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Southwest Region Boys Early Season Rankings 2022Published by
Colorado and Utah's Top Teams Face Battle Royales For State and Regional Supremacy In the Southwest By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Boys NXR Southwest Preview Nine of the top 19 teams in the country at the conclusion of the 2021 cross country season came from either Colorado or Utah. The number of high quality programs in those two states seems to be growing with each passing year, and even when one of them graduates a talented batch of seniors, a new team pushes up into the limelight. Colorado and Utah remain two of the country's hotbeds for distance running and will dominate the Southwest region again. But it's not all the same teams as before. Cheyenne Mountain of Colorado, which was US#2 last year behind Newbury Park CA, graduated most of its top runners. Farmington of Utah, US#6, also graduated a talented group. The competition for berths to Nike Cross Nationals, on the calendar for Dec. 3, is expected to be fierce. And more than a couple top-flight programs are likely to be squeezed out of a chance at NXN because only four (two automatics and two potential at-larges) can advance. "As the Southwest had nine of the top 17 teams at RunningLane last December, I think the region is just as tough this year, and some of the best teams in the nation will be left home from NXN from the Southwest," American Fork coach Timo Mostert said. Expect the top teams in Colorado and Utah to shuffle a bit throughout the season as there really is no clear-cut dominant teams, or national championship contenders, but a lot of good ones. Valor Christian could very well have been the No. 1 team in the region if not for the transfer of Class 5A runner-up Ty Garrett to Center Grove of Indiana. Coach Doug Soles, the architect of a dynasty in California, has taken over at Herriman UT and has quickly developed a state contender. Outside of Utah and Colorado, Arizona Division 1 runner-up Highland returns six of seven and could be the favorite for the state title. 1. Niwot CO. Zane Bergen, an all-time great in the program now at Stanford, is impossible to replace and a second senior, Joey Hendershot, has also graduated from the top of the lineup. So how can the Cougars be No. 1 in the region? The group brings back five runners who competed at the RunningLane Championships last year, and freshman Rocco Culpepper could step in and be an important piece as well. It remains to be seen how close Carlos Kipkorir Cheruiyot, Jeremy Gillett and Frederick Ambrose can be to the front of big races, but if that trio has improved and Stefan Haug, Gavin Engtrakul and Culpepper are part of the pack, the depth of this group could take it to the top. 2. Riverton UT. There is significant buzz around Riverton and the combination of Jake Seegmiler, Andrew Ludwig and Tyler McDougal is a great place to start. Seegmiller, who hasn't raced yet, ran 14:54 for 5,000 meters on the track at Nike Outdoor Nationals. He was 11th in the Utah 6A final last fall. Samuel Ghiz and Corbin Randall give the team some depth. Riverton won the Utah Region 3 Pre-Region meet with 37 points, edging out Herriman, and without Seegmiller. 3. Mountain View UT. Senior Liam Heninger is one of the best runners in Utah and he led his team to a victory in the UIAAA Invitational at Spanish Fork over the weekend. Heninger and fellow senior Parker Barnes give the team a nice 1-2 punch up front and there is depth behind them with seniors Thomas Moore and Mack Waite and sophomores Kyle Steadman and Isaac Sohler. Those guys need to perform because the depth begins to fall off after that. 4. Cherokee Trail CO. A strong showing over the weekend at the Vista XC Nation 2-Mile could be an indicator of big things to come for the Cougars of Aurora, Colo. The third-place team from Colorado Class 5A final last year brings back five of its top six, including leader Hunter Strand, who won the 2-Mile over the weekend in 9:50. Junior Mckay Larsen has made significant improvement and wasn't part of the state meet lineup last year. Although it's early, a big victory over Mountain Vista and Cheyenne Mountain has to count for something. Reuben Holness, Brady Smith and Evan Armstrong all finished in the top 14 of a strong early season field. 5. American Fork UT. The transfer of Daniel Simmons back to American Fork from Salmon, Idaho has already made a big impact on a young team that figures to improve as the season rolls on. Simmons led the Cavemen to a team victory at the Wahsatch Rendevouz over the weekend, covering three miles at the Cottonwood Complex in 15:54, which was 54 seconds faster than anyone else. Seth Smith, Chase Pack, Ben Jaster, Ben Bradshaw, Maxwell Orr and Kaden Evans give this team depth and hope for a return to NXN. Simmons' older brother Joe was a captain on the 2015 NXN runner-up team. WATCHLIST More news |
