Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Top Cross Country team (boys and girls) in Northern California

Who are the top returning teams this coming season? Who are going to be the most improved and biggest surprises? What times will have a chance to land on the podium at the state meet?

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm new to XC. Is it a team sport?

Anonymous said...

top 5 runners on each team score points for a total team score; the lowest score wins. If you don't have a good team you can still run fast/qualify as an individual.

So it's both a team and an individual sport.

Anonymous said...

XC is an individual sport. It is classified as such by the CIF. There is a team component but that is to make losers and those fast enough to win feel better about themselves. There is only one winner and that is what is great about our sport. The team thing is fun, but unnecessary due to discrepancies in school size and so forth. Of course the larger school has an advantage. Not with individuals though. Like I said the team thing is fun but it's a way to make the haves not feel good about not being able to win.

Anonymous said...

Who's the top team? Um... Ever heard of Bellarmine

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't downplay the team aspect. Yes, it is ultimately based on individual effort and there is an individual winner, but there is a big team component in keeping the pack together.

Jseven1 said...

I couldn't disagree more than I do with Anonymous @ 2:49. I have followed children and now grandchildren thru this sport and it most definitely is a TEAM sport. Often the hero of the team who grabs the number 5 spot on the team (last scoring position). Anonymous at 2:49 most never have seen the teams top finisher screaming their lungs out rooting for the number 5 runner who often determines the team's place.

Anonymous said...

I have. As I said, it makes the losers feel better and gives them something to run for. Nothing wrong with that but team is way over blown. It is the top individuals where it is at. I mean there is a reason there are no team scores in pro track and cross country on the world level is dead.

Anonymous said...

SJND lost their top runner, but if their runners step it up some I think they can pull off a repeat of top team at NCS

Anonymous said...

I also disagree with 2:49 PM.
XC is definitely a TEAM sport.
You may have the three fastest runners in the State and still not qualify to the State Meet as a team. The top three will qualify as individuals, but even they would probably choose go to State as a team.
How can you call anyone who makes it to State (on a team) a loser?
XC is broken down into divisions unlike Track & Field.
T&F may be an individual sport, but not XC.
Any knowledgeable spectator will be counting runners, trying to see how a team's fifth runner is doing.
If XC wasn't a team sport it wouldn't be as exciting to watch.
If XC was just an individual sport no one would care who finishes outside the top 5-7 runners.

Anonymous said...

Do teams run in a pack like Tour de France bike guys or do they run as fast as they can and let places fall where they do?

Anonymous said...

SJND has a solid top three with the Murphys and Cooper Teare. The upcoming sophmores Gavin Hill and Willie Mein have tons of potential for success and filling in the 4 and 5 spots.

Anonymous said...

Strategies differ based on the make up of the team. If a team has an outstanding #1 runner, then he/she will usually run as fast as possible.

Some teams extend this strategy to all 7 team members, with each one running as fast as possible. Other teams have more of a pack mentality, where teammates work together throughout the race.

Anonymous said...

Everyone ultimately goes for the best place possible, but how they do it may differ. The elite runners will push the pace from the start too fast for the pack to keep up, but if the 3-4-5 runners are similarly paced and can push each other until the last 1/2 mile or so before breaking out for the finish, everyone ends up doing better.

mike said...

On the topic of the team aspect of XC, here is a link to an article by Eric Sondheimer of the LA Times about the 2004 State Meet. It's a story of how Loyola HS won the D2 championship and a testament to the emotion, excitement and commitment generated by the team aspect.

Mike Sherwood
www.xcstats.com

Anonymous said...

Bellermine and davis I would say.

Anonymous said...

@ 6:09:

"How can you call anyone who makes it to State (on a team) a loser?"

Not that I ascribe to this statement, but haven't you ever heard, "2nd place is just the first loser"?

Anonymous said...

And on the "team" idea, while in XC there is a method to score the top 5 for a "team score," I look at it more this way:

If you have 8 kids to play baseball, sorry, you have no team, you don't play. If you have 10 in football, unless you are 8-man, sorry, no team, no play. BUT if you have one or two, three or four in xc, they get to "play" because, well, it's individual.

Anonymous said...

The word 'loser' has a negative connotation, no matter how you want to justify using it.

Anonymous said...

My issue is we are celebrating mediocrity. We are ok not racing to win. This concept of it being ok to lose or saying it has a negative connotation and thus should be avoided is baffling to me. This sport you should run to win!

Anonymous said...

To:5:24PM,
Not everyone is blessed with the talent TO WIN!
I respect someone who gives it there all and finishes mid-pack more than I do a talented runner who skips workouts and runs less than his/her best and WINS the race.
Striving to realize your potential is what XC should be about.
You can admire one persons talent and still admire another's efforts.
It may sound corny, but it's true...it's not whether you win or lose it's how you play the game.
The really gifted runner who fulfills his potential may be the Champion, but don't belittle the less talented who work just as hard.

hank said...

You can belittle me as the "back of the packer" all you want, I don't care. I run XC to support my "Team", if I'm lucky enough to be a scoring member for the team then great for me (but not so great for the team). As someone who's been running XC for 40+ years, I'm glad XC IS a Team sport, otherwise I might not be out there day after day training so that I can hopefully, "help" the team. For those who don't yet understand this concept, I beg of you to keep running, training and racing and I guarantee you, that eventually, you will understand/see why XC is indeed a Team Sport.

hank

Anonymous said...

To 5:24 PM,
You say, "My issue is we are celebrating mediocrity. We are ok not racing to win."
Who would you celebrate more; the runner with 18:00 minute potential and runs 18:00, finishing mid pack, or the runner with 15:00 minute potential and runs 16:10 and wins the race? (Maybe the 18:00 runner is the 5th runner on the WINNING team and the 16:10 runner is on the tenth place team. Guess what...the 18:00 runner was running to win))
Another take: I would rather lose a long well-played game of chess than win a quick game over an inferior opponent. It's not always about winning. Sometimes it's the experience that's rewarding.

Anonymous said...

Thank you troll for hyjacking the post. Can we please get back to talking about Bellarmine, the greatest team in all of Northern California. The team whose JV would destroy 95% of varsity teams. The team with the greatest depth, coaching and history in all of CA!

Anonymous said...

Based on last year's state finishes, I have to agree with the Bellarmine post. The team time put the teams:
De la Salle, Bellarmine, Davis, SJND, Carlmont.

DLS graduates 1,2,6
Bellarmine 4,5
Davis 2,6
SJND 1,5
Carlmont 1,3,7

With Bellarmine's depth of A&B team Varsity plus full JV, on paper, they look to be #1 coming into the season.

Anonymous said...

somebody is a bellarmine homer.

Nils said...

I root for SJND, and believe that their top 3 runners will continue to improve this year, and be augmented by improved runners competing in places 4-7.
But I'd also look for Davis to give Bellarmine a run for their money in Div I at State.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who believes that those who do not win in a cross country race are "losers" must not be a runner themselves. In no other sport is there as much respect from top to bottom as there is in running. Those who win the race have conquered the day but they know that the person who finished last in the race may have worked harder and conquered more obstacles than anyone else. From top to bottom, those who toe the line in a cross country race face all the same challenges and must conquer them with all the same exertions of will. To qualify as a team is just as rewarding, if not more so, than qualifying for the state meet as an individual. To be a part of a competitive team is to be a part of a brotherhood, willing to sacrifice for each other and give it their all to lift each other up. To call anyone who does not win a cross country race a "loser" is to disrespect the sport of running.

Bellarmine's depth should carry them through to another great finish at the state meet this year, but Los Gatos, Saint Francis and Carlmont (if they find a fifth man) will challenge for the top spot in CCS. The winner of the day is chosen by fate. The team who wins is chosen by careful training and great sacrifice.

Peter Brewer said...

Hi: I noticed that the protocols for posting to this comment section include the option for including the name of the individual posting the comment. I have also noticed that most of the comments have been made by people who decline to identify themselves. Furthermore, my notice had been drawn to the correlation between anonymity and the intensity of the expressed opinion. I would like, however, to be able to place an identity to the opinion. It seems to me, and I hope to others as well, that an opinion has more merit if the holder of the opinion claims ownership of that opinion. Is it really too much trouble to type in a name at the end of the comment?

Peter Brewer
Northgate High School

Anonymous said...

I agree with Peter. Does anyone know who keeps and posts all-time top-10 results for high school and middle school races at Crystal Springs? I can't find anything on line and the posted material at the finish shack seems to be out of date.

Anonymous said...

Our humility drives us to hide our brilliance by posting anonymously or the more likely answer is: we don't want to put our name to rude and obnoxious comments.
Ken Ha@#$%@^*&%^

Anonymous said...

Sorry Peter, sometimes parents post here. The high school athletes would rather not have their friends know that their parents are on the blog. Anonymous is, thus, convenient.

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