Los Gatos took back the title in 2010 and look to hold onto it as they are the team to beat this fall. The defending champs are loaded once again this year led by Grant Foster, who is the top returner from DII last year where he finished 3rd. Los Gatos brings back 4 of the top 20 returners this season including Henry Mannng and Ben Wagner who both were in the 16’s at Crystal Springs last season. This spring saw some big jumps from their 4-5-6 runners including Aru Rubin who ran 10:04 for 3200 meters.
Los Altos was runner-up last year by just 10 points and it looks like this fall will be a rematch between the top two teams. Austin Bowie leads the veteran squad running a season best 16:18 at Crystal Springs last fall. Bowie had a great spring running 4:25 for 1600 meters and looks to make the jump this fall and has to be considered one of the top contenders for the individual title. The strength of Los Altos though is their depth as they return 4 of the top 13 runners from last year’s CCS Finals. Looking at the stats it is going to be a tight battle for the team championship and is going to come down to the strength of the team’s #5 runner. Los Altos had some solid showings on the track this spring which will hopefully give them a bit of momentum coming into the fall. No matter how you look at it DII is going to be a tightly contested run for the team title and Los Altos is one of the heavyweights in this division.
Cupertino is trending up and on paper looks really good. So good in fact some might argue they should be #1 this pre-season. However, my rankings are based primarily on where you finished last season and who is coming back. Last season Cupertino finished 9th in the SCVAL Championship and did not have a scoring team in the CCS Finals so for now I will place them in the #3 spot. But don’t count them out the title hunt; last year was a funny year with muggy heat waved that really hit some teams hard. My guess would be that Cupertino will rebound and run a purpose this year as they will have something to prove. ‘Tino is strong up front with arguably the best 1-2 punch in D2 this year in Peter and Thomas Anthony. Peter had a stellar track season running 4:19 for 1600 and 9:28 for 3200 meters while Thomas was not far behind running 4:30 and 9:47 respectably. They will be joined by Shubhankar Jain and Bryce Chen-Campbell who were both in the 16:35 range at Crystal Springs last year.
Rounding out the top 5 are Aragon and Willow Glen. Aragon also has a strong 1-2 combo led by Rory Beyer and Christian Pedro. Pedro ran just 17:12 last year at Crystal Springs but had a fantastic track season running 4:30 for 1600 and 9:30 for 3200 meters. With solid 3-4-5 runners Aragon could surprise some people this year and really make a push for a top 3 spot. Willow Glen is also in that battle to get a top 3 spot and punch their ticket to the state meet. Last year’s DIII champions they got bumped up to DII in this year’s CBED’s. The team took a hit with graduation but if they can keep McCabe healthy and get a few runners to step up they are right there in the mix.
It seems odd not placing Mountain View in the top 5 of their division as they have been so strong as of late. I really think they will rebuild after the graduation of some top runners so I am going to take the easy route and give you my contenders list. These teams are all quality programs that could very well see themselves in the top 5: Mountain View, Leland, Lynbrook, St. Francis and Mitty. All quality programs in a tough division!
DIV. II BOYS: Team Pre-Season Rankings
1. Los Gatos
2. Los Altos
3. Cupertino
4. Aragon
5. Willow Glen
DIV. 2 BOYS: Top Returning Individuals
1. Grant Foster, Los Gatos
2. Richard Ho, Leland
3. Peter Anthony, Cupertino
4. Henry Manning, Los Gatos
5. Dane Kreisman, Los Altos
Comments?
21 comments:
Chris Waschura in top five if healthy.
Definitely, but I think he said the list is top returners...not a ranking. Otherwise Sturges should have been number 1 in the girls too.
Why didn't he run xc last year?
he did run xc, but he got injured
In my thought a preview is some sort of ranking.I agree Sturges is number 1.
Christian Pedro never ran Crystal last year.
MV is partly correct. The teams are ranked based on stats from last season as well as (the awesome) team comparisons Walt does. The individuals are taken directly from last year's results and not ranked.
I am an educator and coach and my goal with "rankings" is to encourage us all to go out and work hard in the summer. May it be to prove the rankings wrong or to put in a few miles because you have a shot at the title.
Due to the age of the athletes I refrain from "ranking" individuals as it tends to encourage negativity from anonymous posters and message board banter. The only reason I list individuals at all is to highlight the top RETURNING runners from last year's CCS meet who may not be on a top 5 team.
So that's the way I do it... you may do things differently and I encourage you to do so. More publicity for the sport the better!
Oops, Pedro ran 17:12 at Toro not CS.
Coach Small, you said " The only reason I list individuals at all is to highlight the top RETURNING runners from last year's CCS meet who may not be on a top 5 team." However, Sturges won Div II CCS meet last year (and the year before). So don't you mean that you highlight top CCS returning runners from last years State meet..." since that was the only meet where Sturges did not beat your #1 pick (and by about a second).
Yup, you're right... and splitting hairs aren't we? I promise you a full money back guarantee! :)
I added in the SI gal from State, which was from the last meet of the year half mostly because I had already spent two hours digging through results and the State meet results were the open web page on my computer. Feel free to adjust how you see fit. But its not a ranking.
Hey Josh,
Anonymous is far better than you at this "ranking/preview/unfair listing of things/puff piece that people can randomly crap on even though it means nothing in the end" thing--you should really quit. They are paying you way too much. Go back to making big bucks as a private high school teacher and track & xc coach.
The generosity of your time and energy carries a stench on incompetence that I can nose all the way up here in the Northwest.
Anonymous>you.
I am angry.
Sturges should kick you in the shin.
What you wrote is so wring, I fear the earth will be thrown into reverse.
Are you happy now, Josh? Look what you've done! I think you may have finally done it--yep, you ruined Christmas!
GRRR!!!
Miss you,
Pup
See, Josh--it was so WRONG, it was WRING.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
"I feel the earth - move - under my feet, I feel the sky...." great song, what were we talking about...
hank
Why do you all get so bent out of shape when someone else has a different opinion than you? Why do you think it is a personal attack on you, and feel a need to bring up how much time you have spent and how much you get paid, when someone just has a different opinion than you? Is the purpose of you putting up your opinion just for us to read it, agree with it, and not give comments (if so, then why is there a link for people to give comments?). Or is it a vehicle for a discussion? I thought it was for all of us to have interesting, respectful discussions? So why the bad attitude?
And by the way I (Anonymous @ 11:02) was just confirming for everyone how you picked your individual "ranking", so everyone can know that it came directly from the results of the State meet last year, and didn't have anything to do with the CCS meet or your own personal thoughts.
Maybe "Pup" should take a chill pill and stay off this blog if he can't handle people providing their own opinions/"rankings" or simply asking questions about methodology. With attitudes like that, it is no wonder that everyone stays anonymous on this blog.
The order of the girls' list on the rankings was been explained by coach Small. No need for further explanation right?
There have been more comments this summer than any previous summers which is great. I wish everybody would post their names along with their comments but some choose to remain anonymous.
Onward and upward.
Who is this directed to?
Young Anonymous writer, do you understand sarcasm? I don't think there is any disagreement here, just an explanation of how its all put together.
Keep it up Small, I forgive you mixing up State and CCS results you lazy bum! And quit rubbing it in how much you get paid to do this as a freelance journalist will will ya! (More sarcasm in case you missed it).
OOOOHHHHHHH!
See, I took a pill already, but the bottle it was in was not marked--it was an anonymous pill. Now I realize it was a sarcasm pill. My mistake...
Now I get it...
I must be out of chill pills, because I am furious and sensitive and angst-ridden. Double GRRR!
Great song, Hank.
Anonymous 11:02 (Is that like James Bond 007?), have a nice day.
Hey Pup, I was looking for a name for the preview and now I have found it!
"ranking/preview/unfair listing of things/puff piece that people can randomly crap on even though it means nothing in the end" thing
I promise to work that in the D1 Boys finale just for you! haha.
How about just calling it "inconsistent" since you use different criteria for each Division. Definitely not a stats master, are you? haha
good old coach pup, we miss you down in the city.
Anonymous 2:00
I love it and am adding it to the list! :0)
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