NCS XC Meet of Champions 09 Data...

Data courtesy of Peter Guerrini and ezmeets.com

Boys' 1st team All-NCS
1 1 #1001 Erik Olson (12) Novato #1 14:49 4:56
2 2 #1416 Daniel Milechman (11) Tamalpais #1 15:07 5:02
3 3 #1053 Luis Luna (10) Piner #1 15:08 5:02
4 4 #1241 Reesey Byers (12) Santa Rosa #1 15:09 5:03
5 5 #1459 Andrew Zellman (12) Ukiah #1 15:15 5:05
6 6 #1357 Dan Maxwell (12) St. Mary's College HS #1 15:17 5:05
7 7 #381 Jeff Bickert (11) College Park #1 15:23 5:07

Boys' 2nd team All-NCS
8 8 #1133 Josh MacDonald (12) Redwood Christian #1 15:29 5:09
9 9 #319 Ben Eversole (11) Castro Valley #1 15:30 5:10
10 10 #33 Charles Perkins (12) Alameda #1 15:33 5:11
11 11 #1019 Hugh Dowdy (12) Petaluma #1 15:34 5:11
12 12 #322 Anthony Martore (11) Castro Valley #2 15:35 5:11
13 13 #1025 Forrest Shaffer (11) Petaluma #2 15:35 5:11
14 14 #61 Jesse Aston (12) Alhambra #1 15:38 5:12

Boys' 3rd team All-NCS
15 15 #1227 Kevin Griffith (12) San Ramon Valley #1 15:40 5:13
16 16 #430 Paul Johnson (12) De La Salle #1 15:41 5:13
17 17 #276 Brian King (12) Cardinal Newman #1 15:43 5:14
18 18 #1224 Parker Deuel (10) San Ramon Valley #2 15:43 5:14
19 19 #982 Will Melton (12) Northgate #1 15:43 5:14
20 20 #1226 Simon Graves (12) San Ramon Valley #3 15:44 5:14
21 21 #34 Zachary Perkins (12) Alameda #2 15:45 5:15
22 22 #865 Peter Buscheck (12) Miramonte #1 15:45 5:15
23 23 #271 Dylan Laucher (11) Campolindo #1 15:45 5:15
*tie for 7th spot

Honorable Mention
24 24 #530 Nick Kraus (11) Eureka #1 15:46 5:15
25 25 #531 Robin O'Connell (11) Eureka #2 15:46 5:15
26 26 #80 Kellen Cole (12) Amador Valley #1 15:47 5:15
27 27 #269 Paul Jackson (12) Campolindo #2 15:48 5:16
28 28 #424 Derek Burgstaller (12) De La Salle #2 15:49 5:16
29 29 #1016 Clark Bernard (11) Petaluma #3 15:51 5:17
30 30 #864 Christian Britto (12) Miramonte #2 15:51 5:17

Girls' 1st team All-NCS
1 1 #910 Julie Nacouzi (11) Montgomery #1 17:02 5:40
2 2 #297 Jacque Taylor (12) Casa Grande #1 17:18 5:46
3 3 #241 Colleen Lillig (12) California #1 17:30 5:50
4 4 #823 Lucy McCullough (11) Marin Academy #1 17:47 5:55
5 5 #373 Alycia Cridebring (12) College Park #1 17:54 5:58
6 6 #1006 Isabel Andrade (12) Petaluma #1 18:06 6:02
7 7 #1156 Holland Reynolds (10) San Francisco University HS #1 18:06 6:02

Girls' 2nd team All-NCS
8 8 #1153 Jennie Callan (9) San Francisco University HS #2 18:07 6:02
9 9 #803 Lauren Curtin (12) Maria Carrillo #1 18:17 6:05
10 10 #283 Heather Cerney (12) Carondelet #1 18:17 6:05
11 11 #310 Kelsey Santisteban (11) Castro Valley #1 18:19 6:06
12 12 #265 Carrie Verdon (10) Campolindo #1 18:19 6:06
13 13 #242 Elaine McVay (11) California #2 18:23 6:07
14 14 #786 Natalie Dimits (10) Livermore #1 18:25 6:08

Girls' 3rd team All-NCS
15 15 #262 Grace Orders (11) Campolindo #2 18:26 6:08
16 16 #1517 Amber Peirsol (10) Windsor #1 18:31 6:10
17 17 #470 Shelby Nickles (11) Dublin #1 18:32 6:10
18 18 #802 Cara Curtin (12) Maria Carrillo #2 18:34 6:11
19 19 #806 Lauren Kraus (9) Maria Carrillo #3 18:34 6:11
20 20 #588 Carina Novell (10) Granada #1 18:35 6:11
21 21 #1218 Liz Hebel (10) San Ramon Valley #1 18:35 6:11
22 22 #347 Alexandra Tate (10) Clayton Valley #1 18:35 6:11
*tie for 7th spot

Honorable Mention
23 23 #398 Adrienne Strait (11) College Preparatory #1 18:36 6:12
24 24 #1496 Jessica Gerards (11) Washington #1 18:40 6:13
25 #231 Kate Courtney (9) Branson #1 18:43 6:14
26 25 #296 Dominique Ratto (12) Casa Grande #2 18:46 6:15
27 26 #890 Mikaela Hammitt (10) Monte Vista #1 18:47 6:15
28 27 #1012 Francesca Honey (10) Petaluma #2 18:48 6:16
29 28 #875 Madison Hirsch (10) Mission San Jose #1 18:48 6:16

Combined boys (teams and individuals)
Combined girls (teams and individuals)

Boys
All 12th graders combined
All 11th graders combined
All 10th graders combined
All 9th graders combined

Girls
All 12th graders combined
All 11th graders combined
All 10th graders combined
All 9th graders combined

Fastest boys' team times at Hayward from 1999, 2001, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08 and '09
1) Camplindo '08 77:55
2) Petaluma '08 78:02
3) Petaluma '07 78:52
4) Monte Vista '07 78:59
5) San Ramon Valley '09 79:06
6) Castro Valley '09 79:08
7) College Park '08 79:25
8) Amador Valley '08 79:35
9) De La Salle '05 79:36
10) Petaluma '09 79:40

Fastest girs' team times at Hayward from 1999, 2001, '02, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08 and '09
1) Carondelet '06 91:47
2) Carondelet '07 92:14
3) Maria Carrillo '04 92:42
4) Bishop O'Dowd '04 92:46
5) Livermore '08 92:54
6) Montgomery '02 93:19
7) Maria Carrillo '09 93:25
8) College Park '02 93:26
9) Miramonte '05 93:28
10) Carondelet '08 92:32

BOYS
Fastest #1 Runner
1 1 #1001 Erik Olson (12) Novato #1 14:49 4:56
Fastest #2 Runner
12 12 #322 Anthony Martore (11) Castro Valley #2 15:35 5:11
13 13 #1025 Forrest Shaffer (11) Petaluma #2 15:35 5:11
Fastest #3 Runner
20 20 #1226 Simon Graves (12) San Ramon Valley #3 15:44 5:14
Fastest #4 Runner
33 33 #1230 Cody Reed (12) San Ramon Valley #4 15:54 5:18
Fastest #5 Runner
52 52 #1223 Sean Colaco (12) San Ramon Valley #5 16:05 5:21
Fastest #6 Runner
85 85 #427 Matt Godkin (12) De La Salle #6 16:21 5:27
Fastest #7 Runner
86 86 #432 Stephan Spangenberg (11) De La Salle #7 16:22 5:27

GIRLS
Fastest #1 Runner
1 1 #910 Julie Nacouzi (11) Montgomery #1 17:02 5:40
Fastest #2 Runner
8 8 #1153 Jennie Callan (9) San Francisco University HS #2 18:07 6:02
Fastest #3 Runner
19 19 #806 Lauren Kraus (9) Maria Carrillo #3 18:34 6:11
Fastest #4 Runner
35 34 #808 Heidi Thiele (10) Maria Carrillo #4 18:57 6:19
Fastest #5 Runner
41 40 #809 Byrnna Thigpen (9) Maria Carrillo #5 19:03 6:21
Fastest #6 Runner
90 88 #7 Kelly Collins (9) Acalanes #6 19:36 6:32
Fastest #7 Runner
98 96 #11 Emily Shearer (12) Acalanes #7 19:44 6:34

Teams Qualifying Both Boys and Girls Teams to State MeetCastro Valley (Div. I)
College Park (Div. II)
Petaluma (Div. III)
Campolindo (Div. III)
St. Mary's Berkeley (Div. IV)
San Francisco University (Div. V)

NCS Cross Country Pre-Meet Individual Listings...

November 21, 2009-Hayward High School NCS/Les Schwab

NCS Individual Preview: I listed the pre-meet favorite first and the rest of the contenders next with most of them in no particular order.

Division I
Girls - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):
Colleen Lillig of California
Elise Wummer Castro Valley
Kelsey Santisteban Valley
Natalie Dimits Livermore
Elaine McVay California
Carina Novell Granada

Boys - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):
Paul Johnson De La Salle
Ben Eversole Castro Valley
Parker Deuel San Ramon Valley
Sean Colaco San Ramon Valley
Kyle Williams De La Salle

Division II
Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
Jacque Taylor Casa Grande
Julie Nacouzi Montgomery
Heather Cerney Carondelet
Alycia Cridebring College Park
Dominique Ratto Casa Grande

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
Reesey Byers of Santa Rosa
Andrew Zellman Ukiah
Jeff Bickert College Park
Charlie Perkins Alameda
Spencer Hall Casa Grande

Division III Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
Isabel Andrade Petaluma
Carrie Verdon Campolindo
Grace Orders Campolindo
Lauren Curtin Maria Carrillo
Cara Curtin Maria Carrillo
Annie Marggraff Acalanes

Boys - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
Erik Olson Novato
Hugh Dowdy Petaluma
Luis Luna Piner
Forrest Shaffer Petaluma
Paul Jackson Campolindo

Division IV Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
Theresa Devine Marin Catholic
Taylor Lawson St. Mary's
Anika Adeni Moreau Catholic
Erin McNulty Arcata
Alex Choy St. Mary's

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
Dan Milechman Tamalpais
Daniel Maxwell St. Mary's
Brian King Cardinal Newman
Trevor Ehlenbach San Rafael
Cameron Bronstein San Rafael

Division V Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
Lucy McCullough Marin Academy
Holland Reynolds University
Jennie Callan University
Kai Wilson College Prep
Adrienne Strait College Prep
Katy Lee Sonoma Academy
Kate Courtney Branson

Boys - (Top 5 teams advance to state meet):
Josh MacDonald Redwood Christian
Cole Williams Urban
Ned Tannenbaum University
Wayne Smith Redwood Christian
Justin Watkins Santa Rosa Christian
Mercer Cook Head Royce

Comments encouraged. Who did I miss?

NCS Cross Country Pre-Meet Rankings

Check out the rankings below. Feel free to comment and make observations. To be honest, some divisions have several teams that have a shot to win and it wouldn't be a surprise if the 4th or 5th ranked team below won the ncs title. Should make for an excellent day of racing. Best of luck to all teams and individuals competing.

You can get a complete summary of the divisions as well as all the league results at the meet inside the meet program.

North Coast Section
November 21, 2009-Hayward High School
NCS/Les Schwab Cross Country Championships Race Schedule and Preview

RACE SCHEDULE (Same order as State Meet)
WALK THE COURSE 7:30 - 8:45 A.M.
9:00am Division II Girls’ Race
9:35am Division III Girls’ Race
10:10am Division II Boys’ Race
10:40am Division III Boys’ Race
11:10am Division IV Girls’ Race
11:45am Division V Boys’ Race
12:15pm Division I Girls’ Race
12:50pm Division IV Boys’ Race
1:20pm Division V Girls’ Race
1:55pm Division I Boys’ Race

Awards Schedule: (in the gymnasium)
10:30am Girls’ Division II
10:50am Girls’ Division III
11:10am Boys’ Division II
11:30am Boys’ Division III
12:00pm Girls’ Division IV
12:30pm Boys’ Division V
1:00pm Girls’ Division I
1:35pm Boys’ Division IV
2:05pm Girls’ Division V
2:40pm Boys’ Division I

The State CIF/NCS Divisions are as follows:
Division I 2,051 and up
Division II 1,601 - 2,050
Division III 1,151 - 1,600
Division IV 500 - 1,150
Division V 499 or less

NCS Preview:
Thank you very much to all the coaches and athletes who helped me break down each division. The following is my best attempt to predict the top 5 teams as well as the top individuals for each division (boys and girls) in today’s sectional meet. The teams from this meet that will qualify for the State Meet at Woodward Park in Fresno on November 28^th are noted for each division. The top 5 individuals from each race will also qualify to the state meet provided they are in the top 12 when 2 teams qualify, top 14 when 3 teams qualify, top 16 when 4 teams qualify and top 18 when 5 teams qualify.

The top 3 teams in each division will receive medals. Seven (7) medals will be provided per team of seven.

The top 7 individuals in each race will receive medals.

Division I
Girls - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):
1. Castro Valley
2. San Ramon Valley
3. Monte Vista
4. Amador Valley
5. Granada

Boys - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):
1. San Ramon Valley
2. Castro Valley
3. De La Salle
4. Amador Valley
5. Monte Vista

Division II
Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
1. Montgomery
2. Casa Grande
3. College Park
4. Santa Rosa
5. Carondelet

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
1. College Park
2. Santa Rosa
3. Alameda
4. Casa Grande
5. Montgomery

Division III
Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
1. Maria Carrillo
2. Acalanes
3. Campolindo
4. Petaluma
5. Redwood

Boys - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
1. Petaluma
2. Campolindo
3. Maria Carrillo
4. Piner
5. Miramonte

Division IV
Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
1. Sir Francis Drake
2. Dougherty Valley
3. St. Mary’s Berkeley
4. Piedmont
5. Tamalpais

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):
1. San Rafael
2. St. Mary’s Berkeley
3. Tamalpais
4. Piedmont
5. Sir Francis Drake

Division V
Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):
1. University
2. College Prep
3. Lick Wilmerding
4. Marin Academy
5. Sonoma Academy

Boys - (Top 5 teams advance to state meet):
1. Redwood Christian
2. University
3. Urban
4. College Prep
5. Santa Rosa Christian

NCS Rankings #4

Boys (Updated)
1) San Ramon Valley
2) Castro Valley
3) De La Salle
4) Petaluma
5) College Park
6) Las Lomas
7) Amador Valley
8) Campolindo
9) Monte Vista
10) Northgate
10) Alameda

Girls
1) Castro Valley
2) Campolindo
3) Monte Vista
4) Casa Grande
4) San Ramon Valley
6) Acalanes
7) Amador Valley
8) College Park
9) Carondelet
10) Livermore

Boys
1) Erik Olson Novato
2) Hugh Dowdy Petaluma
3) Reesey Byers Santa Rosa
4) Dan Milechman Tamalpais
5) Luis Luna Piner
6) Josh MacDonald Redwood Christian
7) Charlie Perkins Alameda
8) Paul Johnson De La Salle
9) Andrew Zellman Ukiah
10) Ben Eversole Castro Valley

Girls
1) Julie Nacouzi Montgomery
2) Jacque Taylor Casa Grande
3) Colleen Lillig California
4) Alycia Cridebring College Park
5) Kelsey Santisteban Castro Valley
6) Theresa Devine Marin Catholic
7) Lucy McCullough Marin Academy
8) Carrie Verdon Campolindo
9) Grace Orders Campolindo
10) Holland Reynolds University

Comments?

Top 10 Individuuals in NCS (boys and girls) courtesy of Jason Oswalt...

Men

1) Erik Olson Novato

2) Hugh Dowdy Petaluma

3) Reesey Byers Santa Rosa

4) Dan Milechman Tamalpais

5) Luis Luna Piner

6) Josh MacDonald Redwood Christian

7) Ben Eversole Castro Valley

8) Alex Summers Granada

9) Jeff Bickert College Park

10) Danny Thomas Arroyo

Women

1) Julie Nacouzi Montgomery

2) Colleen Lillig California

3) Jacque Taylor Casa Grande

4) Alicia Cridebring College Park

5) Theresa Devine Marin Catholic

6) Lucy McCullough Marin Academy

7) Isabel Andrade Petaluma

8) Emily Sherer Acalanes

9) Carrie Verdon Campolindo

10) Grace Orders Campolindo

Comments? Missing anybody? Who should move up? down? Holland Reynolds of UHS ran 18:12 at the Crystal Springs Invitational yesterday to finish 2nd behind Marissa Ferrante of Aptos. 18:12 on the CS Course converts to approximately 18:34 at Woodward Park. Not sure if that puts her in the top 10 but wanted to get her name out there as well.

Anybody else?

NCS Rankings #3

Here is my best attempt to list the top 5 teams in each division in NCS as well as a wild card team(s). Feel free to chime in your thoughts in the comment section below.

Division I
Boys
1) San Ramon Valley
2) De La Salle
3) Castro Valley
4) Monte Vista
5) Amador Valley
Wild Card-Livermore

Girls
1) Castro Valley
2) Monte Vista
3) Amador Valley
4) San Ramon Valley
5) Livermore
Wild Card-Mission San Jose/Granada

Division II Boys
1) College Park
2) Alameda
3) Santa Rosa
4) Casa Grande
5) Montgomery
Wild Card-Arroyo

Girls
1) Casa Grande
2) College Park
3) Carondelet
4) Montgomery
5) Alameda
Wild Card-Clayton Valley/Santa Rosa

Division III Boys (UPDATED)
1) Las Lomas
2) Campolindo
3) Petaluma
4) Eureka
5) Maria Carrillo
Wild Card-Acalanes/Piner

Girls (UPDATED)
1) Campolindo
2) Acalanes
3) Maria Carrillo
4) Petaluma
5) Miramonte
Wild Card-Las Lomas/Redwood

Division IV Boys
1) St. Mary's Berkeley
2) San Rafael
3) Tamalpais
4) Piedmont
5) Sir Francis Drake
Wild Card-Cardinal Newman

Girls
1) Piedmont
2) Sir Francis Drake
3) Dougherty Valley
4) Tamalpais
5) Moreau Catholic
Wild Card-St. Mary's Berkeley

Division V Boys (UPDATED)
1) Redwood Christian
2) University
3) College Prep
4) Urban
5) Marin Academy
Wild Card-Stuart Hall/Santa Rosa Christian

Girls (UPDATED)
1) College Prep
2) University
3) Marin Academy
4) Lick Wilmerding
5) Urban
Wild Card-Sonoma Academy/Santa Rosa Christian

FIRE AWAY! Your thoughts are encouraged.

Northern California Rankings...

will be posted after the Stanford Invitational this weekend (Teams and Individuals).

Just added online are the entries for this Saturday's race:
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/c-xc/auto_pdf/rgdfsgh4e45jhjh.pdf

For the first edition of the NorCal Rankings go to the following link:
http://albertcaruana.blogspot.com/search/label/Norcal%20Rankings%20%2709

Updated CCS Rankings, posted on Tuesday, September 22nd:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2009/rankings.htm

NCS Rankings posted on Thursday, September 17th:
http://albertcaruana.blogspot.com/search/label/NCS%20Rankings%20%2709

SJS Rankings (will add to this list when I get a moment)

Top 5 Boys' Teams
Oak Ridge
Davis
Jesuit
Del Campo
El Camino.

Top 5 Girls' Teams
Oak Ridge,
Davis,
Woodcreek,
Vista de Lago,
Granite Bay

Boys
Amjed Aboukhadijeh (OR)
Chris Kigar(EC)
Corey Coates(Davis)
Nathan Williams(OR)
Adam Kelley-Strong(Jesuit)
Benji Xie(OR)
Roberto Rosas(Grace Davis)
Kurt Ruegg(Napa)
Trevor Halstead(Davis)
T.J. Brown Pinzotto(Jesuit)
On the border: Matt Airola(Bret Harte), Josh Mercado(Del Campo).

Girls
Brooke Holt (Granite Bay)
Hayley Scott (OR)
Jackie Mansoor(OR)
Christine Zavensky(Granite Bay)
Sam Ralstin (OR)
Christine Bowlus(Davis)
Hilary Teaford(Davis)
Courtney Crosta(WC)
Stephanie Romo(WC)
Sam Walling (Galt)

To check out your time from Stanford Invitational 08, go to this link:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2008/stan_res.htm

Stanford Invitational Map:


What teams and/or individuals will be making a major statement this Saturday? Who has been flying under the radar?

NCS Team Rankings #2

Thank you to all the coaches that contributed to the following rankings. Please chime away on teams you feel did not make the list or which teams below should be ranked higher or lower.

Boys
1) San Ramon Valley Division I
2) De La Salle Division I
3) College Park Division II
4) Las Lomas Division III
5) Petaluma Division III
6) Castro Valley Division I
7) Livermore Division I
8) Monte Vista Division I
9) Acalanes Division III
10) Maria Carrillo Division III/Campolindo Division III

Girls
1) Castro Valley Division I
2) Monte Vista Division I
3) Casa Grande Division II
4) Acalanes Division III
5) Campolindo Division III
6) Maria Carrillo Division III
7) College Park Division II
8) Petaluma Division III
9) Montgomery Division II
10) Amador Valley Division I

Comments below will be appreciated. Please identify yourself.

NCS Individual Rankings 1st Edition

Boys
1) Erik Olson Novato Division III
2) Hugh Dowdy Petaluma Division III
3) Reesey Byers Santa Rosa Division II
4) Dan Milechman Tamalpais Division IV
5) Josh McDonald Redwood Christian Division V
6) Danny Thomas Arroyo Division II
7) Jeff Bickert College Park Division II
8) Alex Summers Granada Division I
9) Will Melton Northgate Division III
10) Luis Luna Piner Division III

Girls
1) Jacque Taylor Casa Grande Division II
2) Colleen Lillig California Division I
3) Julie Nacouzi Montgomery Division II
4) Isabel Andrade Petaluma Division III
5) Theresa Devine Marin Catholic Division IV
6) Lucy McCullough Marin Academy Division V
7) Hearther Cerney Carondelet Division II
8) Alycia Cridebring College Park Division II
9) Carrie Verdon Campolindo Division III
10) Elaine McVay California Division I

Who is missing from the above list? I am not so concerned about placing at this point of the season. Just want to make sure the 10 athletes that belong on each list are there.

Team rankings to follow.

2009 NCS Division IV Pre-Season Rankings...

You might think I saved the best division for last but the truth of the matter is that this is always the most difficult division for me to rank. While Division IV in NCS may not be the toughest division, the teams and individuals in this division have certainly fared well at the state meet. In the past two years, St. Mary's Berkeley has collected 3 state meet plaques (2 for the girls and 1 for the boys). The Piedmont boys won the state championship in 2005 before the onslaught of Big Bear victories the next 3 years. This year, the NCS also returns 3 runners who finished in the top 10 in their respective races at the state meet (Dan Milechman of Tamalpais, Dan Maxwell of St. Mary's and Theresa Devine of Marin Catholic).

What makes this division tough to predict is the fluctuation of teams that move from either Division III or V. Some of the teams also have small rosters which make for some great teams one year and not so competitive teams the next. The other part that makes it difficult is that some of the teams compete in leagues whose results you rarely see. That is hopefully not the case anymore. At this point, I can only take history into account as well as the results from last year's meets to give you an idea of the contenders for this coming season.

So what that in mind, here are my predictions for this coming season. The favorite to win the boys' team title has to be St. Mary's Berkeley. They return one of the fastest runners in the state, Dan Maxwell, and 5 out of their top 7 from last year's NCS race. In the past three years, they have won NCS twice ('06 and '07) and finished 2nd last year by 1 point to Tamalpais HS. I am pretty sure they will be plenty motivated this year to reclaim the NCS crown.

That was the easy part. Now comes the guessing part. Last year's champions, Tamalpais, returns the best runner in this division, Dan Milechman, but most of last year's team is off to college. The 3rd place team, San Rafael HS, just missed the NCS title by 5 pts. (68 to 73). They return their top 2 runners, juniors to be Trevor Ehlenbach and Cameron Bronstein but lose graduated senior Brian Hernandez and their best freshman from last year, Tyler Browne, as he is transfering to Redwood HS. 4th place team, Justin Siena, loses their excellent seniors (Kevin Cardey, John Masyczek, Dan DeBleuw and Michael Bozzini) who excelled at both xc and track and field. 5th placer, Piedmont, has veteran coach Doyle O'Regan who keeps churning out good teams in this division. The wild card could be Sir Francis Drake which drops down from Division III and they had a solid group of underclassmen this year that could make an impact.

The favorite to win the individual crown is junior Dan Milechman of Tamalpais. He ran 16:20 as a 9th grader to finish 21st in the always tough Division III race. Last year, despite playing golf during the '08 spring, Milechman had a breakthrough season as he won the NCS title and then went on to finish 3rd. at the state meet. This past spring, Milechman put the golf bag away, ran track and qualified for the state meet in the 1600m. (4:20.36). His road to retaining his title will not be easy as Dan Maxwell of St. Mary's finished 2nd in the NCS race last year after leading most of the first 2 miles. Maxwell also ran well at the state meet, finishing 5th in 15:45, just 8 seconds behind Milechman. He continued his fine running this past track season finishing 8th in the ultra competitive NCS MOC final in the 3200m. running 9:27.13.

The favorite on the girls side is no stranger to success in this division. The Piedmont girls have finished in the top 4 every year since 2001 including titles in '01, '03 and '06. They return their top 5 runners and 6 out of their top 7 from last year's 2nd place team. They have two top 10 finishers from last year (Nicole Peterson and Jamie Kent) that will definitely put them in the hunt. Their main competition will be the two time defending champions, St. Mary's Berkeley, who also finished second at the state meet the past two years. They return two of the best runners in this division in Taylor Lawson and Alex Choy but will need to fill the holes left by their talented departing seniors.

The rest of the contending teams will include Moreau Catholic which returns it's top 3 runners, including number one runner Anika Adeni (4th placer last year at NCS MOC in 18:55). Tamalpais has a nice group of sophomores as well as their #2 runner from last season, state meet qualifier Monica Milstein. Sir Francis Drake will be a factor on the girls side as well as they returns their top 7 runners and veteran coach Bill Taylor is no stranger to success.

The favorite to win the girls' title will be Marin Catholic's Theresa Devine. She is the defending champion here as she won last year in 18:14. She finished 5th at last year's state meet in a very competitive race as the 2nd through 6th place runners were seperated by 5 seconds. Devine also ran track for the first time last year putting the soccer ball aside to focus on her running. Her competition will come from the two St. Mary's runners, Taylor Lawson and Alex Choy, Anika Adeni of Moreau Catholic, Nochelle Ozard of Fortuna as well as the two Piedmont runners, Nicole Peterson and Jamie Kent.

Division IV Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) St. Mary's Berkeley-Looking for 3rd title in last 4 years.
2) Piedmont-5 out of top 7 back including top 2.
3) San Rafael-Finished here last year.
4) Tamalpais-Defending champions need young runners to step up.
5) Sir Francis Drake-Bill Taylor's 27th year at the helm of the boys.
On the bubble: Arcata, El Molino, Moreau Catholic

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Dan Milechman (1) Tamalpais 15:18
Dan Maxwell (2) St. Mary's Berkeley 15:55
Trevor Ehlenbach (5) San Rafael 16:14
John Whitman (6) El Molino 16:14
Brian King (8) Cardinal Newman 16:22

Division IV Girls (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) Piedmont-6 out of 7 are back after 2nd place finish last year.
2) St. Mary's Berkeley-Two time defending champions.
3) Moreau Catholic-MC in first year of post Phil Wilder era.
4) Tamalpais-Milstein will lead the way.
5) Sir Francis Drake-Sleeper that could challenge state meet contenders.
One the bubble: Arcata, Terra Linda

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Theresa Devine (1) Marin Catholic 18:14
Taylor Lawson (2) St. Mary's Berkeley 18:51
Anika Adeni (4) Moreau Catholic 18:55
Alex Choy (6) St. Mary's Berkeley 19:10
Nochella Ozard (8) Fortuna 19:21

Let me know your thoughts. Did I miss anybody? Who is looking good this summer? Any freshmen that will have an impact in this division? Norcal rankings will be up next.

2009 NCS Division II Cross Country Pre-Season Rankings...

In an attempt to balance the numbers in each division, the amount of teams in NCS for the '09 season breaks down like this:
Division I-20 teams
Division II-21 teams
Division III-25 teams
Division IV-29 teams
Division V-45 teams

Disregarding the numbers in Division V (many of those teams don't even field cross country teams), the breakdown of the five divisions seems fairly even. However, upon closer inspection, the truth is that some of the divisions are fairly competitive (see Division I and III) and other divisions like Division II seem a bit watered following the changes made from last season.

Looking at the boys' results from the '08 season, the defending champions (De La Salle), 2nd place finishers (Washington), 5th place finishers (Livermore) and 13th place finishers (Irvington) are all in Division I now. Moving down to Division II, by the slightest of margins, will be the defending Division I champions, the College Park Falcons. What is "slightest of margins" you may ask? One more student at College Park would have put them in Division I. Whether those numbers would be the same if the state used the same numbers for every section is another subject for another day but for now, here are my predictions for this coming season in Division II.

With such a depleted division, the favorite, by default, will be College Park. Their record speaks for itself with 5 NCS titles in the past 8 years. 4 of those titles have come in Division I ('08, '06, '02 and '01) while their 5th came in Division II ('03). Last year's title was a surprise as they upset pre-meet favorite Amador Valley 58 to 62. Their lead runner, sophomore Jeff Bickert, led the purple haired parade of Falcons with his 2nd place finish behind NCS champion Mike Roderick of Monte Vista. Besides Bickert, CP returns their 4th and 5th men from last season, Kevin Strongman and Will Holland. With the usual depth CP sports each season, there is no question that the rest of team will be filled capably by younger runners.

The best teams returning in this division will be led off by Alameda. They return their top three runners, #1 (Charles Perkins), #2 (Liam Davis) and #3 (Zachary Perkins). 3 solid runners who will be in the low 16s with Perkins already dipping under the 16:00 minute mark last year (15:59).

Next in line are rival schools, Santa Rosa and Montgomery. Santa Rosa seems to have the edge at this point with their talented #1 man, Reesey Byers. He finished in 7th place last year in the NCS Division II race running 15:44 on the Hayward course.

The individual favorite based on what he did during track season has to be Byers of Santa Rosa. Reesey had a nice cross country season with his high finish in the section meet and a 16:18 clocking at the state meet. Nice accomplishments but what separated Byers from the rest of the pack were his times at the NCS meet of champions and the state meet on the track. He finished 4th at the NCS MOC running 9:14.15 and then followed that up with a 9:06.93 effort a week later in the deepest 3200m. race in state history. Two guys that will figure quite prominently in the individual battle will be senior Danny Thomas of Arroyo who is actually the fastest returning in this division with a 15:34 on the Hayward course (4th place finisher) and a 15:42 at the Woodward Park course. The 2nd runner will be College Park's Jeff Bickert who was quite impressive last year as a sophomore finishing in 2nd in the Division I race (15:27).

The favorites for the girls' team title will be the Casa Grande. They have finished in 3rd place the last two years, qualifying for the state meet both seasons. CS continued to run well on the track this past season where won the Distance Medley Relay (12:16.71) and finished 2nd in the 4x800m. (9:35.25) at the Stanford Invitational proving they are more than just Jacque Taylor.


After Casa Grande, comes the teams with the history of success but with question marks as we head into the '09 season. Just like their boys, the College Park girls have collected their fair share of NCS titles with 6 victories since 1999 (Division I in '99, '05 and '06 and Division II in '02, '03 and '04). They have veteran runner, Alycia Cridebring leading the way but will need their 5, 6 and 7th runners (Kazune Shidara, Kelsey Gallagher and Marina Ota) to step up to compete for a top 3 team finish.

Carondelet has had a nice run of top 3 finishes in the section meet that included 2 NCS titles in '06 and '07 (state champs in '06). They have proven to be a deep team that has withstood several setbacks but we'll have to see about this season. Heather Cerney is certainly one of the toughest and fastest runners in the section so she is definitely a good starting point. A return of a healthy Nicole Hood would greatly aid Carondelet's chances of competing in this division.

The individual favorite will be Jacque Taylor who seems to have been running for more than four years but yes, this will be her senior season. She has finished no worse than 2nd place as an individual with a victory her 9th grade year, 2nd place as a sophomore and another victory last year. Last year's 2nd place finisher, Heather Cerney, was one of the most improved runners in NCS and will be back to keep Taylor honest. Cridebring is another strong runner with 2 sub 18:00 minute clockings on the Hayward course.

Division II Boys (Top 3 teams advance to state)
1) College Park-Another NCS title for the Falcons?
2) Alameda-Need to find added depth to returning top 3.
3) Santa Rosa-Reesey Byers leads way here.
4) Arroyo-Have the runners to challenge state qualifying teams.
5) Montgomery-5 return for consistently strong program.
On the bubble: Casa Grande

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Danny Thomas (4) Arroyo 15:34
Reesey Byers (7) Santa Rosa 15:44
Andrew Zellman (8) Ukiah 15:45
Aria Kiani (9) Montgomery 15:45
Charles Perkins (13) Alameda 15:59
From Division I-Jeff Bickert (2) 15:27

Division II Girls (Top 3 teams advance to state)
1) Casa Grande-Is this the year for their first NCS XC title?
2) College Park-Cridebring gives them chance to compete with anybody.
3) Carondelet-Consistent top program in this division.
4) Montgomery-Nacouzi gives them a strong #1.
5) Santa Rosa-Will battle Santa Rosa once again in this division.
On the bubble: Alameda

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Jacque Taylor (1) Casa Grande 17:17
Heather Cerney (2) Carondelet 17:30
Julie Nacouzi (4) Montgomery 18:10
Suzi Rozga (9) Santa Rosa 18:31
Amber Piersol (11) Windsor 18:42
From Division I-Alycia Cridebring (2) 17:56

Feel free to comment on the above rankings. This division looks like it has some very good individuals who need some help from their teammates to advance to the state meet as part of a team. Did I miss anybody? Any surprises? Freshmen studs and studettes?

NCS Division I Individual Rankings by Amador Valley Assistant coach Jason Owalt

Boys Division 1

1. Ben Eversole (Castro Valley)-Finished fourth at NCS last year as a sophomore and followed that up with a track season where he ran 4:20.45 and 9:32.18. Moreover, he has a strong finishing kick and he doesn’t give up. This means it will be hard for anyone to separate from him during the race and even harder to pull away at the end. Eversole did not have a great state meet last year and just missed out on the state meet in track. He has also been described to me by an unnamed former Castro Valley coach, who now coaches at Northgate, as a bit cocky. When you take a cocky athlete with the physical tools that Eversole has, and two disappointing postseason meets and mix it all together, you’re likely going to end up with a motivated athlete who could very well make the jump from good to great.
   

2. Alex Summers (Granada)-He has been unpredictable at times during his career, but one meet you can always pencil him in for a strong performance is at NCS (Cross Country or Track). Here is a listing of Alex’s NCS placings since his sophomore year. 2007 Cross Country: 15:43 for 8th. 2008 MOC’s 3200: 9:30.65. 2008 Cross Country: 15:41 for 3rd. 2009 MOC’s: 9:28.28. Each of those races was a pr for Alex at the time and given the health problems that Alex had late last track season, his 9:28 at MOC becomes all the more impressive.

3. Ben Rich (Washington)-The MVAL champion ran 15:48 at NCS and neither one of those feats is his top highlight. Rich put an exclamation on his cross season last year by running 15:55 at Woodward Park. Rich continued his success into track season by winning both the 1600 and 3200 and finishing 2nd in the 800 at the MVAL finals. He also ran a pr of 9:33.96 in the 3200 and was on a very good DMR team for Washington that ran 10:35.72 at Arcadia.

4. Paul Johnson (DeLaSalle)-Was a top 5 scorer last year for De La Salle and had a very strong finish to the track season, dropping his pr from about 9:50, into the mid 9:40’s to 9:35.30 during the postseason. If he can gain strength over the summer and peak as effectively in the fall as he did in the spring, the Spartan leader will have a shot at the individual title. De La Salle on the whole generally runs pretty well at NCS, so it is fair to expect Johnson to be at his best on November 21st.

5. Parker Deuel (San Ramon Valley)-There are safer choices here (like Smiley of Monte Vista and Ashby of Castro Valley), but I would not be surprised if Deuel actually finished higher than fifth in this race. He had a very special freshman year that went largely unnoticed because he was often hiding in the frosh/soph division. He boasted times of 2:02.38, 4:34.18, and 10:06.67. He won all three of those events at the EBAL frosh/soph race and also ran away with the EBAL frosh/soph race in cross country. He would have easily been a top 7 runner for the Wolves on last year’s team had they decided to race him varsity and his times suggest we would have seen him at NCS Tri-Valley if he had raced varsity at the EBAL track meet. Watch out for Parker Deuel.

Girls Division 1

1. Colleen Lillig (Cal High)-Colleen is the defending champ in this division and her track season did nothing to diminish her stock. This year she cracked 5:00 in the 1600 at Sac MOC and dropped a huge 10:32.30 in the 3200. She was 17th at State last year in Division I and if it wasn’t for an early fall, very well might have been top 10. This girl has improved throughout her high school career and now has a talented team to back her up. As long as Colleen stays off her snowboard this summer, I’m not sure if anything can get in her way.

2. Kelsey Santisteban (Castro Valley)-If anyone can get in Lillig’s way, it will be Kelsey Santisteban. She has been the leader of Castro Valley’s monster girl’s team since she arrived. She looked tired at the end of track season last year, but was sharp at the beginning, only running slightly behind Diana George at the Dublin Distance Fiesta 3200. If Santisteban can race like that at the end of this cross country season, then she can run with anyone in the state.

3. Natalie Dimits (Livermore)-Had a solid freshman cross country season last year. Well, actually she had a very good cross country season last year. She outdid herself at the end of her track season though. She ran 11:17.70 and has 5:09.25 mile speed to go with it. Assuming she is training for cross country this summer, and her pole vaulting result from the Dublin all-comer meets do not signal a full-time change in events (pretty sure she’ll still be running xc this year) she is ready for a big jump this cross country season.

4. Nicole Aha (Monte Vista)-This senior leader of the Monte Vista Mustangs also recorded some impressive times on the track this year. With similar credentials to Dimits, she ran the 1600 in 5:15.92 and the 3200 in 11:12.04. These numbers suggest that even before the season begins, she is ready to run much faster than the 18:57 she posted at Hayward last year. Aha is a team player and her struggles at the end of the season may have been due to many doubles and triples in the tough EBAL including meets where she ran the 300 hurdles (pretty well I might add) and then the 3200 just two events later. During cross country, she will be able to concentrate on one race, which should help her save some energy down the stretch of the season.

5t) Elaine McVay (California)-I couldn’t decide between McVay and Martines for the #5 position, so I took the easy way out and made it a tie. I deserve criticism for that, so do your worst. McVay boasts the far superior track times and comparable, yet slightly slower cross country prs. My concern with Elaine is that her racing style can sometimes backfire on her. She tends to go out very hard and when that works, she runs really well. I have also seen her get into the hurt box early in races and if that happens on the wrong day it could be a disappointing day. She will be racing strong enough competition on November 21st where that is a possibility. If McVay can sure up her tactics, she may finish higher than #5, if not, it could go south (although she’s too good to go that far south).

5t) Marissa Martines (Castro Valley)-Martines was largely absent (at least from what I could find) during track season, but was the #2 runner on the Trojan cross country team. She has run 18:44 on the Hayward course. That is the fourth best returning time in the division (behind Lillig, Santisteban, and Jennifer Goldstein of Foothill, who underwent surgery following cross country season and has not raced since). Last year she beat Aha and McVay and had a faster time than Dimits, who is moving up from Division 2.

Feel free to comment on the above rankings in the comment section below. Anybody missing? Star freshmen we should know about?

NCS Division II team and individual rankings will be up next. Stay tuned.

Thanks again to Jason for his time on the above rankings.

2009 NCS Division III Pre-Season Rankings

Before I start with the NCS Division III pre-season rankings, I would like to thank all the coaches and athletes out there who are so forthright with pertinent information for this coming season.

Here is a link to all the NCS divisions for 2009:
http://cifncs.org/sports/cross_country/files/09CCdiv9-12.pdf

The 2008 season was a banner year for this division as the top two boys teams (Campolindo and Petaluma) waged an exciting battle throughout the season that ended with both teams on the podium stand at the state meet. Campolindo finished in 2nd place behind the Barstow juggernaut scoring 101 points trailed closely by Petaluma in 3rd place with 109 points. The week before, Campo narrowly edged Petaluma by 5 points (37 to 42) to win the '08 NCS Division III title in the fastest team time (1:17:55) in NCS history. There is no question that both teams drove each other to new heights as Petaluma ran the 2nd fastest team time ever on the Hayward course with a 1:18:02.

This year's prognostications will be a bit more difficult as most of the top teams lose a lot of their main players due to graduation and other reasons. With that in mind, the team that appears to be returning the most firepower has to be Las Lomas. While they do lose their #1 from last year (Michael Jamieson), LL returns their #2 (Carl Gracely), #3 (Michael Gemar), #4 (KC Green) and #6 (Neal Williams). LL has also improved or maintained their place in NCS the past 4 years with the following finishes: 2005 in Division II-6th place, 2006 in Division III, 4th place, 2007 in Division III-3rd place and 2008 in Division III-3rd place. Where will they finish in 2009?

Behind Las Lomas, the next team appears to be Petaluma which returns one of the fastest runners in the section. That would be Hugh Dowdy who finished 5th at the NCS meet and alternated as the 2nd/3rd man on the team throughout the year. They also will have an improved Forrest Shaffer who was their 5th runner last year in their epic duel with Campo at the NCS MOC. Another runner to watch for Petaluma this coming season is freshman Kevin Poteracke who's already made a name for himself as a member of the Santa Rosa Express Club.

The next group of teams all have some solid runners returning and questions marks. Acalanes
graduated two key runners but returns #1 runner Toshi Kellogg, Brett Cantrell and two 9th graders who gained valuable experience last year, Tyler Sorensen and Tyler Troxel. Trivia question time. W other track event does Tyler Sorensen compete in nationally?

Campolindo, the two-time defending champions, return one experienced runner from last year's NCS team, Paul Jackson (16:04). Douglas Chudler who ran 9:54.9 on the track seems to be the leader of this year's team based on what he did on the track. They have a solid group of young runners ready to step in but how quicly they gel as a state contending team will be determined during the summer and season.

The wildcard team, as in past seasons, will be Eureka. It's tough to find any information on this team except for the few times that they travel to some of the bigger invitationals like Stanford. Looking at the results from last year's NCS meet, Eureka will have their top 5 runners returning who all run under 17:10. Based on what they have done in the past (including a state championship in 1999), Eureka should not be overlooked.

Another team to watch during the season will be Miramonte, which will be led by Peter Buscheck who ran 16:02 at Hayward last year and ran 9:42 on the track. They will also have freshman find Jamie Fehrnstrom, 800m. state meet qualifier Nick Vedovi (1:55.77) and football player turned cross country runner, Christian Britto. While they proved themselves on the track last season, it remains to be seen if they can translate that to the xc course.

The road to the individual title will go through Novato as Erik Olson is the overwhelming favorite to win his first NCS title. Erik finished 33rd as a 9th grader, 5th as a 10th grader and 3rd as an 11th grader. Based on the fact that he is the fastest returner, Erik would have been the favorite this year but what really elevated his status was his track and field season when he made running sub 9 minute 3200m. a common occurance. His closest pursuer and the only other runner that finished in the top 10 last year will be Hugh Dowdy of Petulama (4:29.09 and 9:40.39).

The early favorite to win the girls' team race will be Campolindo HS. While they lose a key contributor in Lisa Rosenthal, Campo returns everybody else. Carrie Verdon finished an impressive 3rd last year as a 9th grader and followed that up with sub 5:10 and 11:10 (5:09.4/ 11:01.7) clockings on the track. Not far behind her will be junior Grace Orders who was right with her on the track with 5:10.5 and 11:03.4. They will be backed by solid Sara Mostatabi (5:23.2/11:27.4) who finished in 13th place at last year's NCS meet.

Ranking girls teams in the summer is a shaky proposition as freshmen girls can contribute to teams right away. I am aware of a couple of freshman girls that will help some teams, but for the most part, I will learn about the impact runners along with everybody else, after the first few races.

The next team appears to be Bishop O'Dowd who will lose stud Damajeria Dubose but return runners 2 through 6. They have a long history of success whether they have been in Division III or IV so for now I will post them in the 2nd slot. The next two teams, Las Lomas and Redwood, return the whole arsenal of weapons as runners 1 through 7 are all back. Interestingly enough, Redwood had all seven runners return for the 2007 season and 6 for the 2008 season. Las Lomas qualified for the state meet last year so they have to be considered as well.

Now comes the wild card teams who could finish anywhere from 2nd to 8th place. That list includes the defending champions, Maria Carrillo, who lose the majority of their NCS championship and 3rd place state meet podium team but return their top two runners, the Curtin twins (Lauren and Cara). Petaluma also returns their top two runners, Isabel Andrade and Francesca Honey who both finished in the top 5 with Andrade winning and Honey in 5th. The last of the wild card teams might be a surprise to most as Acalanes didn't even field one competitor at last year's NCS meet. However, they return Emily Shearer and Katie Berge and appear to be adding a couple of talented freshmen.

As is usually the case, the favorite to win the individual title will be the returning champion, Andrade of Petaluma. She has proven to be an incredibly tough racer who has had success in cross country and track and field. This past season in track, Andrade qualified for the California state meet by finishing 5th in the 1600 but with a time (4:56.29) that made the at large mark. Her competition will be an array of returners from last year's race that includes Carrie Verdon and Grace Orders of Campolindo, Lauren and Cara Curtin of Maria Carrillo and Francesca Honey of Petaluma.

Division III Boys (Top 4 Advance to state)
1) Las Lomas-Lose leader but return everybody else.
2) Petaluma-How quickly can they reload post Lockert era?
3) Campolindo-Douglas Chudler will lead the way.
4) Acalanes-Have the ability to break into top 3.
5) Eureka-Mystery team from up north.
On the bubble: Miramonte, Albany, Northgate

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Erik Olson (3) Novato 15:12
Hugh Dowdy (5) Petaluma 15:34
Toshi Kellogg (12) Acalanes 15:49
Carl Gracely (13) Las Lomas 15:52
Michael Gemar (15) Las Lomas 15:53

Division III Girls (Top 4 Advance to state)
1) Campolindo-Great group up front but need to add depth.
2) Bishop O’Dowd-History of success when it counts.
3) Acalanes-Freshman help is on the way.
4) Las Lomas-Veteran group looking to improve from last year's finish.
5) Redwood-Looking to qualify to 4th straight state meet.
One the bubble: Maria Carrillo, Petaluma, Miramonte

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Isabel Andrade (1) Petaluma 17:47
Carrie Verdon (3) Campolindo 18:03
Lauren Curtin (4) Maria Carrillo 18:14
Francesca Honey (5) Petaluma 18:22
Cara Curtin (6) Maria Carrillo 18:39

Please feel free to comment on above rankings. Any additions or corrections are welcome.

2009 NCS Division III Pre-Season Rankings will be posted shortly...

Article and predictions are almost complete. Look for them in the AM.

Anybody want to throw a few predictions out there in this division? Who are the top teams? Individuals? Any impact freshmen? Surprises? Who is putting in the mileage in the summer and looking sharp?

2009 NCS Division V Pre-Season Rankings

I can speak from experience about the strength of Division V in the North Coast Section (NCS). There is no question that the best two sections in the state when it comes to the smallest division are the Southern Section (duh!) and NCS. The SS gets the usual (for them) 7 boys' qualifying teams to the state meet but the NCS is not that far behind with their 5 entries. Last year at the state meet, 22 complete teams scored at the state meet. NCS finished with 4 teams in the top 10 (SF University in 3rd, Redwood Christian in 5th, College Prep in 8th and Head Royce in 10th). Berean Christian, the 5th NCS team, didn't finish in the top 10 but still came in at a not too shabby 12th place.

The clear favorite to win this year's boy's team title will be Redwood Christian. After an impressive 5th place finish at last year's state meet (in their first season in NCS), RC returns all but one runner from last year's top 7. Their top runner, Josh MacDonald, returns as the 2nd fastest returner in this division at both the section and state levels. More on him later. They also return Alex Mattson and Wayne Smith who both broke 17 minutes on the state meet course. With a solid 4th and 5th runners, RC could contend for a state meet plaque this year.

Picking Redwood Christian to win was easy. Now comes the hard part of trying to select the order of the teams that will finish behind them. The two teams that finished 1st and 2nd last year at the NCS MOC, SF University and Berean Christian, were both devastated by graduation, losing the majority of their teams. Given that University has won 10 NCS titles in the last 12 years, there is a pretty good chance that they will be competitive again, sooner rather than later.

The next teams in line will be two more BCL East competitors, College Preparatory and Head Royce. CPS will be led once again by longtime successful coach, Jack Coakley. Despite losing key members from their top 5 (including #1 runner Charlie Sauter), CPS should be competitive again as they always seem to reload following key losses. Head Royce returns the nice one/two punch of seniors Mercer Cook and Walker Holden but will need to find a couple of runners to fill out a solid five.

The team that could make waves this year in this division will be Stuart Hall as they return their entire top 7 from last year. This should be the first time they qualify to the state meet as a team from this division. How competitive they will be in this division will be determined by October as they will have faced many of their rivals at the Stanford Invititational and the BCL Challenge.

The individual favorite as just as clear as the team favorite, as mentioned above, and that will be Josh MacDonald (4:24.65 and 9:37.55) of Redwood Christian. He will have the rare opportunity to win an individual section title in two different sections. MacDonald won the Central Coast Section (CCS) title as a sophomore during RC's final season in that section. The runners that will have the best opportunity to finish in the top 5 will be Mercer Cook of Head Royce (fastest returner), Ned Tannenbaum of SF University, Alex Mattson of RC, Jordan Lee of Chinese Christian, Wayne Smith of Redwood Christian, Walker Holden of Head Royce and Jacob Roth of Berean Christian.

Unlike the boys, the girls' team race will be quite competitive. As is usually the case with girls' teams, many schools return the majority of their rosters mostly intact. You would think that the favorite at this point has to be the defending champions, Marin Academy, which also has the defending individual champion, Lucy McCullough. They won their first section title in cross country last year as well as their first state meet plaque with their 3rd place finish. Including McCullough, MA returns 6 out of their top 7 from last year.

Considering all that, my favorite for this coming season will be University HS. University is no stranger to success here as they won 10 straight section titles from 1995 to 2004 and have participated in every Division V race at the state meet since it's inception in 1996. They finished in 3rd place at the NCS meet last year and a more impressive 4th place finish at the state meet.
They return their top five which includes sophomore Holland Reynolds who finished in 8th place at last year's state meet. UHS also had an outstanding track season as the majority of their cross country runners shined at the end of the season such as the following results from the NCS Class A Meet. They are also adding an impressive freshman in Jennie Callan who won the BAIAL cross country final last year by a considerable margin on the modified Crystal Springs course.

College Prep returns one of the best runners in the section, sophomore Kai Wilson, along with the rest of the top 4 runners from last season (Emily Erickson, Adrienne Strait and Sarah Eppley). Wilson finished in 2nd place last year on the Hayward course just edging out University's Reynolds at the finish line. Along with their 2nd place NCS finish last year, CPS won the Track and Field Class A Meet to end this past school year and were the 2007 NCS Cross Country champions.

The battle for the final state meet berth will pit East vs. West as BCL East school (Head Royce) takes on BCL West school (Lick Wilmerding). A nice influx of freshmen aided both teams last year with LW claiming the 4th and final state spot. Head Royce missed making the state meet with their 6th place finish but their front runner, Savannah Ryder, qualified as an individual. Perhaps her experience in Fresno can inspire the rest of the Jayhawks to join her again this coming season.

Individually, there is one clear favorite and that is McCullough of MA. As impressive as her cross country season was last year, McCullough took it to a new level on the track. She qualified for the CA state meet running 4:54.82 at the NCS MOC in the 1600m and had a pr of 2:18.90 in the 800m. She will not only be the favorite to win NCS this year but I believe she will now have a realistic shot to win the state title as a certain Jordan Hasay will be wearing Oregon green (or is it black now?) next year.

Besides Wilson of CPS (26.30, 58.05, and 2:25.18) and Reynolds of UHS (5:25.04 and 11:53.18), the other contenders for top 5 finishes will be Jessica Ho of Chinese Christian, Emily Lewis of MA, Emily Erickson of CPS and a now healthy Margaret Wehner of UHS. The next group includes a trio of freshman who all finished in the top 15 at the NCS MOC and those runners are Savannah Ryder of Head Royce and Lick Wilmerding teammates, Sara Peletz and Rachel Prensky-Pomeranz. The unknown in the individual race will be the freshman (like Jennie Callan) who always make an impact but those will be determined later.

Besides Wilson of CPS and Reynolds of UHS, the other contenders for top 5 finishes will be Jessica Ho of Chinese Christian, Emily Lewis of MA, Emily Erickson of CPS and a now healthy Margaret Wehner of UHS. The next group includes a trio of freshman who all finished in the top 15 at the NCS MOC and those runners are Savannah Ryder of Head Royce and Lick Wilmerding teammates, Sara Peletz and Rachel Prensky-Pomeranz. The unknown in the individual race will be the freshmen (like Jennie Callan) who always make an impact but those will be determined later.

2008 NCS Meet of Champions (XC) Division V Results Girls
2008 NCS Meet of Champions (XC) Division V Results Boys

Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to state)
1) Redwood Christian-Can they contend for a state meet plaque?
2) University-Have a strong number one runner in Tannenbaum.
3) Head Royce-Strong one/two punch up front.
4) College Prep-A consistent contender in this division.
5) Stuart Hall-Poised to make 1st state meet in school history.
On the bubble: Marin Academy, Lick Wilmerding, Chinese Christian, St. Joseph Notre Dame, Urban

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2008 NCS meet time:
Josh MacDonald (2) Redwood Christian 15:52
Mercer Cook (10) Head Royce 16:26
Ned Tannenbaum (11) University HS 16:29
Alex Mattson (12) Redwood Christian 16:33
Jordan Lee (13) Chinese Christian 16:34

Division V Girls (Top 4 Advance to state)
1) University-In position to reclaim the NCS crown.
2) Marin Academy-Defending NCS champions.
3) College Prep-Can they put five together to challenge top two teams?
4) Lick Wilmerding-Good group returns from last year.
5) Head Royce-Return top 6 with possible help coming from their MS.
On the bubble: Urban, Santa Rosa Christian

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) & 2006 NCS meet time:
Lucy McCullough (1) Marin Academy 18:35
Kai Wilson (2) College Prep 19:05
Holland Reynolds (3) University 19:05
Jessica Ho (4) Chinese Christian 19:30
Emily Lewis (5) Marin Academy 19:45

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. Did I miss any teams or individuals? Any other impact freshmen that we should know about?