Tuesday, August 04, 2015

2015 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division V Cross Country Rankings (Boys)

Sorry for the delay on these rankings but I was traveling the past four weeks. But enough about me. This division has been one of the more successful ones for the North Coast Section at the state meet level with individual and team hardware. At last year's state meet, the following NCS athletes/teams made the podium by finishing in the top 10 as an individual and in the top 3 as a team.

Boys Individual
1. Trevor Reinhart Marin Academy 14:59
5. Cooper Teare St. Joseph Notre Dame 15:44
10. Michael Murphy St. Joseph Notre Dame 16:10
Boys Team
2. St. Joseph Notre Dame 99 points

This coming season could be equally as successful with lots of returning talent for many teams. We will start off with the boys and the team competition. St. Joseph Notre Dame has won the last 4 team titles which is the 2nd longest winning streak in NCS Division V history trailing only University's 7 in a row from 1999-2005. Livermore also won 7 team titles in a row in Division III from 1990-1996. SJND will contend this season but may be hard pressed to continue their winning streak. They do return the top runner in this division in Cooper Teare (4:21.53/9:15.65) but will have to find a way to replace the Murphy twins (Michael and Matthew). Along with Teare, SJND will need major improvement from Willie Mein (2:02.05), Daniel Ratto (2:00.02) and Gavin Hill (17:04 at Hayward).

The favorite at this point may be Marin Academy which will be chasing their first NCS boys' XC title. Although they do lose defending NCS/state meet champion and team leader, Trevor Reinhart, MA will return 6 of their top 7. Among those 6, MA will field three runners who all recorded sub 10 clockings in the 3200m this past track season, Henry Fleming (9:33.57), Jack Williams (9:54.34) and Connor Montgomery (9:59.45). That gives MA 3 top tier runners in the section and with the addition of a talented frosh runner, it will be championship or bust for them in 2015.

Along with SJND, another team chasing MA will be the College Prep Cougars. They will be led by senior Alex Glavin (4:24.37/9:22.80). While MA may have the best top 3 runners, CPS might have the best top 4 runners with Glavin, Ethan Ashby (9:59.76), Steve Sloan (4:47.84) and Trevor Soule (17:28.0 at Stanford Invite). Lick-Wilmerding has demonstrated some of the best depth in this division and will need that depth to show this coming season. They will be led by Jackson Vachal (16:34 at Woodward Park). Rising sophomores Sean Laidlaw (16:35 at Woodward Park), Erik Stein (4:35.89/10:04.53) and Alex Martinez (4:53.81) give the Tigers three talented runners with lots of room for improvement. Brian Ebisuzaki (4:43.25/10:09.31) will also allow the Tigers to contend once again despite losing 3 of their top 5 runners.

University seems to be trending up once again after a very solid Track and Field season. They will be led by junior CJ Dowd (1:55.10/4:29.55) along with Spencer Ferguson-Dryden (1:59.72), Spencer Small (4:38.54), Henry Hongo (17:47 at Woodward Park), Wyeth Coulter (2:02.95) and Raiden Meyer (2:05.31). A wildcard for University is Marco DaCunha (10:09.71), an impressive rising sophomore who played Soccer last year but might make the switch to XC in the fall. Sonoma Academy will be led by Caleb Richards (4:35/9:54.28) along with Joey Johnson (4:43.95), and rising sophomore Kheva Mann (4:45). Danny Aldridge will once again coach at SA which gives them one of the top coaches in the section. Athenian will have their own dominant runner in rising junior Dawson Reckers (4:24.02/9:40.54). He will solid depth behind him with Anthony Ottati (4:46.25/9:50.68), Connor Ottati (5:10.14), Jeremy Lahr (5:00.94), Ira Norton-Westbrook (4:48.70).

The favorite for the individual title should be Cooper Teare of St. Joseph Notre Dame. He has been a top tier runners since his freshman season and continued to improve during this past Track and Field season. He will be challenged by fellow BCL East runners Alex Glavin and Dawson Reckers. Henry Fleming and CJ Dowd. Caleb Richards will be the best runner from outside the BCL and won't be afraid to join the lead pack on the Hayward course.

Division V Boys (Top 5 Advance to State)
1) Marin Academy-In the hunt for their first section crown on the boys side.
2) Lick-Wilmerding-Deepest team in this division with very solid sophomore class.
3) St. Joseph ND-Following 4 straight NCS titles, they are an underdog once again.
4) College Prep-Much improved team following terrific track season.
5) University-A team on the rise that can break into top 3.
6) Athenian-Program on the rise but will be dealing with a coaching change.
On the bubble:  Head RoyceRoseland University PrepSonoma AcademyStuart HallUrban

Top 5 returning individuals, (place) and 2014 NCS meet time:

Cooper Teare (2) St. Joseph ND 15:55
Dawson Reckers (4) Athenian 16:26
Caleb Richards (5) Sonoma Academy 16:26
Henry Fleming (7) Marin Academy 16:30
Alex Glavin (8) College Prep 16:34

Comments? Feel free to chime in the section below.

Monday, August 03, 2015

2015 Pre-Season North Coast Section (NCS) Division II Cross Country Rankings

Courtesy of Northgate HS Cross Country coach, Peter Brewer (left), you can find his handy work at this LINK.

Comments? Express yourself below in the comment section.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Wharf to Wharf results

2015 Wharf to Wharf results (Cate Ratliff, Santa Cruz HS-7th place overall woman) She finished in 4th place at last year's CA state XC meet in Division IV. She will be one of the favorites to win this year along with Morgin Coonfield of McKinleyville.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Cross Country Countdown Series on CA Milesplit

Check out the top 30 teams in California as they are being counted down at the links below.
Boys:
http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/158180-boys-countdowntoxc-23-campolindo
Girls:
http://ca.milesplit.com/articles/158179-girls-countdowntoxc-23-yucaipa

The rest of the teams will be posted at http://ca.milesplit.com/. Check in daily. What other NorCal teams will make either list?

Friday, July 17, 2015

CCS alumni and current athletes news

Former SHC runner Shannon Rowbury breaks American record in 1500 with 3:56.29.

Former Aptos runner Nikki Hiltz has transfered to Arkansas from University of Oregon.

My Pleasant's Darius Carbin jumps personal record 7'1" to finish in 3rd place at World Youth Championship.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The Night of Two-Mile Madness - November 13, 2015

Hi Coaches-
As we all firm up our fall schedules, I wanted to send out this invitation to The 2nd Annual Night of Two-Mile Madness, hosted by Cardinal Newman High School at Santa Rosa Junior College on Friday, November 13, 2015.

That's right--it's back! We will hold the event under the lights on the gorgeous SRJC track. HOKA One One back is our signature sponsor, as our event is registered as the Flagship Postal Two-Mile for all of Northern California. We are looking to draw top teams and athletes from throughout Northern California as a sharpener 8 days out from the NCS Championships. It will also be a great way for your JV kids to finish their seasons in style after the completion of your league championships.

We will send out greater details once school begins, but for now please let me know if you will be interested in bringing your teams (JV & VAR) to this great event under the lights. We will have:

- Fast times
- Photo ops
- Awesome music
- T-shirts for all competitors
- HOKA One One shoes and sweatshirts for all coaches who attend and submit postal results
- Special awards for all top finishers

HOKA One One also partners with RunnerSpace.com, so we will have online coverage of this event!

Please email me to confirm your interest in bringing your teams so we can keep a running tally. If you already have confirmed attendance with me, I apologize for the repeat notice. And if you know any other coaches who may be interested in having their kids be a part of this exciting event, please forward this email on.

I hope to see all of you and your teams at this great event!

Thanks,
Chris Puppione (coachpup@gmail.com)
Cardinal Newman High School

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