North Coast Section MOC Meet

Results can be found here:
http://www.rtspt.com/events/cif/2017Meets/ncsxc/

As a reminder, my preview/predictions can be found below. Feel free to comment on those and what actually transpired today.
http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/227426-2017-north-coast-section-moc-xc-meet-preview

Also, feel free to comment below on what took place today. Most dominant individuals and teams? Biggest surprises? Individuals and teams that will make the biggest impact at next week's state meet. Comments always welcome.

I will post some data from today's meet sometime tomorrow including the all-NCS teams.

North Coast Section Team/Individual Rankings #3

You can check out the latest North Coast Section (NCS) rankings at this LINK. With most of the league events now complete, the road to the state meet from the NCS MOC meet is becoming more clear. 

Feel free to comment below if I missed any athletes or teams.

North Coast Section Team/Individual Rankings #2

This is the second version and I have had plenty of input from a lot of coaches. Please let me know if I missed any teams and/or individuals or see any glaring errors. From the first rankings, I have made several changes but want to make sure I don't miss any teams or individuals. Share this article with your teams, athletes, parents, supporters etc. I will have one more set of rankings in a couple of weeks before the NCS MOC meet at Hayward HS.

Division I

Girls - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dougherty Valley

2.    California

3.    James Logan

4.    Castro Valley

5.    Berkeley

Individuals

1) Alyssa Brewer California

2) Polina Popova Dougherty Valley

3) Aushmitha Grewal Dougherty Valley

4) Kayla Neuman California

5) Jiana Cortero Freedom

Boys - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dougherty Valley

2.    Castro Valley

3.    James Logan

4.    California

5.    Berkeley

Individuals

1) Lucas Badcock Dougherty Valley
2) Tommy Bell Dougherty Valley

3) Reilly Berbian Castro Valley

4) Cameron Reyes California

5) Jacob Millen California

Division II

Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Granada

2.    San Ramon Valley

3.    Amador Valley

4.    Monte Vista

5.    Dublin

Individuals

1) Colleen McCandless Granada

2) Kalea Bartolotto Granada

3) Amanda Olla San Ramon Valley

4) Gracie Dupuis Granada

5) Emma Tavella San Ramon Valley

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dublin

2.    Granada

3.    De La Salle

4.    Amador Valley

5.    Heritage

Individuals

1) Adrian Schroeder Dublin

2) Guarav Phanse Dublin

3) Loic Scamparin Dublin

4) John Bennett Granada

5) Christopher Middleton-Pearson Dublin

Division III

Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Campolindo

2.    Maria Carrillo

3.    Carondelet

4.   Las Lomas

5.    Northgate

Individuals

1) Gillian Wagner Redwood
2) Isabella Chao Campolindo

3) Jenna Miles Campolindo

4) Aimee Armstrong Maria Carillo

5) Syndie Rivas Maria Carillo

Boys - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Maria Carrillo
2.    Campolindo

3.    Redwood

4.    Tamalpais

5.    Las Lomas

Individuals

1) Liam Anderson Redwood
2) Teddy Buckley Campolindo

3) Preston Norris Las Lomas

4) Ben Lawson Maria Carrillo

5) Michael Wheeler Northgate

Division IV

Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Piedmont

2.    Bishop O’Dowd

3.    Miramonte

4.    Piner

5.    Arcata

Individuals

1) Marissa D'Atri Alhambra

2) Gabrielle Peterson Healdsburg

3) Shelby Nelson Encinal

4) Riley Harmon Albany

5) Hannah Chau Justin Sienna

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Sir Francis Drake

2.    Piner

3.    Bishop O'Dowd

4.    Miramonte

5.    Piedmont/Moreau Catholic

Individuals

1) Munir Kabbara San Rafael

2) Nico Pompili Sir Francis Drake

3) Jonny Vargas Piner

4) Cooper McCarthy Sir Francis Drake

5) Reese Proctor Piedmont

Division V

Girls - (Top 6 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Lick-Wilmerding
2.    University

3.    St. Joseph Notre Dame

4.    Sonoma Academy

5.    Head Royce

6.    Marin Academy

Individuals

1) Emily Perez St. Joseph Notre Dame

2) Rylee Bowen Sonoma Academy

3) Kate Bowen Sonoma Academy

4) Claire Jackson University

5) Beatrice Levy St. Joseph Notre Dame

Boys - (Top 5 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Lick-Wilmerding
2.    University

3.    Sonoma Academy

4.    College Prep

5.    St. Joseph Notre Dame

Individuals

1) Sean Laidlaw Lick-Wilmerding

2) Isaac Teuscher Head Royce
3) Andre Williams Sonoma Academy

4) Kheva Mann Sonoma Academy

5) Nick Harris Lick-Wilmerding

North Coast Section Team/Individual Rankings #1

This is the first version and I have had plenty of input from a lot of coaches. Please let me know if I missed any teams and/or individuals or see any glaring errors. Share this article with your teams, athletes, parents, supporters etc. I will have updated rankings in a couple of weeks.

Division I

Girls - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dougherty Valley

2.    California

3.    James Logan

4.    Castro Valley

5.    Berkeley

Individuals

1) Alyssa Brewer California

2) Polina Popova Dougherty Valley

3) Aushmitha Grewal Dougherty Valley

4) Kayla Neuman California

5) Jiana Cortero Freedom

Boys - (Top 2 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dougherty Valley

2.    Castro Valley

3.    James Logan

4.    California

5.    Berkeley

Individuals

1) Tommy Bell Dougherty Valley

2) Lucas Badcock Dougherty Valley

3) Reilly Berbian Castro Valley

4) Cameron Reyes California

5) Jacob Millen California

Division II

Girls - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Granada

2.    San Ramon Valley

3.    Amador Valley

4.    Monte Vista

5.    Dublin

Individuals

1) Colleen McCandless Granada

2) Kalea Bartolotto Granada’s

3) Amanda Olla San Ramon Valley

4) Gracie Dupuis Granada

5) Emma Tavella San Ramon Valley

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Dublin

2.    Granada

3.    De La Salle

4.    Amador Valley

5.    Heritage

Individuals

1) Adrian Schroeder Dublin

2) Guarav Phanse Dublin

3) Loic Scamparin Dublin

4) John Bennett Granada

5) Christopher Middleton-Pearson Dublin

Division III

Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Campolindo

2.    Maria Carrillo

3.    Carondelet

4.   Las Lomas

5.    Northgate

Individuals

1) Gillian Wagner Redwood

2) Jenna Miles Campolindo

3) Isabella Chao Campolindo

4) Aimee Armstrong Maria Carillo

5) Syndie Rivas Maria Carillo

Boys - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Maria Carrillo

2.    Redwood

3.    Campolindo

4.    Tamalpais

5.    Las Lomas

Individuals

1) Liam Anderson Redwood

2) Preston Norris Las Lomas

3) Ben Lawson Maria Carrillo

4) Teddy Buckley Campolindo

5) Michael Wheeler Northgate

Division IV

Girls - (Top 4 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Piedmont

2.    Bishop O’Dowd

3.    Miramonte

4.    Piner

5.    Arcata

Individuals

1) Marissa D'Atri Alhambra

2) Gabrielle Peterson Healdsburg

3) Shelby Nelson Encinal

4) Riley Harmon Albany

5) Hannah Chau Justin Sienna

Boys - (Top 3 teams advance to state meet):

1.    Sir Francis Drake

2.    Piner

3.    Bishop O'Dowd

4.    Miramonte

5.    Piedmont/Moreau Catholic

Individuals

1) Munir Kabbara San Rafael

2) Nico Pompili Sir Francis Drake

3) Jonny Vargas Piner

4) Cooper McCarthy Sir Francis Drake

5) Reese Proctor Piedmont

Division V

Girls - (Top 6 teams advance to state meet):

1.    University

2.    Lick-Wilmerding

3.    St. Joseph Notre Dame

4.    Sonoma Academy

5.    Head Royce

6.    Marin Academy

Individuals

1) Emily Perez St. Joseph Notre Dame

2) Rylee Bowen Sonoma Academy

3) Kate Bowen Sonoma Academy

4) Claire Jackson University

5) Beatrice Levy St. Joseph Notre Dame

Boys - (Top 5 teams advance to state meet):

1.    University

2.    Lick-Wilmerding

3.    Sonoma Academy

4.    College Prep

5.    St. Joseph Notre Dame

Individuals

1) Sean Laidlaw Lick-Wilmerding

2) Isaac Teuscher Head Royce

3) Kheva Mann Sonoma Academy

4) Andre Williams Sonoma Academy

5) Nick Harris Lick-Wilmerding

Coming up this week...

North Coast Section Team and Individual rankings for all divisions (first one of the season!). Feel free to comment below if you want to share your thoughts on any of the divisions. If the section meet was held today, who would be the state meet qualifiers? Individual and team champions? Surprise qualifiers?

I will also do the same for the Sac-Joaquin Section as soon as I gather as much information as I can. Comments welcome as well.

2017 NCS Division V pre-season Cross Country rankings

BOYS (added today, 7/8/17)
With the divisional changes that took place last season, Division V will still have the majority of the teams under the past cutoff of 500 (only five teams are above that number). Although, the top end of this division now 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, St. Joseph Notre Dame won four section titles in a row from 2011 to 2014 which included 4 state podium finishes which included 2 state titles in 2012 and 2013. Marin Academy, perhaps in the shadows of SJND during those seasons, had a nice run of their own that included a section team title in 2015 and two 2nd place finishes at the state meet in 2013 and 2015. Lick-Wilmerding won a very competitive section race in 2016 that included 26 complete teams.

This coming season, the L-W boys will be the favorites to win the team title. They return the top returning runner in this division, Sean Laidlaw (4:30.14/9:38.33) as well as the top 6 competitors from last year's section meet. Their fifth man from that meet was now senior Erik Stein who recorded bests of 1:56.02 and 4:33.05 this past spring.

The next best team appears to be SF University. They had a nice influx of freshmen last year led by Charlie Kennedy (2:05.36/4:33.90) and Clay Mills (4:46.35/10:12.42). UHS will return their top 3 runners as well as 5 of their top 7 from last year's section meet.

The team that could certainly challenge both Bay Counties League teams will be Sonoma Academy. They finished in 4th place last year led by an outstanding trio of runners that all finished in the top 12. They lose lead runner Joey Johnson but return Kheva Mann (1:57.93/4:27.38) and Brendan Loftus (4:40.12/10:12.22). They will be bolstered by Kelseyville transfer Andre Williams (4:41.04/9:58.86) who will fill in capably for Johnson's absence. If you look at the top returners from last season's section meet, you will see they SA now has 3 of the top 5 returners which give them a lot of fire power up front.

The wild card in this division will be McKinleyville. They finished in 2nd place in Division IV last season but will now compete here. They lost their top two runners but will still have Christian Coley (4:34.33/9:48.53) and Trent Padilla (4:48.31 mile/10:20.70). I don't believe they will be as strong as they were last season but they can still battle for a state meet spot here.

With five teams qualifying for state, another team in the mix will include College Prep. They lose lead runner Ethan Ashby but return the rest of their team. A freshman, Jacob Lehmann Duke (4:45.08/10:17.11), led the team at last year's section meet and will have plenty of returning teammates to form a very solid team. St. Joseph Notre Dame finished in 2nd place last year but do lose their top 2 runners, Cooper Teare and Willie Mein. They return 4 out of their top 7 runners from last season and will definitely have to be accounted for when it comes to the top teams in this section.

One thing for certain is that we will have a different individual champion than the past two seasons. Perhaps, the best runner in section history, Cooper Teare, will now be taking his talents to the University of Oregon. The top returning runner from last season is L-W senior, Sean Laidlaw. Isaac Teuscher (1:59.45/4:30.84/9:35.76) of Head Royce was right behind Laidlaw in 6th place and will be aiming for an individual title as well. Sonoma Academy could be in line for a team title and their top 3 runners will all be in the mix up front with transfer Andre Williams and returners Kheva Mann and Brendan Loftus.

Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to State)
1) Lick-Wilmerding-Last title before last year was Division III in 1989. Poised now for back to back.
2) University-Have very strong group returning but have a bit of a gap behind Tigers.
3) Sonoma Academy-They will be very tough up front but will need to close the gap with back end.
4) McKinleyville-Strong program from division IV. 
5) College Prep-They will be in the mix with solid #1 and typical depth.
6) St. Joseph ND-Will be motivated to win 5th section title in the past 6 seasons.
7) Marin Academy-On the outside looking in at this point but may surprise in November.
On the bubble: Stuart Hall, Urban

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Sean Laidlaw (5) Lick-Wilmerding 15:35.2
Isaac Teuscher (6) Head Royce 15:36.8
Andre Williams (8) Kelseyville 15:44.8
Kheva Mann (10) Sonoma Academy 15:59.5
Brendan Loftus (12) Sonoma Academy 16:04.4

For girls, click heading above and all those rankings will appear as well.

2017 NCS Division IV pre-season Cross Country rankings

Our next NCS pre-season rankings will be Division IV boys (girls will be posted tomorrow). The radical changes made in NCS last year resulted in a more competitive division here. Last season, the Bishop O'Dowd boys won their third section title in school history along with their Division I win in 1995 and Group 1 win in 1957! They outdistanced a game McKinleyville team which finished in 2nd place for the second year in a row. The defending section team champion, Sir Francis Drake, finished in 3rd place. The individual winner was Hercules senior Ryan Cutter (15:13.3) who finished just in front of Arcata senior Kellen O'Neill (15:14.4).

For the upcoming season, we should have a better idea of the leading contenders now that we have seen these teams compete against each other in 2016. We will start with the boys and the favorite at this point is the defending champion, Bishop O'Dowd. They were very impressive at the section meet with their best team effort of the season and followed that up with an 8th place finish at the state meet. They return the best trio of runners (Thomas Murphy 4:36.66/10:02.52, Cole Kretlow 4:36.68/10:05.95 and Spencer Berkins 4:30.52/9:59.18) in the division but will need to replace a couple of seniors from their top 5.

Their competition should come from last year's 3rd place team and the 2015 champion, Sir Francis Drake. They return a bit more than BOD with 4 out of their top 5 but will have to find a way to break up the top 3 runners for the Dragons in order to compete for a section title. They will be led by juniors Cooper McCarthy 4:39.39/9:38.11 and Gabriel Rueter 4:41.10/9:49.02. Sophomore Owen Wolford had a solid track season with 2:02.63/4:45.45 personal bests. Junior Nicco Pompili ran an impressive 1:57.76 at the NCS Redwood Empire area meet.

The chase for the 3rd and final state meet qualifying spot should be led by last year's 7th place team, Piner. They return their entire lineup and will also benefit from teams above them losing strong seniors. Last year's 2nd place team, McKinleyville, will also be in Division V next year. Piner will be led by senior Jonny Vargas 4:34.10/9:43.06 who finished in 5th place at last year's section final.

The race for the individual title will feature the two top returning runners from last year's section final. Muni Kabbara San Rafael 4:20.23/9:38.12 finished in 3rd place last year and will be slight favorite at this point. Piner's Jonny Vargas finished in 5th and is well within striking distance. Reece Proctor Piedmont 1:57.05/4:24.70 finished in 10th last year and will be aiming for a top 3 spot this coming season. The Bishop O'Dowd trio of Thomas Murphy, Cole Kretlow and Spencer Berkins all broke 16 last year at Hayward and will be among the leaders. If you are looking for a wild card in this division, look no further than Miramonte senior James Bull 4:26.50/9:31.88. He finished in 23rd place last year but was quite impressive during the spring track season and will be a definite factor.

In the girls' race, the Miramonte girls enjoyed being back in Division IV by winning their first section title since winning Division III in 2005. Bishop O'Dowd, Piedmont and Justin-Siena were the next three team that all qualified to the state meet. Miramonte sophomore Cassy Haskell won her first individual section title after finishing in second place in Division III in 2015.

For this coming season, the race for the team section title should be an interesting one. The top two teams from last season, Miramonte and Bishop O'Dowd, will be in rebuilding mode. Miramonte returns one runner from their championship team but that one runner is the defending individual champion, Cassey Haskell (2:21.36/5:17.61 season bests). They will need a major influx of talent and improvement from their returning runners but starting out with potentially the best runner in the division is always a good problem to have. The Bishop O'Dowd girls will also be replacing much of their lineup but will have a little more coming back with juniors Isabella Brusco 2:32.55/5:25.30/11:42.96 and Jeneva Toolijan 5:25.30/11:57.98 and sophomore Kalea Fong 2:36.96/5:36.15.

The slight favorite at this point is Piedmont. They finished in 3rd place last year but return the majority of that team (5 out of top 7). They will be led by Margo Donahue who finished in 11th place at the 2016 NCS meet. Justin-Siena finished in 4th place for the 2nd year in a row and will be hoping for at least another top 4 finish. They return 3 of their top 5 including their #1 runner, Hannah Chau 2:29.33/5:20.51. Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic, Piner and Albany have all been solid teams in this division and could break into the top 5 with a solid summer of training.

The race for the individual title will look very familiar to last season. Cassy Haskell Miramonte won last year but had a very average track and field season dealing with injuries. 2nd place finisher Marissa D'Atri Alhambra (2:11.77/5:07.47/11:34.49) and 3rd place finisher Gabrielle Peterson Healdsburg (2:19.11/4:47.74/10:59.75) both had impressive track and field seasons and will be aiming squarely for the win. 5th place finisher Cynthia Rosales Piner also had an injury riddle season and will look to rebound to past form in the fall. Shelby Nelson Encinal 5:07.35/11:11.92 finished in 7th place and finished this past track and field season in a flurry.

Division IV Boys (Top 3 Advance to State)
1) Bishop O'Dowd-Tough top 3 could led them to 2nd straight section title.
2) Sir Francis Drake-You can make a case for them being favorites above BOD at this point.
3)  Piner-Return their entire top 7 from last year and will be aiming for a top 3 finish.
4) Miramonte-4th place last year and could once again could be in the mix to qualify for state.
5) Piedmont-Hoping for top 3 finish after just missing the state meet in '15.
On the bubble: Albany, Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Munir Kabbara (3) San Rafael 15:21.7
Jonny Vargas (5) Piner 15:29.0
Thomas Murphy (8) Bishop O'Dowd 15:54.2
Cole Kretlow (9) Bishop O'Dowd 15:55.9
Reece Proctor (10) Piedmont 15:56.1

Division IV Girls (Top 4 Advance to State)
1) Piedmont-Over past 3 years, they have two titles and a 3rd place finish.
2) Bishop O'Dowd-Mostly new lineup but promising track and field season.
3) Justin-Siena-Have qualified for last two state meets and return 5 from last XC season.
4) Sir Francis Drake-Been on the cusp of making state and will hope to finish here.
5) Miramonte-Defending champions return one runner but defending individual champion.
On the bubble: Albany, Marin Catholic, Moreau Catholic, Piner

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Cassy Haskell (1) Miramonte 17:34.8
Marissa D'Atri (2) Alhambra 17:54.1
Gabrielle Peterson (3) Healdsburg 17:55.6
Cynthia Rosales (5) Piner 18:05.2
Shelby Nelson (7) Encinal 18:18.4

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?

2017 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division II Cross Country Rankings

Here are the raw pre-season rankings with the top teams in NCS Division II as well as top returning individuals. The division breakdowns for all NCS teams can be found at this LINK. The amount of teams that qualify to the state meet in each section and division can be found at this LINK.

Division II Boys (Top 3 Advance to state)
1) Dublin-Most talented team in all of NCS. 
2) Granada-One of the best dual programs in entire section.
3) De La Salle-Couple of years missing the state meet makes this group hungry for top 3 finish.
4) Amador Valley-Two freshmen gained valuable varsity experience last year.
5) Mission San Jose-Impressive young group of runners could crack top four.

On the bubble (alphabetical order): Clayton Valley, Heritage, Liberty, Monte Vista

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
John Bennett (4) Granada 15:18.1
Gaurav Phanse (6) Dublin 15:20.4
Adrian Schroeder (7) Dublin 15:24.7
Dylan White (8) Clayton Valley 15:28.7
Loic Scomparin (9) Dublin 15:29.4

Division II Girls (Top 3 Advance to state)

1) Granada-Two-time defending section champions will be aiming for three in a row.
2) Monte Vista-Lose their #1 runner but return everyone else.
3) San Ramon Valley-Another talented group of girls who could challenge top 2 teams.
4) Amador Valley-Will need an influx of talent and current athletes to improve to break into top 3.
5) Liberty-Has front end runners to compete but will need to shore up the rest of the pack.
On the bubble (alphabetical order): College Park, Dublin, Santa Rosa

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2016 NCS meet time:
Colleen McCandless (2) Granada 17:29.2
Amanda Olla (3) San Ramon Valley 17:31.8
Kalea Bartolotto (5) Granada 17:57.2
Gracie Dupuis (6) Granada 18:06.7
Sidney Isom (7) Monte Vista 18:12.0

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?

2017 North Coast Section Division III Girls pre-season rankings by Andy Lindquist

Overview:

Much like their male counterparts, the 2016 NCS championship came down to the wire between Campolindo and Redwood, with Campolindo prevailing to win their 4^th consecutive team title. With the Cougars returning most of their team from a year ago they are primed to capture yet another title. Maria Carrillo returns a strong contingent of runners and will look to improve upon their 4^th place finish from a year ago while the 3^rd and 4^th positions are wide open.

1. Campolindo:

“Campo” seeks to capture their 15^th girls team title since 1996 and are the heavy favorites now. Not only do the Cougars return their entire scoring 5 from last season but they are all coming off impressive spring track seasons. Hannah Ruane and Isabella Chao were dynamite last fall as they both finished in the top 10 at state and that success continued this past spring with Chao running 10:51 in the 3200 and Ruane running 5:02 in the 1600. However, the emergence of Jenna Miles has really tipped the scales in Campo’s favor with the senior breaking out at MOC running an astounding 10:49 for 3200. With these 3 leading the way it will be tough for any team in the division and as usual, the Cougars have plenty of depth to back them up. Last year’s #4 scorer Jessie Foxworthy also had a solid spring in running 11:53 for 3200. Paloma Hancock (5:33, 12:24 1600/3200) and Alicia Hober (5:36/12:24) lead a strong contingent of underclassmen who dominated the Diablo Athletic League at the F/S level this spring and if they can continue their improvement curve Campo will be even better than advertised. As it stands now Campolindo should roll to another section title and challenge for a podium position at Woodward Park in November.

2. Maria Carrillo:

The Pumas return most of their 4^th place team of a year ago, including their top 3 and will look to make another trip to Fresno come November. Aimee Armstrong had a fantastic track season in advancing to the finals of MOC in the 1600 and running 5:03 while Sydnie Rivas ran 11:36 in the 3200. Throw in Talia Leano, who finished 10^th at last year’s NCS meet and Maria Carrillo has a great starting point. Sophomore Jasmin Hirth flashed great potential during her track season in running 5:29 for 1600 as did Megan Field who notched personal bests of 5:39 and 12:17 for 1600/3200. Put these performances together and the Pumas will have a lot of momentum coming into the season and should be one of the most improved teams in the section by season’s end.

3. Carondelet:

The Cougars narrowly missed out on a state birth last season in finishing in 6^th place, only 8 points away from the 4^th and final qualifying spot. Look for Carondelet to get over the hump this season and secure a top 4 finish. Clare Schumann appears to be the frontrunner now, with her 3200 best of 11:28 being one of the top performances in the division and pointing to great potential for the fall. The Cougars have great depth backing her with Dana Cross (12:12 3200), Sofia Green (12:20), Kasey DeMaria (12:24), and Kelsey Dempsey (12:40) all having massively productive track seasons. The challenge for Carondelet will be working on closing the back end of their scoring 5 and improving the pack margin between their 5^th and 1^st scorers. For now, the Cougars have set themselves up well to be in contention for a highly coveted spot on the awards stand and a thanksgiving trip down to Fresno.  

4. Northgate:

The Broncos finished a respectable 8^th at last year’s NCS meet and they will look to make the big jump to contenders this fall. Northgate had an impressive track season, getting big improvements from many of their projected top 5 runners, with Sara Wheeler (5:18) leading the way. Also notching big personal bests in the 1600 were Nichole Markiewicz (5:39), Jessie McCann (5:39) Jessica Biddle (5:44), Sydney Kupsh (5:47), and Isabelle Antolin (5:48) who should all play big roles for Northgate in cross country. They were also solid over 3200, with Northgate returning 5 under 13:00. The biggest advantage Northgate has is that they will get to face off against top ranked Campolindo throughout the season in the Diablo Athletic League, which will give them a good barometer for how they stack up against the best in the division.

5. Alameda:

The Hornets had a magical season last year in capturing a 3^rd place finish and advancing for to the state championships. To get back there this season, Alameda will have some work to do. While standout Lauren Lum was impressive this spring in running 5:04 for 1600, depth was an issue as only 2 other girls broke 5:40 in the 1600. To match up against the teams ranked ahead of them, Alameda will have to continue to work at bringing some of their younger athletes along and get them closer to the 2-5 scorers of Northgate and Carondelet. While they have a big advantage in bringing back their top runner, the biggest determining factor to their success will be the development of their 4-5 scorers (as is always the case for cross country). Katie Gee (5:36 1600) and Allie Cvitanovic (5:39) both had great track seasons but it will take big step up performances from both Rachel Wellman (5:52) and Elizabeth Cho (5:54) for the hornets to get closer to the depth of teams like Northgate and Carondelet. As it stands now they are slightly behind those teams in the race to land a berth to state.

Individual Rankings

1. Gillian Wagner (Redwood) – Last year’s NCS/State runner up was on fire during track season, ripping a 4:53 for 1600 and sub 10:00 for 3000 and will be tough to beat

2. Hannah Ruane (Campolindo) – Consistent performer for Campo who will benefit from training with a talented group of teammates.

3. Isabella Chao (Campolindo) – One of the biggest improvers in the state last season in landing a podium finish at state and will be even better this fall

4. Jenna Miles (Campolindo) – Huge breakthrough at the end of the track season and will look to continue that momentum

5. Rayna Stanziano (Concord) – Flashed potential last fall but really impressed during track season in advancing to state in the 1600. Remains to be seen if she can translate that to the longer distance but the potential is there

6. Aimee Armstrong (Maria Carrillo) – Steady performer who notched a big personal best in the 1600 running 5:03 at MOC and will look to challenge for the top 5.

On the Bubble:  Lauren Lum (Alameda), Veronica Towle (Las Lomas), Talia Leano (Maria Carrillo)