Friday, July 27, 2018

Top 10 Cross Country programs in Northern California

If we had to come up with a list of the top 10 cross country programs in Northern California, what teams would make that list? What qualifications should be part of choosing those teams? Should we consider history or is this based on current strength? State championship teams only or are there other factors? What is the best overall program in Northern California and why? Remember that the sections included are NS, SJS, NCS, OAK, SF and CCS and you can choose a program that is equally strong for both boys and girls or pick a program that is strong for either boys or girls.

Please feel free to include the schools that you think deserve mention and I will add them to a growing list.

Listed in alphabetical order
Aptos (CCS) girls
Bellarmine (CCS) boys
Campolindo (NCS) boys and girls
Carlmont (CCS)
Davis (SJS) boys and girls
Dublin (NCS) boys
Granada (NCS) boys and girls
Jesuit (SJS) boys
Lick-Wilmerding (NCS) boys and girls
Los Gatos (CCS)
San Francisco University (NCS) boys and girls
San Lorenzo Valley (CCS) girls
St. Francis, Mt. View (CCS) boys
St. Joseph Notre Dame (NCS)
Urban (NCS)
Who else?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

If it is for the current year: St. Francis, Mt. View is #1 in NorCal; #1-2 in all CA; and #3-4 in US (Tully has the at #5, below).

http://tullyrunners.com/XC2018/PreSeasonNatBoys2018.htm

Anonymous said...

You could just out of the list of teams with the most podium finishes ;-

Anonymous said...

Aptos Girls, for longevity and consistency.

Anonymous said...

Urban girls for what they accomplish with only 10-12 girls every year, made it to State one year with only 7 girls at the end of the season.

St Joseph Notre Dame, such consistent quality every year with the limited number of students the school has.

Albert Caruana said...

SJND 443 students
Urban 420 students
Crystal Springs Uplands 290 students

I can relate with a low number of girls. My first year in 2008, we finished 8th in state without our #1 runner and only 6 girls in the race.

Anonymous said...

How about this question, what was the best XC team ever in Nor Cal, one year, boys and girls, division does not matter?

Jared said...

Santa Cruz HS (Girls)

Albert Caruana said...

Great question. I think some candidates are the Jesuit boys with the Mastalir twins and Paul Thomas. The Mt. View boys that won state. Last year's St. Francis team. The Davis girls that finished 2nd in state. I am sure there are others. Who else?

Anonymous said...

SLV, Carlmont, and Los Gatos.

Anonymous said...

The SLV run when Rob Collins was coaching was impressive.

Daniel James said...

I think that Woodward Park at State Meet provides the most level playing field to draw from (Mt. Sac in the 80s was significantly harder in the 80s and 90s). The Clovis Invitational (also held at Woodward is a good indicator. The Davis girls ran a 89:33 in 2015, only 20 seconds off the all time record at Woodward Park and almost 2 full minutes faster than any other NorCal performance NOT by another Davis team (Campolindo 91:32 in 2010), a whopping 22 seconds faster then their nearest NorCal competitor.

Dublin, St. Francis and Jesuit have the top NorCal boy's times in history at Woodward.

Anonymous said...

Willow Glen is worthy of consideration...two boys CCS titles in the 70s with completely different teams, another in the 80s, and still competitive 30 years later a coach that ran as an athlete for WG in the 80s.

Anonymous said...

BIG difference in the conditions at Woodward park, at Roughrider, Clovis and the State championships. Number of runners course conditions, weather, and let's throw in peaking at the right time, State vs early October.The State meet team time all time list is what counts more. IMHO of course ;-)

Dan said...

When considering a program, I feel you need to look at the total body of work over a period of time. The best programs have one thing in common, excellent coaches.

Anonymous said...

Dan, well said! Some of the programs listed above have been good for short periods of time and others solid for over 30+ years.

Anonymous said...

Maria Carillo. They have qualified both their boys and girls teams for 6 straight years to the State Championship. Only two other schools/teams in NCS have matched that: Campolindo (D3) and Lick-Wilmerding (D5).

Albert Caruana said...

Dan,
I totally agree. The best programs have had an established coach for many years. A good group of runners can sustain success for a few years but a good coach will have success over a longer period of time.

Anonymous said...

Homestead High School Girls? CCS Div 1 Champs past 4 straight years, and State Championship Qualifiers 5 out of past 6 years.

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