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National High School Boys Team Rankings - 9/29Published by
Impressive Performances By Christian Brothers Academy, Jesuit of New Orleans and Herriman Boost Them Into The Top Five By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor A slew of big invitationals over the past two weeks have brought a bit more clarity to the national rankings and September will end with three new teams in the top five. Of course, everybody continues to get in line behind Newbury Park, which is expected to open up with its first significant effort Oct. 8 at the ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif. Last weekend, the deep group from Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey, which ran to a 16:26 average time at Bowdoin Park for its top five. Nicholas Sullivan ran 16:00.7 on a challenging course to finish second behind Union Catholic's Jimmy Wischusen and CBA's seven all ran within 51 seconds. Jesuit LA went to the Southern Showcase two weeks ago and took another step forward into the national discussion with a dominant win. Even with usual No. 1 Michael Vocke having an off day and finishing sixth for the team, the quality depth of the group made up for it. Coach Cullen Doody's group should get its next big challenge this weekend. A mid-week decision to switch from the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina to the Nike XC Town Twilight in Indiana, due to Hurricane Ian, puts the Bluejays into a race with No. 9 Carmel IN, No, 12 Hinsdale Central IL, No. 16 Plainfield South IL and No. 30 Mason OH. The 41st Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by ASICS in Irvine, Calif. was the setting for a triumphant return to California for Herriman UT coach Doug Soles, who guided his team to a Sweepstakes victory and overtook No. 5 Crater OR by gaining ground, and places, over the final mile. There are a lot of good teams in Utah and it's possible that the state deserves more than the four teams listed in this week's top 30. Mountain View, Riverton and American Fork all remain in the rankngs, but some other schools, such as Lone Peak, Skyridge and Farmington all have strong cases to be ranked as well. Rocky Mountain of Idaho made its return to the Bob Firman Invitational a successful one after the meet was canceled the past two years and suddenly the Northwest appears to have at least three potential national qualifiers. Landon Heemeyer of Rocky Mountain won the individual title as well. At the Roy Griak Invitational, Jackson Heidesch led Dowling Catholic of Iowa to a big victory over Heartland No. 2 Lakeville North. Mountain Vista of Colorado got a 1-2 finish from Tyler Downs and Benjamin Anderson on the way to a strong team performance at the Dave Sanders Invitational that bodes well for the Golden Eagles as they begin to prepare for a very competitive state meet. Top 30 |