Boys Regional Rankings, 11/3/16

By Paul Schmitz for DyeStat

Southeast

The separation of the top two continued this week as St. Xavier KY and Brentwood TN continue to run like top 15 teams in the country. St. Xavier crushed the competition in its Kentucky regional meet with a 16:27 5K team average. Brentwood scored 18 points and placed all seven runners in the top 11 of its state qualifying race. Trinity Prep FL won its regional meet with an impressive score of 21 points and looks to roll into the Florida state meet.   

1. St. Xavier KY

2. Brentwood TN

3. Loudoun Valley VA

4. Green Hope NC

5. Trinity Prep FL

South  

The Woodlands took care of business at the Texas 6A 2 regional meet with 41 team points and a 15:43 1-5 average finish. In the same meet, College Park avenged an earlier tie with Conroe Oak Ridge at district and easily took home second place, 76 to 129. Southlake Carroll defeated EL Paso Eastwood in its regional, 82-127, to hold onto the No. 2 spot. Besides the Texas teams, Bartlesville OK is on the radar after winning the Oklahoma 6A title over Owasso and Jenks (55-93-111).

1. The Woodlands TX

2. Southlake Carroll TX

3. The Woodlands College Park TX

4. El Paso Eastwood TX

5. Katy TX

Heartland

Edina returns to its preseason Heartland#2 position in what is the final ranking before the Nike Heartland event. The Hornets got healthy just in time and returned a full lineup to the section 6AA meet, placing second to Wayzata, 32-58. This will be Edina's first trip to the Minnesota state meet in since 2013 even though it advanced to Portland each of the past three years, finishing 10th, 9th and 13th. St.Thomas Aquinas won the Kansas 5A title in impressive fashion with a team score of 38 points. More impressive was a top-five average of 16:21 at RimRock Farm. 

1. Wayzata MN

2. Edina MN

3. St. Thomas Aquinas KS

4. New Town ND

5. Millard West NE

Midwest

The postseason picture is nearly as muddled as the Southwest. Neuqua Valley remains the clear favorite in Illinois and the region, but after that it gets cloudy. Downers Grove North moves to the second spot after its 3A sectional win over Lyons Township. Not only did DGN defeat Lyons, the Trojans put all seven in front of Lyons’ fourth. Solon OH slides down a bit after a narrow victory over rival Louisville in Ohio, showing a lack of depth that it will need to shore up if it is going to compete for an NXN berth. New to the list is Fort Wayne Carroll, which dominated the Indiana state meet with a 16:19 top-five average. 

1. Neuqua Valley IL

2. Downers Grove IL

3. Solon OH

4. Fort Wayne Carroll IN

5. Lyons Township IL

(Tie) Lake Zurich IL

New York

It was conference week in New York and the top teams performed well. Corning remains the top team in the state with its win over Ithaca at the STAC Championship. Ithaca had a big gap over the third place team. Saratoga Springs returns to the top five after an impressive win at the Suburban Council Championship, over Burnt Hills and Shenendehowa 42-73-84.  

1. Corning NY

2. Fayetteville-Manlius NY

3. Saratoga Springs NY

4. Ithaca NY

5. Burnt Hills NY

Northeast

CBA NJ is finally running like the US#2 team with its full lineup intact. A victory over Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Championship shows that CBA is peaking for the post season. A nine-second 1-5 split and 15:25 5K average puts them on pace to make the podium at NXN. Colts Neck continues to prove it belongs in the No. 2 spot with a top four that can run with CBA.
Lowell MA beat St. John's at the Bay State Invitational last weekend. The teams ran in separate races, but Lowell put together a team average 10 seconds faster than St. John's. Indian Hills is fifth after winning the Bergen Country Championships. Also in consideration is Council Rock North PA, which soundly defeated its top rivals at the district level.    

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. Colts Neck NJ

3. Wellesley MA

4. Lowell MA

5. Indian Hills NJ

Southwest

The Utah state meet made our Southwest rankings a little easier this week. We lined up the Utah teams in the order they finished head to head at the meet, leaving the task of where to slot the Colorado teams (sorry Arizona and New Mexico!) Palmer Ridge emerged as the class of Colorado. Its 16:30 team average won the Class 4A title and was tops in the state for all levels.

1. American Fork UT

2. Olympus UT

3. Palmer Ridge CO

4. Timpanogos UT

5. Lone Peak UT  

Northwest

Bozeman remains the class of the region after its Montana state meet victory. Another state champion, Skyline ID joins the rankings after an impressive showing at the Idaho state meet. North Central WA was solid in its district meet, scoring 33 points with a 16:09 5K team average. No. 3 Crater OR continues its upward trend as the Comets won the Midwestern League Championship, led by low stick Andy Monroe's 15:38. Summit OR just missed the top five but has the state meet coming up on Saturday.

1. Bozeman MT

2. North Central WA

3. Crater OR

4. Skyline ID

5. Central Valley WA

California (by Erik Boal)

Although Loyola swept the top seven spots at the Mission League final with a 34-second spread, the Cubs finished behind Claremont and West Ranch in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Claremont followed its Division 2 victory at Mt. SAC by winning the Palomares League title, with all seven runners in the top 15. Great Oak captured its third straight Mt. SAC sweepstakes championship. Following the Southwestern League finals, the Wolfpack will shift focus to the postseason where a rematch with Dana Hills is expected to materialize.

1. Great Oak (Southern Section Division 1)

2. Dana Hills (Southern Section Division 1)

3. Claremont (Southern Section Division 2)

4. West Ranch (Southern Section Division 2)

5. Loyola (Southern Section Division 2)