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Early Season Girls Top 40 XC Teams 2023Published by
Niwot, which captured RunningLane championship in 2021, motivated to become first Colorado program to capture Nike Cross Nationals title, with Lone Peak pursuing similar goal in Utah and Buchanan attempting to become only California girls team to secure crown, as Saratoga Springs of New York begins quest for potential three-peat as underdog By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor 2023 Girls Early Season National Rankings For the first time since 2019, a prep girls cross country program other than Saratoga Springs High from New York is the top-ranked team nationally. Although Saratoga Springs won Nike Cross Nationals titles in 2019 and 2022, in addition to remaining the dominant girls program in the country during the two-year hiatus of the event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, last season’s NXN runner-up Niwot High of Colorado begins its pursuit of becoming the first Colorado team to capture a national championship by holding the top spot entering this fall. Summit High from Oregon, the 2018 NXN winner, was the last girls team to be ranked No. 1 nationally in November 2019, before Saratoga Springs captured the title at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. Niwot, winner of five consecutive Colorado 4A championships, was second at NXN last year behind Saratoga Springs by a 81-109 margin, with Buchanan High from California taking third at 116 points. Niwot returns NXN All-American Addison Ritzenhein, along with Mia Prok, Olivia Alessandrini and Anna Prok from last year’s lineup. Sarah Perkins, a senior, has rehabilitated after being sidelined last season with injuries and was a member of the Niwot lineup that captured the title at the 2021 RunningLane Championships in Alabama. Buchanan, the three-time Division 1 state champion and only the fourth California girls program to achieve a podium finish in Nike Team Nationals or NXN history, is ranked No. 2. The Bears were second behind Niwot at RunningLane in 2021, and were edged by the Cougars again last season. Buchanan returns Elle Lomeli, Sierra Cornett, Kynzlee Buckley, Tayler Torosian and Avery Hutchison from last year’s NXN lineup, with promising freshman Molly Sundgren also expected to contribute. Lone Peak, the reigning Utah 6A state champion, finished fourth in 2019 and again last year at NXN. The Knights, ranked No. 3, are looking to join Davis High – third place in 2013 – as the only girls programs from the state to achieve a podium finish in meet history. Lone Peak returns its entire NXN lineup of Andie Aagard, Boston Bybee, Brielle Nilsson, Addie Meldrum, Anna Bybee, Zoey Nilsson and Ashley Favero from last season, with impact freshman Maya Bybee and Pleasant Grove transfer Ava McMurtrey also joining the Knights’ roster. Saratoga Springs, which is looking to join New York Class A rival Fayetteville-Manlius as only the second girls program to capture three consecutive NXN titles, is ranked No. 4 and will take on the role of hunter this year, just like it did throughout the 2019 season. Emily Bush, Alycia Hart, Anya Belisle, Heidi Berglund and Natalie Wilding return for the Blue Streaks from last year’s NXN championship lineup. Continuing to demonstrate the depth of the Southwest Region, Colorado 5A programs Mountain Vista and Air Academy are ranked Nos. 5 and 6. Mountain Vista won the RunningLane title last year in Alabama, and has benefited from the arrival of transfers Keeghan Edwards from Valor Christian High in Colorado, along with Juliet Frum of Glenbrook North in Illinois. Air Academy was seventh last year at NXN, with its entire lineup of third-place finisher Bethany Michalak, Tessa Walter, Emily Beers, Jordan Banta, Olivia Chura, Lauren Myers and Sofia Kunstle returning this season. Flower Mound High from Texas secured sixth last season at NXN, with the three-time Texas 6A champions returning Nicole Humphries, Samantha Humphries, Alexandra Fox, Natalie Spangher and Ava Cole from last year’s lineup that starts this year at No. 7. Perhaps the group that has the most to prove nationally following a 21st-place result in its NXN debut is California Division 4 state champion JSerra High, which is ranked No. 8. Summer Wilson, Kaylah Tasser, Brynn Garcia, Brooke O’Brien and Georgia Jeanneret return from last year’s lineup for the Lions, who have welcomed the addition of California-based transfers Sophie Polay from Santa Margarita High and Chloe Elbaz of Xavier College Prep, along with the arrival of impact freshmen Reese Holley, Hutton Nelligan and Hayden Kroger. Cuthbertson, winner of five consecutive North Carolina state championships including the past two in Class 4A following three in a row in Class 3A, is ranked No. 9. The Cavaliers earned eighth last year at NXN and return Stella Kermes, Charlotte Bell, Justine Preisano, Ava Walters and Josie Schihl from their NXN lineup. Prospect High, the reigning Illinois Class 3A champion, completes the top 10. The Knights finished fifth at NXN last season and return Meg Peterson, Veronica Znajda, Lily Ginsberg and Ireland Wildhart from their lineup in Portland. Although the Southwest has the strongest presence in the top 10 with four programs, California takes top honors overall with seven teams in the top 40, followed by the Southwest with six programs, then the Midwest, Northwest and Southeast with five entries each in the top 40.
The Top 40
15. Webb School of Knoxville TN
Top 40 Teams By Region
California: 7 Southwest: 6 Midwest: 5 Northwest: 5 Southeast: 5 Heartland: 4 South: 4 New York: 2 Northeast: 2
Top 10 Teams By Region
Southwest: 4 California: 2 Midwest: 1 New York: 1 South: 1 Southeast: 1 More news
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