Folders |
National High School Boys Team Rankings - 12/7 FinalPublished by
Herriman, American Fork Lead Five Utah Teams In The Final Top 20 By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor The top three teams listed in the Sept. 8 "Early Season Top 40" were Herriman UT, American Fork UT and Southlake Carroll TX. And those were the three that ended up on the podium last weekend at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland at the conclusion of a wet, muddy morning at Nike Cross Nationals. There we many other things in that beginning-of-the-season ranking that were not so clairvoyant. But what was evident, even then, was that Utah was loaded with quality teams and that Southlake Carroll was primed for one of its best years in Texas. Coach Doug Soles and the Herriman boys, after getting pasted twice in a row by American Fork at the Utah state meet and at the NXR Southwest, put itself in all of the right places at NXN. And Herriman did it without an ace up front, but with high quality and interchangeable depth. When the season began, William Steadman was really the top guy on the team. He was eighth at Woodbridge, remember, and 12 seconds ahead of his nearest teammate. At NXN, Steadman didn't even score. He was the team's sixth man, 70 spots behind Micah Tang. But it's that kind of versatility and depth, where you don't need the same five performers to click in the same order of every race, that made the difference for this year's national champion. American Fork and senior leader Daniel Simmons, the No. 1 ranked individual all season long, took one on the chin at nationals. But even in 13th place, Simmons scored the one point for his team. It just wasn't a great day, by AF standards, and coach Timo Mostert's team placed second for the fourth time. That 1-2 Utah finish, plus Riverton's ninth place, caused a deeper dive this week into the state's other top teams and who else belongs in the final Top 30. Orem, which sent individual Austin Westfall to the NXN final (he was fourth), finished fifth at NXR Southwest and were just 26 points behind Niwot CO, which finished fifth at NXN. Skyridge, which was sixth at NXR Southwest, kept going and traveled to the RunningLane Championships in Alabama and won that with a 31-second compression and five scorers, led by Devan Greene's 41st place overall. Five Utah teams are in the top 20 in the final team ranking of the year. A few others that did not make the NXN field are also included. Rocky Mountain of Idaho finished just six points behind Franklin at NXR Northwest and deserve a spot based on that result. Senior Landon Heemeyer represented the team in Portland and finished 14th. And Plainfield (South) IL, which was just one point behind Plainfield (North) at NXR Midwest, also deserves recognition. Austin Vandegrift TX, third in the NXR South meet, was 22 points behind Bentonville AR, which placed a respectable 13th at NXN. Michigan champion Northville, which did not travel to NXR Midwest, also slots into the top 30, at No 28. Ridgefield CT, third at NXR Northeast (Steven Hergenrother was 29th at NXN), Carmel IN, fourth at NXR Midwest, and Brookline MA, fourth at NXR Northeast, all have compelling arguments to be included over a few of the teams that did make it into NXN.
Top 30 |
