JR Josiah Tostenson - Was their #2 guy at NXN as a sophomore, 4:09 full mile as a freshman, state champion at 1500 as freshman/2nd in 3000 behind teammate Tyronze Gorze
19 - Fayetteville Manlius NY - would have made NXN if they ran the full squad. But they lose 2 scorers and will need to improve the backend of their scoring 5. They make good improvements each race though
If FM gets plagued by injuries again, one NY girls team that people will need to watch is Sayville. They got 3rd at NXR and return everyone but their #5 who is the same as their #6. It’s clear that Saratoga will dominate the region again.
Based on last XC season and indoor track results to-date, FM is going to have very little behind Sullivan, injuries or not.
1. Daniel Simmons. Got second at NXN to a guy who is going to college. 2. Nathan Neil. Listed as a senior at NXN but he is actually a junior. First year of XC after doing soccer. With a year of experience he should be able to crack this position. He has also beaten teammate Weston Brown. 3. Byron Grevious. Took 12th at NXN. Second returner. 4. Cameron Todd. Did not run NXR so we will see if he decides on it. Top nonsenior at ChampSports 5. Drew Griffith. Second nonsenior at ChampSports. Not sure if he will be doing NXR since it’s on the same day as Champ Sports South. He has to choose one or the other. 6. Landon Heemeyer. 9th at ChampSports. He started making a name for himself last XC season. He should be up here. 7. Manny Putz. With top Heartland guys like Heidesch/Breker/Birnbaum gone, Putz is looking to be the new leader of the Heartland region. He has been making big jumps since AAU. He should also be able to make a big sophomore-to-junior-year jump. 8. Patrick Koon. Should be the top guy of the Southeast region. Also looking to lead his team to do big things in Florida. 9. Ryan Pajak. 12th at ChampSports nationals. Not sure if he will do NXR next year. 10. Connell Alford. 14th at ChampSports. Missed NXN by one spot, which should motivate him for this year
I would add William Steadman to this list. He is from Herriman. He didn’t run at NXN but he ran a 4:18 1600 this weekend. He was only 5 seconds behind Simmons, 4 behind Horne, and less than 1 behind Jenkins. He could challenge for a podium spot too.
1. Daniel Simmons. Got second at NXN to a guy who is going to college. 2. Nathan Neil. Listed as a senior at NXN but he is actually a junior. First year of XC after doing soccer. With a year of experience he should be able to crack this position. He has also beaten teammate Weston Brown. 3. Byron Grevious. Took 12th at NXN. Second returner. 4. Cameron Todd. Did not run NXR so we will see if he decides on it. Top nonsenior at ChampSports 5. Drew Griffith. Second nonsenior at ChampSports. Not sure if he will be doing NXR since it’s on the same day as Champ Sports South. He has to choose one or the other. 6. Landon Heemeyer. 9th at ChampSports. He started making a name for himself last XC season. He should be up here. 7. Manny Putz. With top Heartland guys like Heidesch/Breker/Birnbaum gone, Putz is looking to be the new leader of the Heartland region. He has been making big jumps since AAU. He should also be able to make a big sophomore-to-junior-year jump. 8. Patrick Koon. Should be the top guy of the Southeast region. Also looking to lead his team to do big things in Florida. 9. Ryan Pajak. 12th at ChampSports nationals. Not sure if he will do NXR next year. 10. Connell Alford. 14th at ChampSports. Missed NXN by one spot, which should motivate him for this year
I would add William Steadman to this list. He is from Herriman. He didn’t run at NXN but he ran a 4:18 1600 this weekend. He was only 5 seconds behind Simmons, 4 behind Horne, and less than 1 behind Jenkins. He could challenge for a podium spot too.
You guys remember 2017 when Troutner went from not making NXN in 2016 to winning it. Right?
I would add William Steadman to this list. He is from Herriman. He didn’t run at NXN but he ran a 4:18 1600 this weekend. He was only 5 seconds behind Simmons, 4 behind Horne, and less than 1 behind Jenkins. He could challenge for a podium spot too.
You guys remember 2017 when Troutner went from not making NXN in 2016 to winning it. Right?
There's a phrase for that. It's called cinderella story.
1. Daniel Simmons. Got second at NXN to a guy who is going to college. 2. Nathan Neil. Listed as a senior at NXN but he is actually a junior. First year of XC after doing soccer. With a year of experience he should be able to crack this position. He has also beaten teammate Weston Brown. 3. Byron Grevious. Took 12th at NXN. Second returner. 4. Cameron Todd. Did not run NXR so we will see if he decides on it. Top nonsenior at ChampSports 5. Drew Griffith. Second nonsenior at ChampSports. Not sure if he will be doing NXR since it’s on the same day as Champ Sports South. He has to choose one or the other. 6. Landon Heemeyer. 9th at ChampSports. He started making a name for himself last XC season. He should be up here. 7. Manny Putz. With top Heartland guys like Heidesch/Breker/Birnbaum gone, Putz is looking to be the new leader of the Heartland region. He has been making big jumps since AAU. He should also be able to make a big sophomore-to-junior-year jump. 8. Patrick Koon. Should be the top guy of the Southeast region. Also looking to lead his team to do big things in Florida. 9. Ryan Pajak. 12th at ChampSports nationals. Not sure if he will do NXR next year. 10. Connell Alford. 14th at ChampSports. Missed NXN by one spot, which should motivate him for this year
I would add William Steadman to this list. He is from Herriman. He didn’t run at NXN but he ran a 4:18 1600 this weekend. He was only 5 seconds behind Simmons, 4 behind Horne, and less than 1 behind Jenkins. He could challenge for a podium spot too.
Wischusen has to be up there now. Should be challenging for the podium.
I agree- American Fork has to be the leading team to return. NP is cooked. From the midwest, I see only Downers North coming back; Plainfield and Hinsdale lose too many runners, though Hinsdale has state champion Aden Bandekwala back, and he was 8th in team scoring this year. Plus Hinsdale has good coaching.
Wouldn’t be a good idea to count out Plainfield South just yet (thought they aren’t currently in position to qualify right now). They return their top 2 from the state meet, and Boerger who ran a 4:27 1600 this winter / 9:27 3200 at Hoka. He also scored at some meets. They just need to find a 4th and 5th.
I agree- American Fork has to be the leading team to return. NP is cooked. From the midwest, I see only Downers North coming back; Plainfield and Hinsdale lose too many runners, though Hinsdale has state champion Aden Bandekwala back, and he was 8th in team scoring this year. Plus Hinsdale has good coaching.
Wouldn’t be a good idea to count out Plainfield South just yet (thought they aren’t currently in position to qualify right now). They return their top 2 from the state meet, and Boerger who ran a 4:27 1600 this winter / 9:27 3200 at Hoka. He also scored at some meets. They just need to find a 4th and 5th.
Hinsdale Central is another team that should not be counted out. In addition to good coaching, they actually returns 3 guys although they lose 4. They return: Bandukwala - one of the highest nonsenior finishers in the country Lowe - first year of XC and 4th on the team at nxn already. We can expect him to make a big jump during his second year. Kamenev - soph who made the varsity lineup and now we can expect him to step up as a junior They also have 2 more sub-17 nonseniors on JV: M Gamboa- freshman - Jesse’s younger brother? Having an older brother should help him become a better runner. 16:33 5k as a freshman is really good, and we can expect him to make a huge jump as a sophomore Revord - sophomore - 16:54 5k. Should be able to make a big sophomore-to-junior jump
I think that Rocky Mountain ID is going to be another contender. They probably couple of gotten top 10 at NXN this year if they had gone, and I spent some time digging and found that the average improvement of their top 7 runners from 2021 to 2022 was 54 seconds, with several dropping over a minute.
They return over 20 guys sub 18 minutes, and they have a low stick in Landon Heemeyer who will be trying to podium. Right now, they return - 14:38, 15:26, 16:10, 16:17, 16:27, and 16:34.
If they all drop even 30 seconds, and you throw in some of those 17-minute guys who have a big track season, it's not hard to imagine them top 5 at NXN. It's also important to note that Idaho courses are notoriously tougher than most other states, so that could factor into it.
I think that Rocky Mountain ID is going to be another contender. They probably couple of gotten top 10 at NXN this year if they had gone, and I spent some time digging and found that the average improvement of their top 7 runners from 2021 to 2022 was 54 seconds, with several dropping over a minute.
They return over 20 guys sub 18 minutes, and they have a low stick in Landon Heemeyer who will be trying to podium. Right now, they return - 14:38, 15:26, 16:10, 16:17, 16:27, and 16:34.
If they all drop even 30 seconds, and you throw in some of those 17-minute guys who have a big track season, it's not hard to imagine them top 5 at NXN. It's also important to note that Idaho courses are notoriously tougher than most other states, so that could factor into it.
Yeah and if they happen to get third at NXR they could get an at-large.
CDA and Luke Athay’s school will be other candidates, and these schools and Rocky Mtn will probably be racing each other so it will make a case for an at-large bid. And this region will be deep.
Crater will be the favorite again if all of their top 5 are on, and the second (and third) spot will be up for grabs
Jesuit OR will take a heavy hit after losing 3 of their top 4 (and having a big 4-5 gap) but they should not be counted out. They are a well coached team, and behind Caden Swanson, the rest of the returning squad consists of 2 freshmen and a soph relatively new to the sport, so they all should make a big jump next year. Another guy to complete the top 5 will probably be Jerry Schumacher’s son Eric if healthy.
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