Northern Section pre-season Cross Country rankings

"Here are my pre-season rankings for the Northern Section based on section cross country and track results from last year." Scott Fairley, West Valley coach

You can check out my interview with coach Fairley from April 2014 at this LINK.

Girls
1.       Kelly Koehnen (12) Hamilton
2.       Karly Gutermuth (12) Trinity
3.       Morgan Gregory (11) UPrep
4.       Naomi Renfroe (12) Red Bluff
5.       Meri Krier (12) Yreka

Teams
1.       Shasta
2.       Yreka
3.       Sutter
4.       University Prep
5.       Foothill

Boys
1.       Andrew Skoy (12) Shasta
2.       Jack Emanuel (12) Chico
3.       Brian Hastings (11) Las Plumas
4.       Michael Cramer (12) UPrep
5.       Chris Meeder (12) West Valley

Teams
1.       University Prep
2.       Shasta
3.       Chico
4.       Yreka
5.       West Valley

2016 NCS Division IV pre-season Cross Country rankings (Boys)

Our final NCS rankings will be the Division IV boys. Last season, the Sir Francis Drake boys won their second section title in school history since their first in 2000. They easily outdistanced Humboldt del Norte rivals McKinleyville (2nd) and Arcata (3rd). by placing 5 runners in the top 20. The individual winner was Drake senior Jeremy Leary who pulled away from El Molino's Brian Schulz with a winning time of 15:17.1.

For the upcoming season, several teams that move down from Division III will definitely be a factor. The favorite at this point is Miramonte which finished in 4th place in Division III last year and qualified for the state meet. They return 6 out of their 7 from last year including their #1 runner, Jonathan Fierro (4:33.38/10:14.99). They will be after their first section title since 2012 in Division III. Word on the street also has the Matadors adding a transfer from the Sac-Joaquin Section who will definitely be in their top 5 if the rumor is true.

Chasing them will be last year's 2nd place Division IV team, McKinleyville. They return 5 out of their top 7 which includes their top 3 from last year's section meet, Austin Nolan (2:01.47/4:32.18/10:14.71), Joe Rieder (4:37.82/10:19.47) and rising sophomore Trent Padilla (4:33.14/10:08.20). Also in the mix will be Sir Francis Drake (above following their victorious NCS MOC effort with coach Robyn Berry) who will be led by impressive rising junior Wyatt Miceli (15:55.6 at Hayward). He runs Cross Country in the fall and is a competitive cyclist in the spring. The Piedmont boys missed the state meet last year by an agonizing one point and will be fired up to qualify to race at Woodward Park. Along with Drake and Piedmont, Bishop O'Dowd and San Rafael drop down from Division III and will both contend for that 3rd and last 3rd state meet spot. Piner and Albany each return two runners under 17 minutes but will need to regroup to be in contention. St. Mary's Berkeley has been one of the strongest team in this division for many years and can never be counted out.

The race for the individual title will be an interesting one. Last year's second place finisher, Brian Schulz of El Molino, would have been the fastest returner here will now be chasing Cooper Teare of St. Joseph Notre Dame in Division V. The fastest and top returner from last year's section final will be Kellen O'Neill of Arcata who finished in 3rd place with a time of 15:31.0. The other runners that also broke 16 minutes at the section final were Jonathan Fierro of Miramonte (15:44.3) and Wyatt Micelli (15:55.6) of Sir Francis Drake.

Division IV Boys (Top 3 Advance to State)
1) Miramonte-Slight favorite with the best returning team from last year's section meet.
2) McKinleyville-Rising program looking for their cross country section title in school history.
3) Sir Francis Drake-They are the defending champion but will need to somehow replace their #1.
4) Piedmont-Hoping for top 3 finish after just missing the state meet in '15.
5) Bishop O'Dowd-They are ranked 5th now but could easily place in top 3.
6) San Rafael-Won this division 3 times since 2010. Kabbara gives them strong #1.
On the bubble: Albany, Arcata, Piner, St. Mary's Berkeley

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Kellen O'Neill (3 in Division IV) Arcata 15:31.0
Jonathan Fierro (7 in Division III) Miramonte 15:44.3
Wyatt Miceli (7 in Division IV) Sir Francis Drake 15:55.6
Jonny Vargas (17 in Division III) Piner 16:03.4
Munir Kabbara (20 in Division III) San Rafael 16:11.3

Comments? Do you know of impact freshmen that will attend at any of the above schools? Feel free to chime in the comment section below. Did I miss anybody? How would you rank this division differently?

2016 NCS Division III pre-season Cross Country rankings (Girls) courtesy of Campolindo assistant coach, Andy Lindquist

Much like the boys, this division will feature a battle between Redwood, Maria Carrillo, Campolindo and Las Lomas for the 4 spots to the state meet.

1. Redwood
The Giants return the best 1-2 in this division with footlocker finalist Glennis Murphy and middle distance standout Gillian Wagner. Both excelled this track season with Murphy running a superb 10:40 for 3200 and Wagner running 5:00 for 1600 to go with a 2:12 performance in the 800. After those two there is a bit of a drop off to Annie Fogarty who was a regular varsity member last season and had a productive spring running 5:27 in the 1600 and 11:27 in the 3200. Those 3 will give Redwood an impressive front end but after that there are some serious depth concerns. Sophia McWhorter did run a solid 19:48 for 5k at the Clovis Invitational last fall but struggled the remainder of the season, never breaking 20:00 for 5k again. She ran a solid 2:23 in the 800 during track but it still remains to be seen if she can translate that into a consistent season of racing. Lucie James ran a respectable 12:31 for 3200 during track season and looks to be the #5 coming into the season. In order for Redwood to capture the title it will take an improved back end to keep the team score from getting too high but for now the Giants have the inside track to take home the hardware at the end of the season.

2. Campolindo
The 3 time defending champions have some work to do if they want to extend their winning streak as they have been hit hard by graduation loses. Juniors Hannah Ruane and Isabella Chao both ran exceptionally well late into the track season and that will give the Cougars a great starting point but there are some major concerns after that. Varsity scorer Savannah Hilton had a solid spring, running 5:35 and 12:10 for 1600/3200 and should continue that trend this fall. Junior Jenna Miles was injured towards the end of last cross country season and did not compete this track season. She has flashed some considerable talent for Campo in the past and should she regain her previous form she could be a major boost to the team’s depth. For the Cougars to hold their ground against the rest of the teams in this division it will take a season long commitment to working on the 1-5 pack margin: up front they are very close to Redwood but after that there is a drop off that will need to be addressed. All the teams mentioned here are extremely close to each other and any demonstration of improvement from the 4-5 positions could end up being the difference in November. For now Campolindo stands at #2.

3. Las Lomas
The Knights only lose 1 member of their varsity squad from last year and appear to be right in the thick of the team competition. While they may lack a quality front runner at this point in time, they have what many of the other teams in this division currently lack: depth at the back end. Sydney Polich, Katie Saenger, Elise Stankus and Ally Heitmann all ran under 5:40 for 1600 this past track season, with Saenger posting the best 3200 with a 11:59 clocking. Throw in ultra-talented sophomore Veronica Towle (5:17/11:24 1600/3200) and you have the makings of a very solid group. Las Lomas has the added advantage of competing against quality teams from the Diablo Athletic League (Miramonte, Campolindo, College Park and others) the whole season, which should be a great proving ground for them. The only issue here is the lack of a proven frontrunner but with the amount of depth they have coming back that may not be that big of an issue. Look for the Knights to challenge the top teams in this division the entire season and don’t be surprised if they end up finishing higher than their current ranking at the end of the year.

4. Maria Carillo
The Pumas look primed for another trip to state but will have to do some work if they want to compete with the best teams in this division. Aimee Armstrong (5:20 1600) and Sydnie Rivas (11:28 3200) look to be the frontrunners this year for the north bay power. Talia Leano showed great promise over the spring with a stellar 2:18 clocking for 800. If she can successfully make the transition to the longer race distance that could be a huge boon to Maria Carrillo’s chances and landing in the top 3. Megan Field (12:05 3200) and Lily Raymond (5:45 1600) round out the returners at this point in time. For Maria Carrillo to be successful this season it will take a commitment to working on improving at every scoring position. At this moment they lack a strong frontrunner and a strong pack so both of those will need to be addressed if the Pumas want to make some noise this fall.

5. El Cerrito
The Gauchos surprised many last season as they peaked masterfully to capture the final state meet birth, and with their entire top 7 returning this fall they may be aiming even higher than simply making it. It was hard to find track results but both Cailyn Sakurai (11:42) and Naomi Furuya (11:54) posted solid 3200 times while Grace Rusin (5:32) had the best 1600 time out of the bunch. If El Cerrito wants to make a return trip to Fresno they will have to work on improving their pack margin and the ability to hang with teams that have better frontrunners. As it stands now they lack the super deep pack to really challenge the top 4 teams and they also lack a superstar frontrunner that can be in contention for an individual medal and those things will have to be worked on throughout the season. For now they are a talented team with a scary amount of upside that would shock some of the established powers come the postseason.

Individual rankings
1. Glennis Murphy (Redwood) – Has the best 1600 and 3200 times of anyone in this division and looks to be the heavy favorite at this point
2. Hannah Ruane (Campolindo) – Her 10:59 performance in the 3200 is behind only Murphy in this division
3. Gillian Wagner (Redwood) – Primed for a big fall breakthrough after a great track season
4. Isabella Chao (Campolindo) – Had an impressive spring in running 5:06 in the 1600 to make MOC, expect similar things this season
5. Rayna Stanziano (Concord) Mega talent who excelled in track despite minimal training, could easily move up in these rankings by seasons end
6. Lauren Lum (Alameda) – 5:06 for 1600 puts her right in the mix here
7. Veronica Towle (Las Lomas) – Lots of potential based on a solid track season
On the bubble: Amy Stanfield (Sonoma Valley), Lara Vetter (Alameda), Sydnie Rivas (Maria Carrillo)  

2016 NCS Division IV pre-season Cross Country rankings (girls)

Division IV has been another strong division for the North Coast Section when it comes to state meet success. Individually, Morgin Coonfield McKinleyville finished in the top 3 the past three seasons ('13 3rd, '14 2nd and '15 2nd). Jeremy Leary Sir Francis Drake finished in 5th place last season. Team wise, the Piedmont girls finished in the top 5 during the same time period ('13 4th, '14 5th and '15 5th). The Arcata girls finished in 2nd place in 2012 while the San Rafael boys landed on the top spot in 2010.

This coming season, 3 boys teams and 4 girls teams will automatically qualify to the state meet from this division. Several teams who have been Division III teams in the past will now compete in this division including state meet contenders Bishop O'Dowd and Miramonte. Without further ado, here are my pre-season rankings for teams and individuals that will potentially contend for state meet berths on slightly changed Hayward HS cross country course.

For the girls, the team favorite will be the already mentioned Bishop O'Dowd. The school has competed in Division III for over a decade now but the last time they competed in this division in 2004, the result was a section title. BOD was led by individual section champion Ariel Wright and then unknown freshman, Alexi Pappas. She will be competing in the upcoming Olympics for Greece and you can read about her in the just posted article in Rolling Stone magazine at this LINK. BOD returns their entire team from last year's Division III 2nd place team including individual champion, Grace Taylor (17:30.1 at Hayward). They will be challenged by the defending Division IV section champion, Piedmont. The Highlanders return 6 of their 7 participants from last year's section meet and will be led by sophomore, Erin Hong (5:31.30/11:57.36). Miramonte, another Division III competitor last year, finished in 5th place but will be looking for a state meet qualifying spot this year. Also in the mix will be '15 state meet qualifiers McKinleyville and Arcata. Both teams lost their #1 runner but will have the majority of their team members back.

One thing for certain is that Morgin Coonfield will not win the individual title. Following a 4th place finish as a freshman in 2012, Coonfield ran with three straight individual titles. She will be taking her talents to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo which means that Division IV will have a new individual champion. It is however possible that a returning champion from last year could win this division. Grace Taylor of Bishop O'Dowd won the Division III race with a time of 17:30.1. She will compete in this division but her status is up in there air as she did not compete in the spring Track and Field season. The favorite, regardless, will be Cassy Haskell (4:52.29/10:51.37) of Miramonte who finished finished just behind Taylor in the NCS Division III race and had the fastest time at the state meet by a non senior. Piner's Cynthia Rosales (2:22.50/5:27.60), Bishop O'Dowd's Jourdan Aman (2:24.17/5:16.89), Alhambra's Marissa D'Atri (2:17.61/5:11.21) and Piedmont's Erin Hong will all race up front and will be in contention for an individual spot should their teams not automatically qualify to the state meet.

Division IV Girls (Top 4 Advance to State)
1) Bishop O'Dowd-Aiming for first section since 2004 in same division.
2) Piedmont-2-time defending team champion with lots of talent returning.
3) Miramonte-No team in this division can match up with the Mats at the front.
4) Justin-Siena-Made state last year however the challenge is greater this year.
5) McKinleyville-Lose all-world Morgin Coonfield but program will continue to thrive.
6) Arcata-Tigers have been perennial contenders in this division.
On the bubble: Albany, Piner, St. Mary's Berkeley

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Grace Taylor (1 in Division III) Bishop O'Dowd 17:30.1
Cassy Haskell (2 in Division III) Miramonte 17:38.4
Cynthia Rosales (5 in Division III) Piner 18:16.7
Jourdan Amen (6 in Division III) Bishop O'Dowd 18:18.5
Marissa D'Atri (7 in Division III) Alhambra 18:21.8
Fastest returning individual runner from 2015 Division IV race
Erin Hong (2) Piedmont 19:01.8

The boys pre-season rankings will be posted next. Comments? Do you know of impact freshmen that will attend at any of the above schools? Feel free to chime in the comment section below.

2016 NCS Division III pre-season Cross Country rankings (Boys) courtesy of Campolindo assistant coach, Andy Lindquist

With the new divisional realignment in the NCS this division has drastically changed over last season, with perennial powers Bishop O’Dowd and Miramonte moving down into Division IV with Maria Carrillo and Redwood moving back in from DII, which should create a number of interesting matchups for this season.

Boys Overview:
Campolindo still appears to be the team to beat this season, with the 3 time defending champions returning a solid portion of last year’s title team along with a great deal of talented upstarts from the frosh-soph level. Redwood and Maria Carrillo will both be in contention for the title as well as the two schools return a great deal of talent as well.

1. Campolindo
The Cougars lose 4 varsity members to graduation but they return a very solid front end which will be tough to beat. Senior Jared Yabu had an electric fall last year, finishing in 2nd place at NCS and following that up with an 8th place finish at state. While illness and injury derailed the majority of his track season, he still is firmly one of the favorites for the individual section title. Fellow senior Ray Diaz had a remarkable spring in running 9:32 for 3200m and advancing to MOC in that event. If he continues his upward momentum he could also factor into the title discussion. Veteran Richard Gong also excelled in track running 9:49 for 3200m which gives “Campo” the best front end in the section.  After those 3 there is some uncertainty as to who will fill out the rest of the lineup but the Cougars have plenty of talent to fill those gaps. Teddy Buckley and Cameron Iniguez-Reyes had fantastic freshman campaigns in track, with the duo clocking 10:16 and 10:25 in the 3200m respectively. Thibault Gourlin, Ethan Sauerberg, and Tim Sams also had productive track seasons at the F/S level and should help fill out the back end. 2015 DFAL JV champ Kyle Flett has experience at the varsity level and should contribute as well. The biggest X factor for Campolindo this season is the addition of NCS MOC 800m champion Niki Moore, who will be doing cross country for the first time this fall. While middle distance performances do not always translate to a 3 mile/5k, Moore ran a solid 4:31 over 1600m during the spring. While they may be a bit short on experience coming into this season, Campolindo has the ability to capture another section title and are the favorites at this point in time.

2. Redwood
The Giants rolled to a 2nd place finish in DII last season and return an abundance of talent which will put them in contention for the section title this year in DIII. Liam Anderson had a remarkable freshman year, making the final in the 1600 at MOC and running 4:18. He was also stellar last fall and will no doubt be looking to make another massive jump this year. Andrew Thomas peaked masterfully down the stretch in track to qualify for the state meet in the 800, running 1:55. He was a scorer last XC season for Redwood and is primed to make another big jump this year. Junior Zach Martinez flashed great potential in running 4:31 for 1600m as did sophomore Austin Patel who ran 4:42 over the distance. Throw in James Conant (10:08 for 3200m) and Ollie Sagatsume (10:14 for 3200m) and you have the makings of an incredibly deep and solid team. The big challenge will be getting newcomers up to speed when it comes to running the longer cross country distance.  If the Giants are able to do this they will be right in contention to pull out the victory come November.

3. Maria Carillo
The Pumas captured the DII title last season and will look to contend for the section title once again this season. They are led by the dual threat of Ben Lawson (4:23/9:57) and Scott Kruetzfeldt (4:32/9:38) who are both coming off of great track campaigns and will provide a low scoring 1-2 punch. Zach Lindemann (10:08) and Jacob Wright (10:15) look to be next up in the order and should they continue their improvement curve will give Maria Carrillo with a fantastic starting point. After that there is a bit of a drop off to Taylor Ingram, who clocked a respectable 10:43 for 3200 and Cooper Moore who ran 4:48 for 1600. In order for the Pumas to close the gap on the top 2 teams they will need to address this issue with their back end and cultivate some more depth. As it stands now they have the potential to be in the mix for the title with their great front end, but depth is king in cross country and in order to truly close the gap they will need to be able to go 7 deep. For now things look good!

4. Las Lomas
The Knights lose a ton from last season’s NCS runner ups but they return two mega talents in Preston Norris (4:25/9:50) and Parker Wilkerson (2:01/4:46) who are both coming off of impressive freshman track seasons. Both of them were regular varsity members last cross country season and should have no problem stepping up into big time roles on the team this year. Underclassmen Preston Rodriguez (4:49) and Jacob Renaghan (4:53) had productive spring seasons and will look to step up and become contributors in 2016. There is a big drop off after that but Las Lomas regularly has one of the largest teams in the section year in year out (with over 120 athletes on average) so finding the talent to plug in should not be much of a problem for them. With an even keeled approach to the season the Knights will be in prime position to return to the state meet.

5. Northgate
The Broncos find themselves in new territory this year, not only moving down from DII but also moving into the new Diablo Athletic League where they will get to compete against talented squads from Campolindo, Miramonte, Las Lomas, College Park, and Clayton Valley. This should prove a good measuring stick for Northgate as they try to put themselves in contention for a state berth. Omar Kabani, Wyatt Abranches, Connor Kugler, and Michael Wheeler all ran under 4:50 for 1600 this track season which gives the Broncos the needed depth to compete with Las Lomas for the final state meet berth in this division. Add in sophomore Joseph Momich who posted a solid 10:45 in the 3200 as a freshman and Northgate looks like they will be a solid contender this fall. If they can focus on racing and training as a pack, feeding off of each other and working together, the Broncos will be much improved this season.

Individuals
1. Liam Anderson (Redwood) – 4:18 as a frosh is the real deal, looks fantastic coming into this season
2. Jared Yabu (Campolindo) – Has the fastest returning times from Hayward/Woodward and despite a stagnant spring, he has all the tools necessary to take the win
3. Ray Diaz (Campolindo) – One of the biggest improvers over the course of the track season, should continue that trend this fall
4. Omar Maklaf  (Livermore) – Continued to impress during track, running 4:20 for 1600 and 9:39 for 3200
5. Scott Kruetzfeldt (Maria Carrillo) – His 9:38 performance for 3200 points to great potential
6. Ben Lawson (Maria Carrillo) – Training with talented teammates in one of the section’s most consistent programs will pay huge dividends this season
7. Preston Norris (Las Lomas) – The talent is there, another year of training should put him in contention for an individual medal
On the Bubble: Andrew Thomas (Redwood), Richard Gong (Campolindo),  Parker Wilkerson (Las Lomas)

2016 NCS Division V pre-season Cross Country rankings

With the divisional changes taking place this coming season, Division V will look very similar since the top teams in this division are all under last year's cutoff of 500. Although, the top end of this division goes up to 600, the top teams will remain the usual suspects who compete for the state qualifying spots year after year.

Looking back at the past few seasons on the boys side, Urban School boys edged out St. Joseph Notre Dame 64 to 65 to win their first NCS cross country section title in 2010. SJND then ran off 4 consecutive section titles as well as 4 state podium finishes which included 2 state titles in 2012 and 2013. Marin Academy, perhaps in the shadows of SJND, had a nice run of their own during the past few seasons that included last year's section team title and two 2nd place finishes at the state meet in 2013 and 2015.

This coming season, the SJND boys will be the favorites once again to win the team title. They return the best runner in this division, Cooper Teare (more on him later), as well as 6 of their 7 competitors from last year's section meet. The next best team appears to be Lick-Wilmerding. Sean Laidlaw (4:44.43/9:51.43) will be their #1 runner after competing in his first Track and Field season. The next group of teams all finished in the top 7 last season but will need to replace some talented seniors from the 2016 class. University, Athenian and Sonoma Academy will all be in the mix for a top 5 finish and each team will return their #1 runner. University finished in 5th place at last year's section meet but rebounded with an 8th place finish at state. They will be strong up front with Spencer Small (1:57.06/4:26.16) and CJ Dowd (1:59.60/4:31.90). SA returns 6 out of 7 and coach Danny Aldridge has had a lot of success coaching at Maria Carrillo and Sonoma Academy. College Prep lost their #1 runner Alex Glavin but will still have a strong #1 in Ethan Ashby (9:35.36). Marin Academy have lost some very talented runners over the past few seasons. They lose their top 3 runners from last year's team but based on their success the past few seasons should not be counted out.

Individually, Cooper Teare will be the overwhelming favorite to repeat as section champion. He ran 14:46.4, which is the 2nd fastest time on the Hayward HS course for a Division V athlete trailing only the 14:44 run by Trevor Reinhart (Marin Academy) in 2013. The course will be slightly different this year so Teare should establish the course record on the "new" course. Looking back at his junior season, Teare won the CA state meet in an epic finish over Jack Van Scoter of Flintridge Prep 15:07.313 to 15:07.316. He also won the state 3200m title by an even closer margin over Cole Spencer of Great Oak 8:51.845 to 8:51.847. Brian Schulz El Molino finished in 2nd place at last year's Division IV race and will be a section and state contender in this division in 2016. Eli Horwitz (1:57.83/4:20.63) Stuart Hall and Dawson Reckers (2:04.98/4:24.02) Athenian finished in 4th and 5th place respectively. Other contenders include Sean Laidlaw L-W, Ethan Ashby CPS, CJ Dowd UHS and Kheva Mann SA.

Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to State)
1) St. Joseph ND-Will be motivated to win 5th section title in the past 6 seasons.
2) Lick-Wilmerding-Looking to win first male section title since winning Division III in 1989.
3) University-The most successful team in this division aiming to return back on top.
4) Sonoma Academy-Return 6 out of top 7 from last year's section meet.
5) College Prep-They will be in the mix with solid #1 and typical depth.
6) Athenian-Will need some freshman help to contend once again for a Fresno trip.
7) Marin Academy-On the outside looking in at this point but may surprise in November.
On the bubble: Roseland University Prep, Stuart Hall, Urban

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Cooper Teare (1) St. Joseph ND 14:46.4
Brian Schulz (2 in Division IV) 15:28.3
Eli Horwitz (4) Stuart Hall 15:38.0
Dawson Reckers (5) Athenian 15:41.3
Sean Laidlaw (7) Lick-Wilmerding 16:01.0

The girls pre-season rankings will be posted next. Comments? Do you know of impact freshmen that will attend at any of the above schools? Feel free to chime in the section below.

Central Coast Section Time Comparisons for all 2016 XC Divisions thanks to Walt Van Zant

http://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2016/comparsn.htm

Top 10 Boys/Girls teams according to Walt
1) Bellarmine
2) Palo Alto
3) Homestead
4) St. Francis
5) San Lorenzo Valley
6) Willow Glen
7) Greenfield
8) Gunn
9) Los Gatos
10) Mitty

1) Aptos
2) Homestead
3) St. Francis
4) Mitty
5) St. Ignatius
6) San Lorenzo Valley
7) Mountain View
8) Santa Cruz
9) Monta Vista
10) Gunn

Feel free to comment on any of the divisions in the comment section below.

2016 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division II Cross Country Rankings

Here are the raw pre-season rankings with the top teams as well as top returning individuals.

Division II Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)

1) Monte Vista-Lose their top runner but everybody else is back.
2) Dublin-Missed making 2015 state meet with lots of talent returning.
3) Clayton Valley-Program back to prove 2015 was not a fluke.
4) Granada-Young, developing team with lots of upside.
5) Santa Rosa-Potent top two make them very dangerous to teams above them.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Amador Valley, De La Salle, Liberty

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Daniel Pride (2) Santa Rosa 15:30.6 (Division I)
Anirudh Surapaneni (4) Dublin 15:32.1 (Division II)
Tristan Miller (3) Monte Vista 15:37.4 (Division I)
Dylan White (5) Clayton Valley 15:37.6 (Division II)
Luca Massanti (6) Santa Rosa 15:48.8 (Division I)

Division II Girls (Top 3 Advance to state)

1) Monte Vista-Just like the boys, they lose #1 but return a lot.
2) Granada-League rival who will rely on a strong sophomore class.
3) San Ramon Valley-Another talented group of girls who could challenge top 2 teams.
4) Liberty-Will need to rise to the challenge of upsetting one of three very strong teams.
5) College Park-Return their entire 2015 team. They will need to improve to move up.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): Amador Valley, Dublin, Santa Rosa

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2015 NCS meet time:
Meredith Corda (3) Monte Vista 17:53.5 (Division I)
Myrthe Bellers (4) Irvington 17:53.9 (Division I)
Kinga Bihari (8) Granada 18:37.8 (Division II)
Molly Neach (8) San Ramon Valley 18:38.4 (Division I)
Madalyne Coney (9) Monte Vista 18:40.3 (Division I)

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?

2016 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division I Cross Country Rankings

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

1) Davis (SJS) Return 5 out of top 7 with 3 sub 18 girls at Woodward Park. 2nd place NXN (Maggie McManis photo above).
2) Aptos (CCS) Also return 5 of their top 7 as defending Division III state champions.
3) Monte Vista (NCS) Return 2-5 with senior Meredith Corda taking over lead role.
4) Granada (NCS) Lose top 2 but next five were freshmen with impressive track seasons.
5) San Ramon Valley (NCS) Top 5 all back led by talented Tavella twins.
6) Homestead (CCS) Top 6 back led by junior Elena Kamas.
7) Santa Cruz (CCS) Lose NorCal runner of the year Cate Ratliff but still plenty loaded.
8) St. Francis (CCS) Consistent contender led by senior Emily Skahill.
9) St. Francis, Sacramento (SJS) Gets major boost from freshman Isabella Fauria.
10) Redwood (NCS) Very strong up front but will need to replace 4 graduated seniors from lineup.

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?

Boys will be posted next...

North Coast Section (NCS) pre-season Cross Country rankings

The pre-season NCS rankings will begin shortly and as a reminder, the drastically changed divisions can be found at this LINK. For now, feel free to comment on the favorites in each division and who are the freshmen that will have the biggest impact in the fall.