For many years, coaches, athletes and even parents complained about the unfair playing field at the California State XC meet. While the sectional races for the most part were quite competitive and fair, the divisional races at Woodward Park, especially in the top 3 divisions, pitted much larger Southern Section schools vs the smaller Northern schools. There is no denying that a larger enrollment is an advantage when it comes to fielding potential podium finishing teams. Over the years, coaches have submitted potential bylaws at their own section level that would potentially even out the state meet fields. All of those proposals did not make it very far until last year when Dublin coach, Chris Williams, was able to get the North Coast Section to change the divisions to this year's FORMAT. The idea was to reconfigure the divisions so that teams could compete against like sized schools at their section as well as the state meet. This year's NCS MOC meet at Hayward HS should be quite interesting. Construction could lead to changes to the regular section 3.0 mile course. Also, some teams are now in state meet contention for the first time while some teams that have booked rooms for Thanksgiving weekend on a yearly basis, now find themselves looking at a far more challenging trip to Fresno.
One of the biggest changes with the new format is in Division I which now only fields 8 potential section participating schools. The usual suspects of teams that have performed well in this division in the past like Monte Vista, De La Salle, and San Ramon Valley are no longer here. Now, the best team on both the boys and girls side appears to be Dougherty Valley which was founded in 2007 and currently boasts 2,330 students. The largest school in NCS is James Logan and with a reenergized track and field team in 2016, their cross country squad could follow suit with two state meet teams. Berkeley should also contend in both races as they attempt to make the state meet as a team. Castro Valley has been one of the top teams in this division and with an enrollment near 3000 students, it won't take much to put them in state meet contention in this division.
One of the biggest changes with the new format is in Division I which now only fields 8 potential section participating schools. The usual suspects of teams that have performed well in this division in the past like Monte Vista, De La Salle, and San Ramon Valley are no longer here. Now, the best team on both the boys and girls side appears to be Dougherty Valley which was founded in 2007 and currently boasts 2,330 students. The largest school in NCS is James Logan and with a reenergized track and field team in 2016, their cross country squad could follow suit with two state meet teams. Berkeley should also contend in both races as they attempt to make the state meet as a team. Castro Valley has been one of the top teams in this division and with an enrollment near 3000 students, it won't take much to put them in state meet contention in this division.
Division I Boys (Top 2 Advance to state)
1) Dougherty Valley-Senior Neil Braganza is the best runner on the best team.
2) James Logan-One of the better Division I teams the past few seasons.
3) Berkeley-New section divisional format gives Yellowjackets hope for a state meet run.
4) Castro Valley-One of the historically strong teams in this division.
5) California-Will need help from some new blood to contend for top 2 finish.
On the bubble: Freedom, Pittsburg, Deer Valley
2) James Logan-One of the better Division I teams the past few seasons.
3) Berkeley-New section divisional format gives Yellowjackets hope for a state meet run.
4) Castro Valley-One of the historically strong teams in this division.
5) California-Will need help from some new blood to contend for top 2 finish.
On the bubble: Freedom, Pittsburg, Deer Valley
Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Neil Braganza (8) Dougherty Valley 15:49.2
Arman Pabla (15) James Logan 16:17.8
Vincent Friesen (21) Castro Valley 16:26.8
Quinn Schmidt (22) Dougherty Valley 16:26.8
Sebastian Andersson (26) Berkeley 16:38.7
Neil Braganza (8) Dougherty Valley 15:49.2
Arman Pabla (15) James Logan 16:17.8
Vincent Friesen (21) Castro Valley 16:26.8
Quinn Schmidt (22) Dougherty Valley 16:26.8
Sebastian Andersson (26) Berkeley 16:38.7
Division I Girls (Top 2 Advance to state)
1) Dougherty Valley-Returns the most firepower left in this division.
2) Castro Valley-Stronger up front than chase teams but not a lock for this spot.
3) Berkeley-Definitely in the hunt for a state meet berth.
4) California-The addition of a certain 800 meter state champion would bolster their chances.
5) James Logan-May surprise teams ahead of them.
On the bubble: Freedom, Deer Valley, Pittsburg
2) Castro Valley-Stronger up front than chase teams but not a lock for this spot.
3) Berkeley-Definitely in the hunt for a state meet berth.
4) California-The addition of a certain 800 meter state champion would bolster their chances.
5) James Logan-May surprise teams ahead of them.
On the bubble: Freedom, Deer Valley, Pittsburg
Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Vanessa Mejia (18) James Logan 18:57.0
Kayla Jindrich (30) Dougherty Valley 19:32.6
Aushmitha Grewal (38) Dougherty Valley 20:09.0
Kayla Neumann (43) California 20:13.5
Kaitlin Manning (50) Castro Valley 20:25.4
Vanessa Mejia (18) James Logan 18:57.0
Kayla Jindrich (30) Dougherty Valley 19:32.6
Aushmitha Grewal (38) Dougherty Valley 20:09.0
Kayla Neumann (43) California 20:13.5
Kaitlin Manning (50) Castro Valley 20:25.4
Please feel free to chime in on the rankings above. I won't be offended if you strongly disagree as the above rankings are meant to be a launching pad for conversation. Fortunately section titles and state meet berths are decided by the runners themselves. Any impact freshmen that we should know about?
Up next: Continued NCS Rankings
Up next: Continued NCS Rankings