Monday, September 01, 2008

NCS Pre-Season Division V Rankings

The season of '08 offers a few changes for the North Coast Section as several teams join the section (Fremont Christian, Redwood Christian and Valley Christian-Dublin) and one team (Crystal Springs Uplands) leaves to join the Central Coast Section. So what do those changes mean for the section? Time will tell but at this point the new teams (most notably Redwood Christian) will inject a new challenger in the boy's race.

The defending boys' team champions, Red Devils of San Francisco University HS, will once again be the favorites to win the team battle. Following their 7 straight NCS titles, University was handed a rare loss in 2006 by College Prep but UHS quickly rebounded to soundly win last year's title (58 to 102). They packed 6 in the top 20 last year and return 5 out of the top 7 which includes their top 4 runners-Robert Kealhofer, Weishen Mead, David Kealhofer and Miles Horton.

Berean Christian should be their closest challengers as they return their top 6 runners including their tough 1/2 punch of Matthew Day and Tyler Deniston. College Prep, last year's 2nd place finishers, only return 3 of their top 7 but will have a strong front runner (Charlie Sauter) and have made it a habit of going to Fresno on Thanksgiving weekend.

The two wild cards in this division includes Redwood Christian which had a trio of sophomores last year finish in the top 6 at the CCS final including the individual champion, Josh Macdonald. If they can find two runners to go along with their talented juniors, RC could challenge the previously mentioned teams. The second wild card will be St. Joseph Notre Dame which claimed the last state meet spot last year and return 6 out of 7 from that team.

The individual title chase could be a good one this year as there are no clear favorites. The top returner is Charlie Sauter of College Prep who finished 6th last year. UHS will add the Kealhofer twins and Weishen Mead to the list of challengers. Day and Deniston for BC will also contend along with Macdonald of RC who has a rare chance to win an NCS title to go along with his CCS title. Steven Iglehart of Branson had a spectacular track season and a fine effort at the Dipsea to stamp himself as another contender. Skyler Thomas of Mendocino had an equally impressive track season and will be a player this coming season.

The favorites for the girls' team will be College Prep and Marin Academy. CPS just outdistanced MA last year by a score of 68 to 70 and this year's race should be equally as tight. If I had to give a slight edge to one team, it would be to CPS who return their entire top 7. MA will return the majority of their team including the defending individual champion but will be without the graduated Alesandra Roger who is now running for the Cal Bears.

Last year, four teams (CPS, MA, University and Crystal Springs Uplands) clearly separated themselves from the field to take the four state meet berths. One of those teams (CSU) will now be in CCS which means one spot should be available for several teams to battle for that last elusive trip to Fresno. Those teams should include Lick Wilmerding, Head Royce, Chinese Christian, Rincon Valley Christian and Santa Rosa Christian.

Unlike the boys, the girls will have a favorite for the individual title and that goes to the defending champion, Lucy McCullough of Marin Academy. She enjoyed an equally successful track season and will look to repeat this year. Her main challengers will include Adrienne Strait of CPS, Eliza Weiss of MA, Jessica Ho of CCS, CPS teammates Barbara Barnes and Emily Erickson, and Grace Hafner of Sonoma Academy.
Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to state)
1) University-Looking to return to state podium again this year.
2) Berean Christian-Experienced team ready to challenge for title.
3) College Prep-No stranger to state meet trips.
4) Redwood Christian-3 very strong runners lead the way.
5) St. Joseph Notre Dame-Qualified for state meet last year.
On the bubble: South Fork, Stuart Hall, Lick Wilmerding

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2007 NCS meet time:
Charlie Sauter (6) College Prep 16:16
Robert Kealhofer (8) SF University 16:25
Weishen Mead (9) SF University 16:29
David Kealhofer (10) SF University 16:32
Matthew Day (11) Berean Christian 16:36

Division V Girls (Top 4 Advance to state)
1) College Prep-Defending champions return everybody.
2) Marin Academy-Finished here last year.
3) University-Don't count them out.
4) Lick Wilmerding-Top 4 runners are back.
5) Head Royce-Team to watch with good young talent.
On the bubble: Santa Rosa Christian, Chinese Christian

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2007 NCS meet time:
Lucy McCullough (1) Marin Academy 18:37
Adrienne Strait (5) College Prep 19:14
Eliza Weiss (6) Marin Academy 19:18
Barbara Barnes (7) College Prep 19:21
Emily Erickson (9) College Prep 20:11

CCS Division V rankings will be up next followed by the first installment of Northern California rankings.

Feel free to comment on the above rankings or any of the previous rankings. We'll get our first taste of competition this coming weekend as several teams will make their debut.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look out for Skylar Thomas he will be more than just a factor in the race. I would not be surprised if he wins the NCS and places high at state.

Albert Caruana said...

I agree. The one reason that I was hesitant to list him as a favorite is he wasn't in last year's NCS MOC for XC.

If he runs XC, he will definitely be one of the favorites.

Anonymous said...

unfortunately, Barbara Barnes isn't running this year, but the sister of Skyline grad Chase Wilson looks to pick up the slack for the cps girls team.

Anonymous said...

Steven Iglehart.
Watch out for this kid. That's all I'm going to say.

Anonymous said...

Skylar did not run XC last year because he was injured part way through the season but he proved in track that he has the physical abilities to win.

Anonymous said...

Who are you running for this year Zach?

Anonymous said...

Skyler is a very good runner. However, I think he will face a very serious threat from Steven Iglehart, the best runner in Branson's history. The two should have a great battle for the NCS D-V individual title.

Since neither of them are going to be from qualifying teams, it might be a tough year to qualify individually if there are other strong individual runners/weak team runners. We'll see how it plays out.

Is D-5 qualifying 5 teams again??

Anonymous said...

Okay Nevermind....I just found it in the post. D-V will qualify 5 guys teams and 4 girls teams. lol

That's good. NCS D-V deserves to quality that many.

Anonymous said...

I am running for The Master's College located in Santa Clarita.

Anonymous said...

Skylar Thomas and Steven Iglehart are both looking very strong coming off from their successes during the track season, but the season is long and nobody has any indication of how much summer running everybody's been doing. I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie Sauter or those Berean kids have made enormous improvements by the time NCS rolls around. I guess time will tell. Also, people seem to be neglecting Joshua Macdonald, who posted the best time out of any of the returning NCS runners at the state meet for cross country last year. Good luck to everybody this season.

Anonymous said...

Skylar Thomas ran a 36:12 for a 10k on the fourth of July this is a very hilly course and almost all of it is on the roads. That is a 5:50 average. I think he will be ready for the season.

Anonymous said...

this is a long season, who knows how people will look in november during ncs. many people who put in too many summer miles tend to peek too early or hit a plateu at mid season. there is a lot that can happen between now and november.

Anonymous said...

@Zach Nave: Very good choice of a running program. You are following in the footsteps of Jeff Jackson, who made vast improvments from high school to become a great college runner.

Also, thought I can't say anything about Skyler Thomas, I know for a fact that Steven Iglehart will be ready when the day arrives. That kid is always ready to roll and own everybody when the time is right. Just wait and see.

Anonymous said...

Thanks fast runner. Jeff Jackson is actually still on the team and has 2 years of college running left. I do not really know anything about Iglehart so I will take your word that he will be ready. Who do you run for?

Anonymous said...

I just found out I will be at the same race (although in different races) as Kenny Smith formerly of Willits and Hank Carl formerly of Southfork. Should be fun to see which of us adapts to college running the best.

Anonymous said...

Great analysis Coach, especially the sentence that mentioned Jessica Ho. As for the men's side, I do believe that anyone of six guys can win it. I will give the edge though to Skyler Thomas.

Anonymous said...

Hey Victor where are you going to college this year and are you running xc for them?

Anonymous said...

oh...I am a Georgetown Hoya, which is consistently filled with guys too hot for me to handle right now. Always in the top 15 every year for NCAA d1. I am on the Georgetown running club though. Hoya Saxa guys! Go Division 5!

Anonymous said...

@Zach Nave
I used to run for Branson and now I run on my own. When I actually have time to train a lot, I run fairly well. lol

@Victor Ho
It's good that you found a running club in Georgetown to keep in shape. What did you run the Alameda 10K in??

Anonymous said...

I ran 29:46 for my college debut race. Not really what I wanted but it was a hard, slow course.

Anonymous said...

The Alameda 10k got cancelled this year. I ran a 16:02 5k this summer a 27:43 8k and my pr for 10k is 35:10. I am sure you will get used to the extra 3k...have fun!

Anonymous said...

UHS girls looked very strong in a 5k at Lindley today, edging McCullogh-less MA. All of the UHS girls looked strong, especially Margaret Wehner who is coming off of an injury plagued cross country and track season.

Anonymous said...

@Victor Ho

10k cancelled??? lol I guess that's why I couldn't find those results. But good job with your prs.

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