Best XC states ranked?

yAh wrote:

What states do you think produce the best runners... Here's my picks

1. Colorado (Not much to say)

2. California (Huge state, always has good runners, but if there was a head-to-head with CO, I'd say CO has the better shot.)

3. Illinois (COLE MF HOCKER)

4. Oregon (I would rank them lower, but it's just the tradition)

5. Michigan (They are always strong, but sometimes has really down years where only one sneaks under 15:25 or so)

6. Utah

7. Arizonia (Eh, questionable but has produced some good runners in recent years)

8. New York

9. Wisconsin (Hasn't produced a HS phenom since really Olin Hacker)

10. Texas (Would rank higher, but has really only come on the last few years.)

California is the best XC state. Deepest every year. Not even talking on the level of how many "studs" they have or what not. Just look at how many sub 10:00 and sub 4:40 boys there are. Look at how many sub 9:20, 9:10, 9:05, etc. boys there are every year across the last two decades. List goes on and on. None of this "per capita" nonsense. They have sheer numbers which is what really matters when looking at true depth.

Yes, it is unfair that they have a big population. Yes, a lot of them don't do sh*t in college. But their volume of decent/good/great runners is still crazy. If you say any other state you are just being a contrarian. Either that or you are just dumb. Unironically of course.

Tennessee is incredibly underrated producing athletes like brodey, Jake renfree, and Colin and Keaton Jones and still getting 0 recognition as a whole.

I agree that Illinois is one of the best Cross-Country states for HS, and has been for sometime.

Here is what I do not understand:

WHY?

What does Illinois have that Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, etc. do not seem to have?

(Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan are all great HS CC States themselves, but Illinois is always so much deeper at individuals, and notably at the team level)

Can anyone explain the dominance of Illinois High School Cross-Country to me? Please?

It has the highest population of the states that you are comparing.

Supertramp wrote:

What does Illinois have that Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, etc. do not seem to have?

Can anyone explain the dominance of Illinois High School Cross-Country to me? Please?

I think a lot of it has to do with tradition and coaching.

Joe Newton was one of the best coaches everywhere and he would always go out of his way to help other coaches. Because of that, there is a tradition of coaches sharing ideas and plans.

VFL wrote:

Tennessee's top end historically has been pretty good. Several boys teams have made NXN (Oak Ridge, Daniel Boone, and Brentwood several times). Additionally, over the past twenty years, the state has sent a bunch of kids to FLN and to NXN as individuals. I'm a fan. However, it's not nearly as deep as VA, NC, FL, and is only about equal to GA and KY in the Southeast, let alone in the US.

I don’t think Wisconsin should be on this list. I think it should have Florida (Belen Jesuit Prep and Bolles are really on the rise) or New Jersey (CBA of course is always good and Union Catholic had a heck of a finish at RunningLane). Patrick Koon is really insane for his age.

Wow…forgot about Washington.
they should most definitely be on this list. Not sure if they’re better than Oregon, but they are better than Arizona and Wisconsin.

Bishop Blanchet will be very good next year and Kamiakin always reloads, though it will be tough without Teeples and Wilcott next year.

They haven’t been so good lately. Maybe next year since almost all of the top teams return a great deal of talent.

Sam Scott and Noah Breker are the 2 people to watch out for.

Illinois has more people than any other state in the midwest, has a much stronger tradition (as far as I know they are the only state that has been running their state meet on the same course since the 70's), and the vast majority of the population being so highly concentrated probably doesn't hurt.

In 2020, Watchout did a great analysis of NXN to help give historical perspective on this question.

Virginia

Yep, I second Mass.

They’ve actually gotten better the last few years

Bingham High School in the 1990s deserves notable recognition in the history of Utah high school cross country. Their program was exceptionally competitive with Mountain View and both had periods of national dominance. Bingham had a legacy that’s often underappreciated.
Here are a few key points worth highlighting:
National Rankings: Bingham was consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally during the 90s, which is no small feat given the depth of competition across the country. Also, can boast of having both Boys and Girls National Championship teams.
Girls XC Team: One of their girls teams posted some of the fastest team times ever recorded, which should absolutely be part of any discussion about elite programs. National Champions that year.
Coaching Legacy: Many coaches who later built strong programs were former athletes under Houle (Mountain View) or Arobogast (Bingham) — showing the ripple effect of their mentorship and systems.
Championship Pedigree: While Mountain View may have had more national titles, Bingham was often right there, pushing the envelope and elevating the level of competition in Utah and beyond.
Together, these two schools shaped a golden era of Utah high school distance running, leaving a legacy that still influences coaching and competition today.