TSF is a very good team, but in the most recent meet that both TSF and Dub Coffman competed at (Berlin Bear Den Dash), Dub Coffman beat TSF by around 40 points, with Dub Coffman and TSF running their full varsity, with both teams getting numerous seasons bests and personal records. In my opinion, TSF should be ranked lower on the top 10, or Dub Coffman should be ranked higher on the top 10.
My Top Boys after results this weekend of results (in order)
Mason: 5 under 16 in a hot field at Nike
Coffman: Getting hot at right time? 3 under 16, next two under 16:16. Can they replicate going forward
St. X: Comparable to Coffman but Coffman a better front-running 1-2 punch. First view at this level of running from a complete 5 at once, all year..also at Nike
TSF: Traveled south and Lost to Coffman. Solid 1-2 punch and could gain traction if their 3-5 can drop a bit more (averaged 16:16, 16:16, 16:19 Saturday)
Lancaster: Improvement in frontrunning triplets going sub 16, #5 a bit distant (16:34)
HD: Traveled to Tenn. and while Ackley continued to dominate, their 3-4-5 (16:26, 16:32, 16:37) need to close the gap towards 16:00 to climb up the state ranks
Mass. Jackson: Won the meet, but definitely not as strong as earlier this season (#5 at 16:50)
Farragut TN beat the #1 team Belen Jesuit Prep in the Southeast (#19 team in the nation) at the Southern Showcase. No one ever heard of Farragut before but they returned their 1-4 from last year and also got a transfer from CANADA who is now their #3. Milesplit and other national rankers are probably gonna follow this team now. Hil Davidson was only 33 points behind now nationally ranked Farragut. Does this put Hil Davidson as the #2 team for D1 in OH now? They got some nice depth on varsity and obviously having a nationally ranked guy on the team Ackley doesn’t hurt. I can imagine his teammates are looking up to him and try to get better and do what he’s doing. He probably elevated the team/program.
Farragut TN beat the #1 team Belen Jesuit Prep in the Southeast (#19 team in the nation) at the Southern Showcase. No one ever heard of Farragut before but they returned their 1-4 from last year and also got a transfer from CANADA who is now their #3. Milesplit and other national rankers are probably gonna follow this team now. Hil Davidson was only 33 points behind now nationally ranked Farragut. Does this put Hil Davidson as the #2 team for D1 in OH now? They got some nice depth on varsity and obviously having a nationally ranked guy on the team Ackley doesn’t hurt. I can imagine his teammates are looking up to him and try to get better and do what he’s doing. He probably elevated the team/program.
HD certainly has a chance. Assuming Ackley wins and their #2 is All-State, if they can get three guys under 16:30 they have a good shot at the podium. They also have solid depth at 6-7.
The problem is there are 5-7 teams who have enough depth to put 5 ahead of HD’s #3.
I wouldn’t say they are for certain the #2 D1 boys team in Ohio, but you could make a solid argument. Along with about 5 other teams right now.
Why did Davidson have to go all the way to TN when they could have gotten more competition at Niketown? And when Ackley could have gotten some competition from Kole M from Carmel?
Why did Davidson have to go all the way to TN when they could have gotten more competition at Niketown? And when Ackley could have gotten some competition from Kole M from Carmel?
That’s an excellent question. Nike Terre Haute was a much better and much closer meet. We would have loved to have seen HD match up against Mason, St. X, and Springboro as well.
My Top Boys after results this weekend of results (in order)
Mason: 5 under 16 in a hot field at Nike
Coffman: Getting hot at right time? 3 under 16, next two under 16:16. Can they replicate going forward
St. X: Comparable to Coffman but Coffman a better front-running 1-2 punch. First view at this level of running from a complete 5 at once, all year..also at Nike
TSF: Traveled south and Lost to Coffman. Solid 1-2 punch and could gain traction if their 3-5 can drop a bit more (averaged 16:16, 16:16, 16:19 Saturday)
Lancaster: Improvement in frontrunning triplets going sub 16, #5 a bit distant (16:34)
HD: Traveled to Tenn. and while Ackley continued to dominate, their 3-4-5 (16:26, 16:32, 16:37) need to close the gap towards 16:00 to climb up the state ranks
Mass. Jackson: Won the meet, but definitely not as strong as earlier this season (#5 at 16:50)
It's XC, not track...if times mattered send everyone to RunningLane where they can PR by 45 seconds and still place the same as they would on any other course. You can focus on the fact that Coffman put everyone under 16:18 this week, or focus on the fact that Lancaster put 5 runners ahead of their #3 literally one week ago. I'm going with the latter.
1. Mason - great race at Nike, could get even better if they get healthy
2. Lancaster - won at Centerville, solid top 3 with decent 1-5 spread
3. Mas. Jackson - won at Stark County but concerns at 4-5
4. Dub. Coffman - improving, beat TSF at Berlin Bear Den Dash
5. Hil. Davidson - back end of lineup improving
6. St. Xavier - got two missing guys back, we'll see how they look in a month
7. Tol. St. Francis - still a good team but had a tough race this weekend
8. Springboro - will probably place better at state meet than Nike
Agreed..XC times do NOT matter..track you can reference times more as every track is 400m and there are far less variables. What I look at the most is what you brought up with head to head competition. How do teams fare when racing in the SAME race, and where their 1-7 stacks up. using times from one meet to a different meet is just not consistent as 16:00 at one meet (with same effort) could be 16:40 on another course due to the terrian of the course, is it narrow, is it crowded, is it soft or hard grass, etc.
Speed ratings are still a little confusing to me (How do you choose a baseline meet? How does that keep things consistent? Etc.) but they are still interesting to look at. Here are Mason, St. Xavier, Springboro, and Lancaster’s speed ratings from Nike and Centerville:
Mason: 182 177 176 174 172 (165) (163)
St. Xavier: 180 171 170 167 165 (153) (152)
Springboro: 170 168 167 159 152 (151) (124)
Lancaster: 166 166 161 154 149 (134) (128)
Again, maybe I just don’t understand speed ratings, but my gut tells me that Lancaster is better than Springboro. And even if St. Xavier is better than Lancaster, I do not see them putting 4 guys ahead of Lancaster’s #1. You could make a case for Dub. Coffman, Hil. Davidson, Lancaster, Mas. Jackson, St. Xavier, and Tol. St. Francis all potentially being the #2 D1 Boys team in Ohio right now. I think Dub. Coffman, Lancaster, Hil. Davidson, St. Xavier are all trending the right direction. Mas. Jackson and Tol. St. Francis did not have great weekends.