NCS Rankings #3

Here is the 3rd edition of the NCS Rankings following this weekend's meets. Some great divisional battles are shaping up, which will lead to a very exciting and competitive NCS meet at Hayward. Feel free to comment on the list below.

Division I Boys (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Amador Valley-Maintained their #1 ranking with their victorious effort at the Stanford Invitational in the Division I race.
2) Monte Vista-Finally ran their full compliment of runners at Stanford. Nice team effort with 18 second gap between 1st. through 6th. runner.
3) College Park-Defending NCS champions with lots of returning runners and history. Can they put it together again for another state meet run?
Here is my order for the following six teams in the incredibly deep Div. I field: Castro Valley, Granada, Deer Valley, San Ramon Valley, Liberty and Foothill.

Division I Girls (Top 2 teams qualify to state meet) Edited 10/2
1) Castro Valley-Finished 2nd. at the Ram Invitational with 2 of their top 5 not racing in the Varsity race.
2) College Park-Only lost by a point to the suddenly potent Campolindo group in their league clash.
3) California-Ran in the seeded race at Stanford finishing 16th and was highest Division I placer overall.
On the cusp: Granada-Finished 8th at Stanford Division I race, claiming highest NCS placing in that race.

Division II Boys (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Petaluma-They finished 9th overall at Stanford and were the 2nd. highest Norcal placer behind Woodcreek.
2) De La Salle-2nd. place finish at Stanford in Division II race to an always strong Galena team. One of the best team in NCS regardless of division.
3) Montgomery-Gets the edge over Santa Rosa with sub. 1 minute 1-5 gap at their last league race.

Division II Girls (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Carondelet-Winning effort at the Nike Pre-National meet. Ranked #9 in latest Harrier National Rankings.
2) Casa Grande-Dominique Ratto gives CG a strong #2 behind Taylor. 6th runner ran 21:16 at Stanford which means good depth.
3) Santa Rosa-Top 10 finish at Stanford with two strong runners (Eva Stuart and Emmy Cozine) leading the way.

Division III Boys (Top 4 teams qualify to state meet)
1) Acalanes-Was highest NCS finisher at Stanford in Division III race. Nate Beach gives them a low scorer at any meet they attend.
2) Las Lomas-Stanford was valuable experience for this young, talented group (4 sophomores and 1 freshman in top 7). Has the biggest upside of any team in this division.
3) Maria Carrillo-Capable of defeating Acalanes and Las Lomas. Defending NCS champions.
On the cusp: Campolindo-Competes in tough league (DFAL) that will prepare them well for NCS final.

Division III Girls (Top 4 teams qualify to state meet) Edited 10/2
1) Campolindo-Major statement at Stanford finishing 4th. in Division III race behind the top 3 ranked Div. III teams in the Southern Section.
2) Maria Carrillo-I don't believe they have run their best race yet this year. Will look to close gap on Campo before clash at Hayward.
3) Acalanes-Has the upper hand so far this season over Miramonte at league meeting and at Stanford.
On the cusp: Redwood/Miramonte-Tough to separate these two teams. At lone head to head meeting, Miramonte came out on top of Redwood, 124-127 at Lowell.

Division IV Boys (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) St. Mary's-Won the Division IV race at Stanford defeating #2 ranked SS team, Oaks Christian. Matt Duffy continues successful season with individual victory.
2) Moreau Catholic-One team that traveled down south to compete this weekend, finishing 3rd in the Big Ditch Invitational.
3) San Rafael-8th place finish at Stanford with 2 freshmen part of their top 5.
On the cusp:Piedmont-Showed there is still life in this program at the Farmer Invitational.

Division IV Girls (Top 3 teams qualify to state meet)
1) St. Mary's-Continued impressive season with close 2nd. place finish to highly ranked Oaks Christian at Stanford.
2) San Rafael-Only ran 5 runners at Stanford but good enough to finish 11th and 2nd fastest NCS team.
3) Piedmont-They usually stay under the radar until league time and it's no different this year. Defending NCS champions.

Division V Boys (Top 5 teams qualify to state meet)
1) College Prep-They just keep winning this season although the gap is not as great as last year's state podium team.
2) Berean Christian-Incredibly close to CPS in every meeting so far this cross country season.
3) SF University-Slowly putting together competitive team that will be right there with top 2 come NCS time.
On the cusp: Stuart Hall-Looking for their first state meet berth as a team.

Division V Girls (Top 4 teams qualify to the state meet)
1) College Prep-They finished 2nd. to Oregon team in the Division V race at Stanford. Young team with big upside.
2) Crystal Springs Uplands-Finished 3rd. at Stanford, one point behind CPS (92 to 91). They will get lots of opportunities this season to regain their #1 position.
3) SF University-We haven't seen their full compilation of runners race together yet this season. Cecilia Furlong joins XC team for first time following her impressive Track season.
On the cusp: Marin Academy-Team finished an impressive 4th. at the Stanford Invitational with Roger taking the individual crown.

Individual rankings for each division will be posted before this weekend's races.