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National High School Boys Team Rankings - 11/27Published by
Niwot CO Wins Southwest On Road To Possible Repeat, CBA Surges To No. 2 By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Niwot of Boulder, Colo. is better than it was a year ago when it won the the Nike Cross Nationals title. That makes sense because five of the top six are back and freshman Jude Ritzenhein is already making an impact. But the NXR Southwest regional was yet another measuring stick by which to measure the team's growth and maturity. Hunter Robbie and Quinn Sullivan proved to be the best duo in the country by going 2-4 and leading the team back to Portland. They both beat Oliver Horton, another Colorado standout who was ranked in the top three natonally as an individual. Northeast champion Christian Brothers Academy also rolled through its NXR meet and will be perhaps the Niwot's biggest challenger. CBA has done this before, of course, and fallen flat at nationals. But this year's team has made some adjustments, started racing hard a bit later into the fall, and has momentum going. If Luke Hnatt and Gavin Schmitt can run with Niwot's top two, it could be a close competition. Southlake Carroll of Texas will return to Portland for the 17th time, which is one more than CBA. Senior Caden Leonard, third at last year's NXN, won NXR South impressively and have risen up to No. 5. California's state meet on Saturday, plus the at-large selections, will complete the field for next week's big show in Portland. Jesuit of Sacramento, Campolindo, Woodbridge and San Clemente are among the teams trying to win the merge and qualify for nationals. Coeur d'Alene ID, No. 3 in the last rankings, may get some consideration for its body of work in the final assessment after NXN, but a disappointing sixth at NXR Northwest caused a drop from the top 30. The Top 30 More news |
