. Matthew Schadler, senior, Evansville Reitz Memorial IN: Foot Locker 26th place

68. Shuhaib Aljabaly, senior, Coldwater MI: Foot Locker 27th place; Michigan D2 champion

69. Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos, senior, Cathedral Catholic CA: Foot Locker 29th place

70. Shyam Kumar, senior, St. Francis (Mountain View) CA: NXN 38th place

71. Camren Fischer, junior, Fayetteville AR: Foot Locker 40th place; NXN 39th place

72. Quinn Nicholson, senior, Corning NY: NXN 41st place

73. Andrew Mah, senior, Newton North MA: NXN 42nd place

74. Chris Romero, senior, Voorhees NJ: NXN 63rd place; NXR Northeast champion

75. Jacob Hunter, junior, Loudoun Valley VA: NXN 43rd place

76. Nicholas Yanek, senior, Milton GA: NXN 44th place

77. Roberto Porras, senior, Olympus UT: Foot Locker 30th place

78. Kevin Ramos, sophomore, Rubidoux CA: NXN 51st place; CIF Division 3 third place

79. Noah Beveridge, senior, Butler Area PA: Pennsylvania AAA runner-up

80. Tyler Spencer, senior, Roosevelt CA: NXN 132nd place; CIF Division 1 third place

81. Ryan Kline, junior, Central Valley WA: NXN 48th place; Washington 4A champion

82. Elias Opsahl, senior, Redlands East Valley CA: CIF Division 2 champion

83. Bronson Winter, senior, Fremont UT: Foot Locker 31st place; Utah 6A champion

84. Josh Methner, sophomore, Hersey IL: NXR Midwest seventh place

85. Sebastian Belkin, junior, Bainbridge WA: Washington 3A second place

86. Bradley Peloquin, junior, Gig Harbor WA: Washington 3A third place

87. Jacob McLeod, senior, Trinity South GA: Foot Locker South 20th place

88. Andy Monroe, senior, Crater OR: Oregon 5A champion

89. Evan Holland, sophomore, Ashland OR: Oregon 5A runner-up

90. Lucas Bons, senior, Dublin Coffman OH: Foot Locker Midwest 13th place

91. Justin Hartshorn, senior, Lone Peak UT: Foot Locker 32nd place

92. Victor Mugeche, senior, Blue Springs MO: Foot Locker Midwest 14th place; NXR Midwest 10th place; Missouri Class 4 champion

93. Kyle Harkabus, sophomore, East Coweta GA: Foot Locker 33rd place

94. Cole Hocker, junior, Indianapolis Cathedral IN: Foot Locker Midwest 15th place

95. Grant Northcutt, senior, Cosby VA: Foot Locker South 11th place

96. Zach Winter, senior, Fremont UT: Foot Locker 34th place

97. Titus Winders, senior, Henry County TN: Foot Locker 35th place

98. Joshua Collins, senior, Belen Jesuit FL: Foot Locker South 12th place

99. Lucas Aramburu, junior, Brookline MA: Foot Locker 38th place

100. Nate Pendleton, junior, Eastlake WA: NXN 49th place