NXN 2024 Girls

Her 17:55 takes them down to 55 points in my hypothetical NXN mathcup.

The rich get richer.

People have posted in other threads that Vista will be getting more transfers (apart from Jorde and Edwards) but right now Vista already has enough to win NXN

They win easily. Might be the best team ever assembled. Key word: Assembled. Scary that they'll be running at altitude all year and set free to absolutely dominate at sea level in Oregon.

I honestly struggle to think of a program where 1600m times have less correlation to 5k times than JSerra.

That said, they will obviously be very, very good with the talent they have.

…Agreed. And rumor has it, Elin Latta (the 8th grader who ran a 4:45 1600) will also be attending Vista. Not sure how true that is but it seems likely considering that she lives relatively close to that school.

Sounds like there will be a battle for a distant 2nd place.

I wouldn’t count NJ’s Union Catholic out of it. I definitely have them higher than 22nd place. If they put it together I could see them making a run at top 10. Last year they were 9th and they are losing 2 seniors.

However, let’s not forget what they did in spring track. A national record in the 4x800, and a national championship.

They also placed second at NB nationals in the 4xmile relay - with a team of all freshman. If they can translate this speed on the track to XC, they will be a strong team.

And they should have no problem recruiting 2 runners or have upcoming freshman to fill the spots of the graduating seniors. Several of their freshman on the track team had breakout seasons - such as Sophia Thompson (who didn’t run XC last year) and Kayla Devine.

I agree that they will win easily and I think that is a very sad thing. Unfortunately, I think this sort of “assembled” super team is the new norm in high school XC. As a coach, I hate to see it. There have been private schools for years who have recruited kids but nothing at this level. These schools look more like club teams or even college programs. Kids coming just not from all over the Denver area but also from FL and TX just to be on a winning XC team is something new. But I think it’s here to stay. The schools and coaches (and parents) that can do it, will.

It definitely knocks the wind out of the sails out of coaches/athletes who don’t have those advantages and have been working over the years to develop programs with the hope that they might earn a chance to take a team to Nationals. For me, in 15 years I’ve only come marginally close one time but with this current trend it may never happen.

I don’t know the solution but it’s definitely hard to root for these teams. I’m definitely cheering for the kids individually though.

I agree that they will win easily and I think that is a very sad thing. Unfortunately, I think this sort of “assembled” super team is the new norm in high school XC. As a coach, I hate to see it. There have been private schools for years who have recruited kids but nothing at this level. These schools look more like club teams or even college programs. Kids coming just not from all over the Denver area but also from FL and TX just to be on a winning XC team is something new. But I think it’s here to stay. The schools and coaches (and parents) that can do it, will.

It definitely knocks the wind out of the sails out of coaches/athletes who don’t have those advantages and have been working over the years to develop programs with the hope that they might earn a chance to take a team to Nationals. For me, in 15 years I’ve only come marginally close one time but with this current trend it may never happen. Just got to keep pressing forward and doing the right things.

I don’t know the solution but it’s definitely hard to root for these teams. I’m definitely cheering for the kids individually though.

FM NY won NXN in 2010 with 27 points

JSerra needs to toughen up! Both times that they made it to NXN, the cold weather and grass/mud course (Yikes! Real XC!) caused them to crap the bed. They need to make a mid-season trip to a big Midwest or PNW invitational to sample a real course. Soccer fields trimmed to 15mm length and hard packed dirt roads don't prepare you for the soft footing at Glendoveer Golf Course.

jorde has also ran 17:44

I guess that does make Vista the team to beat. I wonder how they look to the state's athletic association re: transfers. It seems someone should be saying, "yes, this kid is eligible to race in season." It seems that Jorde would be 100% athletically motivated seeing that she attended another school in the district, moved to a school that is specific for athletics, and now going to Vista. Then, the Lattas going there as well. Somehow this doesn't feel right. But, good for them for being able to up and move for athletics.

With their current lineup and the remarkable transfers and recruits coming in, it sounds like Vista isn't very be beatable in my opinion. If it all pans out, they will be one of the best teams ever. Maybe a handful of the top girls in the country could quickly transfer to one of the other top CO schools, they might have a shot. Outside of that, my money is definitely on Vista! They will be like the 2021 Newberry Park boys squad. I can't really hate on them for it - if I was a coach, I would happily take talented athletes. If I was an HS athlete, I would jump at an opportunity to be a part of such a team.

Completely agree with Union Catholic. My whole analysis is based on 5k PR's from last year only, so you could find all kinds of reasons to support other teams... and UC definitely turned heads with this track season. The names you mentioned just cement them further, as they're both 5:00 girls. I'm impressed, for sure.

All the CA teams struggled, but I'm 100% convinced that they all made the same mistake and didn't have the right spikes. Even the GOAT (Sadie) shat the bed in that mess. Santiago had as much talent as any of the top 10 schools and they finished 18th or something. They all wore the shoes they were given by Nike the night before, with tiny spikes. All of the girls and teams that finished in the top 10 were prepared with better spikes and they had a huge advantage over the others. You could almost look down the starting line and guess who would get out slowly or slip in that mud, just based on their spikes.

Hopefully, it will be a dry race this year, but any returning schools will have learned from that mess, and the rain will be less of an equalizer.

Holy sh!t. That may NEVER be beaten... but if anyone can do it, it's Vista, this year.

Where the FM runners placed at NXN in 2010 (overall, not in team score)

2

4

6

16

29

96

107

The girl that took second had a 5k PR of 26:44 in ‘08 (freshman year), and 20:21 in ‘09 (sophomore year).

Is she moving there from Texas? Apparently she has 3 other siblings? 2 rising 8th graders and 1 rising freshman

tx.milesplit.com

TAIAO State XC Championships 2023 - TAIAO Official Results

MileSplits official TAIAO Official Results formatted results for the 2023 TAIAO State XC Championships, hosted by Track For Life in Lockhart TX.

Link:tx.milesplit.com/meets/562995-taiao-st...