Friday, June 24, 2016

Top 10 NorCal boys' teams returning from 2015 California State Cross Country Meet

1) Bellarmine (CCS) As always lots of depth but much stronger up front this season.
2) Palo Alto (CCS) Young talented team all back led by senior Kent Slaney
3) Jesuit (SJS) Division I 3rd place finishers last season with 5 under 10:05 returning.
4) Monte Vista (NCS) Lose #1 Tim Chrisman but everybody else is back.
5) Bella Vista (SJS) Young talented team with lots of room for improvement.
6) Campolindo (NCS) One of NorCal's most consistent programs will be led by senior Jared Yabu.
7) St. Francis (CCS) Young talent up front who will chase Bellarmine for WCAL supremacy.
8) Davis (SJS) Lose very strong senior class but Michael Vernau returns to lead the Blue Devils.
9) Redwood (NCS) Will be led by 4:18.39 frosh 1600 runner, Liam Anderson.
10) Homestead (CCS) Another consistently good program with young talented runners up front.
10) Del Campo (SJS) Coach Bob King will be coaching his 35th season at Del Campo.

Who are the incoming freshmen that will have the biggest impact on the teams above or other teams on the cusp? Who improved the most during the just completed Track and Field season? What teams are going to challenge for podium spots at the 2016 CA XC state meet? Who are the teams that should or could break into the top 10?

12 comments:

  1. I would include St. Francis, based on their excellent track season; a young team with depth and speed. And I think Campolindo brings back 3 State Meet vets with a lot of young talent from track season.

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  2. You are correct with St. Francis. Unfortunately last year, many of the results didn't list grades which made it more difficult to search for the returning runners this season.

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  3. Really looking forward to hearing what freshmen are out there and where they are going. I think last year has taught us that they can, and likely will, contribute to some of the top teams on this list. It is a great time to follow NorCal distance running!

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  4. It is interesting that there are 5 schools (out of 10 places each) that have both their girl's and boy's teams on the list. Is this good coaching, good luck, coincidence? It is also interesting, and satisfying, that there is a good mix of public and private schools.

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  5. St. Francis is a lot closer to the Bells this year than the 2015 XC stats show. The 2016 track season is a good indication of the narrowing of that gap. Even odds that SF takes the WCAL XC title from the Bells in 2017.

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  6. @10:40 I guess that is why we are starting the conversation about incoming frosh. A lot can change in a year. Can anyone start the list?

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  7. @10:40 I'm a fan of both programs and would love to see the Lancers give the Bells a run for their money. Definitely the young coach at St Francis has them on the upswing. But there's no way that it's even money for them to win the WCAL title. It's more likely that the Bells will dominate the league as it has been doing for years now.

    Take a look at the 2016 track results for the kids who are coming back next year: Bellarmine has 3 guys in the 9:20s and 6 total under 10 minutes, plus a bunch of other guys in the low 10:00s and/or the low 4:30s. And that doesn't even count the returning 1:52/4:21 runner who is also a good xc performer. St Francis only has two returning guys under 10:00 (though both are strong at 9:26 and 9:32 and were only a 10th and 9th grader), plus another kid at 4:29. Even if it turned out that the two SF studs are better than the Bells' top two, which isn't necessarily going to happen, Bellarmine would overwhelm with its strength through five guys as it always does. But it will be fun to see it play out!

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  8. @6:53 I agree that it will be fun to watch Bell and SF battle it out. I also agree that the top end and the depth go to Bell this season - it will not even be close in 2016. But in 2017, the 2 top end guys on SF that you mentioned, plus the other strong freshmen class (5 other guys under 5:00) will narrow the gap over the top 2 Bell Studs plus a freshman class that was not as impressive. Even Mile Split calls it a toss up (5 points between the 2 teams). A lot can happen between now and then - like new kids coming in which is the subject of the other thread - but right now I would put my money on SF squeezing out a very tight WCAL win. Get your popcorn out, but you will have to keep it warm for a year. How great is it to be able to talk about these kids and the overall development of a sport we all love and find hard to explain why to everyone else?

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  9. @6:18 Oh I missed that the comment was about 2017. Doesn't change the picture though. The Bells had 9:26, 9:27 and 9:35 from their sophomores alone, all of whom will obviously still be around in 2017. (That's just the top 3 in that class, not the only capable runners). And 6 frosh under 5:00 including a 4:35. SF freshmen class had an impressive track season, arguably better than Bellarmine's freshmen crew, but that's a LONG way from saying that they will beat Bellarmine at the varsity level in 2017. Don't get me wrong, I think it would be fun to see a competitive WCAL and SF might narrow the gap, but "outside chance" is more appropriate than "even money" at this point. Will be fun to see how it develops though.

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  10. @3:04 Everything you say is true but don't discount the other SF rising Junior that did not run the 3200 because he is a 2:00 flat 800m runner. His 3M XC time is the same as the third Bell rising Junior you cited. That means in one year from now (hardly a long time but anything can happen) the Bells and Lancers will each have three main guys and a great supporting cast from last year's freshman class. The slight edge in the class of 2019 goes to SF, and that might, might, might finally put them over the top. I think it is more than an "outside chance" - I put it at "coin flip." Mile Split has it at 5 points between them.

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  11. Granada beat #10 Del Campo at the Jaguar Invitational, that should shake things up a bit

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  12. I think that Lowell High School needs some recognition. Only losing their #2 guy, they have a talented team returning with a lot of depth from last year.

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