Way too early Woodbridge predictions

Peetree

bruh woodbridge isn't nxn

Herriman will be at Woodbridge this year again. Their boys team will be unbeatable there unless Niwot decides to make the trip, but Herriman will likely still win if they do.

According to this thread below, the 2 new Herriman transfers (both finished in their top 5 at the time trial) will be able to race by Woodbridge

yeah no way anyone is going to beat herriman unless niwot comes over. More interested in the girl team side of things this year, it could be a toss up, but we would need to know who is coming first

It will be a good opportunity to see how the California boys and girls teams shake out.

All of the boys teams that will contending for the top spots in CA were at Woodbridge last year except Jesuit.

Some CA girls teams got some new transfers. If that NP girl transferred in to Ventura without moving, she will have to sit out for Woodbridge and the whole time until Clovis

For the girls...From what I've heard, Grant from Ventura will do the SOP, and so will Sophie Guilfoile at Trabuco. I could be wrong. It's too risky for a high profile runner to not sit out, and not worth the risk. I truly believe that a late start to XC racing is actually beneficial to a runner's health, and their ability to peak at the end of the sesaon.

As for the Woodbridge girls sweeps, here's my prediction for a VERY competitive top 5:

1. Air Academy lost Michalak but they should still win for the 2nd year in a row... but not by much. Banta, Walter and Beers can all run in the low 16's at WB.

2. Buchanan returns everyone but their #5 from WB last year (Sesock). They finished 3rd last year. They'll take 2nd this year if Lomeli, Cornett and Buckley are healthy....2nd, but once again...not by much.

3. Santiago: They finished 5th last year without transfers Combe and Siana. Siana graduated, but Braelyn Combe has become a superstar like her teammate Blade and both will finish in the top 10. Watch for Blade, Combe and Davis all to be under 16:15. No other school has a top 3 like them. Not even Air Academy. If their 4th runner (Buckley) runs under 17:00 and a 5th is under 17:15, they will win it.

4. J Serra finished 2nd last year as transfers Polay and Elbaz sat out. They'll have those 2 this year at Woodbridge, but they lost Summer Wilson. She was their #2 here last year, behind Garcia who had a good track season. J Serra can just as easily win this race as any of the teams I listed above, especially if Holley steps up and Packard can endure her challenges.

Trabuco and Ventura will battle for 5th, as their transfers sit out.

I just wish the other Colorado teams (Mtn Vista & Niwot) make the trek out to Cali for Woodbridge or Clovis so we can get a preview of NXN on a dry course. Somebody make that happen!

Jesuit CA is doing it this time. Now all of the top California boys teams will be in this.

Southlake Carroll, Crater, and The Woodlands TX will be in this too

While Noonan would definitely be the favorite to win and repeat, Josiah tostenson of crater has returned to form after a bad performance last year (he went sub 14 on the course in 2022 as a sophomore). He's also run faster track times than Noonan, so he could very well beat Evan. Also watch out for Caden Leonard, one of, if not the, top rising juniors in the nation. Maximo zavaleta is also the top rising junior in California and may definitely contend for the top positions. As for the teams, herriman definitely repeats and California teams will be rather weak this year because so many of the best teams are underclassmen heavy, so expect a stacked California in 2025. Among these teams, I expect Beckman, Woodbridge (the actual team) and great oak (jesuit doesn't run Woodbridge but they would also do good) to be able to place top ten. Beckman has loads of talented underclassmen coming out of nowhere, Woodbridge lacks some depth but has some of the fastest returning individuals, such as aidan Antonio, the top rising sophomore in california who matched lex Young's freshmen times last year, and great oak is the favorite in California to make it to nxn this year with westin brown, who can also contend for a top individual spot. Beckman and Woodbridge will likely perform better in 2025 than this year, considering Beckman is very heavy on rising juniors and sophomores and Woodbridge will return literally everyone in the top 15 or so on their team.

Josiah Tostenson and Tayvon Kitchen will be an insane duo from Crater

According to this, they’re going to this year

And his team (ML King) is looking really solid for 2024 and 2025 as well. They were young last year, and will be again this year like many other top teams.

Everyone knows about the Buchanan girls team, but their boys team …. Well ….. they haven’t been nationally elite for 15 years (since CJ Albertson’s freshman year). But they seem to be making their way up there too. They took 18th last year in the sweepstakes at Woodbridge (which is where they finished in the CIF merge), and have a solid returning squad, but there are a handful of CA teams that are returning better track times. This team will be interesting to watch, both on the boys and girls side

Girls Individual Top 10 projection for Woodbridge 2024.

I added 1600/3200 PR's for likely Woodbridge runners and ranked by total time of those 2 PR's combined. Is it the best comparison? Maybe not... but look at the list below and it does make sense.

(Total time is in minutes. 14.33 minutes = 14:30)

1. Beth Leachman 4:37/9:43… Total: 14.33
2. Sadie Engelhardt 4:30/9:50… Total:14.33
3. Jane Hedengren 4:37/9:53… Total:14.50
4. Jaelyn Williams 4:40/9:57… Total:14.62 (I hear she's running it this year)
5. Hanna Thomsen 4:50/9:59… Total:14.82
6. Holly Barker 4:51/10:02… Total:14.88
7. Chiara Daily 4:45/10:10… Total:14.92
8. Rylee Blade 4:52/10:06… Total:14.97
9. Braelyn Combe 4:39/10:20… Total:14.98
10. Emily Wisniewski 4:56/10:09… Total:15.08
11. Peyton Meineke 4:44/10:27… Total:15.18

Oops... meant to say 14.33 minutes =14:20

While that's not a bad starting place, I think Hedengren will repeat as individual champion. She was injured for most of XC last year, but rebounded and stayed nationally relevant in track.

Can't argue with that. She looked unbeatable at NON. A rematch of Beth vs Jane will be epic... especially if Sadie sneaks in there.

I think Leachman post Trials said she’s not opening up at Woodbridge. Also heard there are a couple surprise entrants on boys and girls side.

Herriman, Sothlake Carroll, Crater, 
Coeur D’Alene, Jesuit, 
Buchanan
, Great Oak, Martin Luthern King
, The Woodlands, Jserra, Mira Costa, 
Beckman, Rock Canyon, Desert Hills, Orem, Skyridge
, Beavercreek, 
Greer Middle College Charter, Redondo Union, 
Loyola, Hart, Millikan, Saugus, Glendora

Teams to watch out for on the guy's side

California is boring without Newbury Park