Friday, July 21, 2006

NCS Division II Pre-Season Rankings

As many of you may have noticed yesterday, De La Salle was not mentioned in the Division I Rankings. How could I not list the three time defending N.C.S. Champions that finished 6th place among the powerhouse SS Section teams at State? Well, the reason is they dropped down to Division II along with Mission San Jose, Hayward, Rancho Cotate, Washington and Ukiah. DLS did lose four out of their top five but don't feel sorry for them yet. Looking at their team roster from last year that numbered 72 runners (not 72 boys and girls but 72 BOYS...can you say depth?), I have no doubt they will reload this year to be a player in this Division.

It seems like a two team battle this year with two very even teams battling it out for title. In what could be described as a coin flip, the team title will come down to Petaluma and Eureka. Both teams return 6 runners from their teams last year. Sterling Lockert who finished 13th at the NCS XC race and then went on to record a 9:31.74 at the NCS Meet of Champions, as a FRESHMAN will lead Petaluma. Eureka will be strong again with Dillon Ayers and Kyle Louv returning as their teams top two runners. The Loggers are no strangers to XC success as their 1999 Team won the State Championship.

On the girls’ side, Carondelet appears to be the favorite at this point of the season but Arroyo will have something to say about that. Carondelet returns their entire top 7 from last year that finished 3rd at the NCS final behind Maria Carrillo (now in Div. III) and Arroyo. Arroyo will be very strong once again this year after qualifying to the State Meet last year as well as defeat their league rival Castro Valley for the first time since 1982.

And so, without further adieu, I present to you the rankings.

Division II Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) Petaluma-Four freshmen on their varsity last year.
2) Eureka-Classic uniforms that are like no other.
3) De La Salle-Success in past puts them here.
4) Montgomery-Everybody is back from 4th place finish last year.
5) Santa Rosa-Returns 5 out of top 7..
On the bubble: Arroyo, American, Irvington

Top 5 Returning Individuals, (place) & time 2005 NCS meet:
Dillon Ayers (3) Eureka 16:04
Kyle Louv (6) Eureka 16:06
Blake McDowall (9) Montgomery 16:15
Sterling Lockert (13) Petaluma 16:29
Benjamin Stern (14) Petaluma 16:35
Also: Alex Davies (8th in Div. I) De La Salle 16:05

Division II Girls (Top 4 advance to state)
1) Carondelet-Fast freshman to bolster title hopes?
2) Arroyo-Ashley Chan leads the way.
3) Alameda-Hornets will swarm competition (couldn't resist).
4) Petaluma-Returns 4 out of top 7.
5) Mission San Jose-Trying their luck with Division II
On the bubble: Montgomery

Top 5 Returning Individuals, (place) & time 2005 NCS meet:
Sara Alliotti (3) Carondelet 18:46
Celeste Berg (4) Montgomery 18:54
Ashley Chan (8) Arroyo 19:02
Taylor Parks (12) Petaluma 19:14
Anna Smidebush (13) Concord 19:27
Also: Shannon Rich (3rd in Div. I) Rancho Cotate 18:48

Feel free to comment on the above rankings. Division III will be posted tomorrow.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nicole Hood, incoming freshman at Carondolet won the Midget National XC 2 years ago and was second as in her down year at Youth Nationals in the snow of RI seven months ago. Add a 5:11 1600 without competing in USATF this spring, and she is the unknown favorite for NCS #1.

Anonymous said...

Are you sure that De La Salle is only ranked 3rd, I mean if they were ranked 1st for DI, then why only 3rd for DII?

Anonymous said...

In regards to your rankings of the top inviduals, the times in () seem to be out of order. Petaluma may have two fast freshmen, but they don't have the same experience as many of the runners who will be filling out the De La Salle team. As for Eureka, never really heard of them, coming from Div 1. But honestly I appreciate the commentary. It shall come quite in handy for our pre-race talks.

Anonymous said...

Depth, drive, and experience vs. a few fast freshman?

I'll pick De La Salle.

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