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Early Season Boys Top 40 XC Teams 2023Published by
Utah Schools Herriman, American Fork Have Eyes On Winning The Southwest's First NXN Title By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 2023 Boys Early Season National Rankings Here's a thought: Perhaps it's time to fold New York into the Northeast region and let Utah have a crack at being a one-state "region." At the outset of 2023, it appears that Herriman UT and American Fork UT are close enough to be labeled 1A and 1B heading into the boys high school cross country season. The two schools are separated by less than 24 miles. Already, the two powerful squads have gone head to head and the result, at the Timpanogos Invitational, was 49 to 49. Herriman won the sixth-man tiebreaker. This tug-of-war could go back and forth until the Utah state meet in late October and at NXR Southwest after that. What we do know is that Herriman is going back to the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic presented by ASICS and the group led by William Steadman, Tayshaun Ogomo and Jonah Tang is aiming to win the massive Southern California invitational for the second straight year. There is no doubt about who the standout individual is. American Fork's Daniel Simmons was second at NXN last year as a junior and followed that up by running 8:34.14 for second again in the 3,200 meters at the Arcadia Invitational. Utah is one of the states that has lifted the cover off the season and that's done something to reveal who is fit and ready entering the fall. That's not the case yet in bunch of other states. So the first national ranking of the season includes teams that are getting some credit for early race performances, others that may be held back a few spots based on conservative early efforts, and a lot of speculation about the rest. Within the top 10, Southlake Carroll of Texas appears to have an especially deep team even by Southlake Carroll standards. The Dragons, who are led by coach Justin Leonard's sophomore son, Caden, could be on the verge of a special season. Crater of Oregon lost No. 1 Tyrone Gorze but returns a talented 2-6 group that could challenge for a podium spot at NXN, which the Comets missed by one spot last year. Crater will get a big test next weekend when it matches up with Herriman. Junior Josiah Tostenson is now in the forefront. Belen Jesuit, which returns almost everybody from last year's team, might be regarded as the best team in Florida history by the end of the season. Senior Joshua Ruiz and freshman Marcelo Mantecon are looking to lead the team to the NXR Southeast title. California, in the wake of Newbury Park's era of dominance, should be a lot more competitive than it has been in recent years, with Ventura, Trabuco Hills and San Clemente the top-rated teams going in. All three are ranked between No. 6 and 11. In the Heartland, Stevens Point WI brings back talented duo Aloysius Franzen and Bode Erickson and SPASH could be a factor nationally. The Panthers will matchup with the Heartland's other top-ranked team, Wayzata MN, at the Roy Griak Invitational. In the Northeast, traditional power Christian Brothers Academy NJ leads the way with deep group led by junior Joe Barrett. Downers Grove North of Illinois and Carmel of Indiana appear to have the lead in the Midwest, but it will take some bigger meets to see how they can perform. Six Midwest teams are in the first ranking of the season. New York hasn't started yet, so it's anyone's guess who may have emerged over the summer and is poised to make a big impact. It generally takes early October, and the Manhattan Invitational, to get an accurate read. Fairport is expected to be the top team because it has the most coming back. The Top 40
Top 40 Teams By Region
Southwest: 7 Midwest: 6 Northwest: 6 California: 5 South: 5 Northeast: 4 Southeast: 4 Heartland: 2 New York: 1
Top 10 Teams By Region
Southwest: 3 California: 2 Heartland: 1 Northeast: 1 Northwest: 1 South: 1 Southeast: 1 |
