Apparently Jais Ward transferred from IMG academy to a SC school. IMG is really falling apart now, with Tatum David being gone too. Just found out that McNatt transferred to a different school.
I wonder if Layla Haynes is still there or back in her old country. I thought this would be “the year” for IMG academy girls team but it very much seems like the opposite now.
I think 2 years ago was when their girls team was the best.
This is what happens when a school goes for the quick fix by recruiting runners from around the state and from around the country rather than developing the runners they already have at their school . . . very few coaches in Florida will have any sympathy for schools like IMG, Montverde Academy, and Cambridge Christian when their programs fall apart after a few years -- maybe if the coaches at those schools actually put in the time and the effort to coach up the runners already on their teams instead of "recruiting" in a stud or two every year they would do better in the long term.
Cardinal Gibbons returns as regional champion, but North Carolina rivals Cuthbertson and Weddington both have potential to become first-time qualifiers to race at NXN; Mountain Brook looks to represent Alabama for first time...
Wide Open Southeast Up For Grabs, But Florida, Tennessee Teams Look Poised For OpportunityBy Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor/Photo courtesy Victor ArrietaBoys NXR Southeast PreviewThe best teams in the region last year, a group t...
Huntsville always seems to put together a really good team. I think they will be down this year, but in 2024 they should be able to qualify for NXN. They got a really good freshman/sophomore class this year.
I think I will actually change the picks for the top 5. 1. Belen Jesuit Prep FL 2. McCallie TN 3. Bolles FL 4. Wando SC 5. Brentwood TN
McCallie TN returns 5 guys under 16:18 including 3 4:18/9:25 guys. Almost none of those guys PRed at RunningLane.
University High probably won’t be top 5. They are losing their top 2 including their stud Larry Josh Edwards.
If you look at the last 3-4 years they always have really good freshmen and sophomores that then don't make the same improvements they should. Also they haven't had much success post high school.
Not that Huntsville won’t be top 5 this year but I noticed a couple of guys that did the opposite:
a senior went from 17:13 last year (JV) to 16:33 this year in the first race of the season.
a sophomore going from 19:31 last year to a 16:33 this year)
their top guy was missing from the race.
not sure why their top freshman who would clearly be scoring for them ran in the freshman race
If you look at the last 3-4 years they always have really good freshmen and sophomores that then don't make the same improvements they should. Also they haven't had much success post high school.
Not that Huntsville won’t be top 5 this year but I noticed a couple of guys that did the opposite:
Not sure if Carrollton boys team should be top 5 in the southeast this year but they do have 4 guys who ran a sub-17 this year coming back next year so they will be good if they find a #5
I’d love to see some senior heavy teams upset Belen at NXR. Creekside can beat Belen at NXR. Mccallie has 3 guys that ran a 4:18/9:25. If they can get a good 4 and 5 they could beat Belen as well.
Looks like Farragut and Creekside had better speed ratings than Belen. both teams have a lot of seniors so hopefully they beat Belen at NXR. belen brings back everyone next year
Farragut is 6 deep which helps. same goes for creekside. They were 5-deep but their top guy from the state meet had a bad race probably cause he was their 7th. Farragut is probably the best in the region right now. We need to see how mccallie does.
Westminster school and Marist schools from GA both got a good top 4 and all are coming back next year. These teams will be so good next year if they find a number 5.
I think the top 5 boys teams now are: 1. Farragut TN 2. Belen FL 3. Creekside FL 4. Brentwood TN 5. Wando SC Not ready to put McCallie TN in there yet since they didn’t run all their guys yet. At the first meet, they lost to a team I’ve never heard of. One of their guys that scored last year didn’t even run track, or any Cc races this year.
Bolles lost to another Florida team I’ve never heard of at the first meet. They are deep but I don’t think they have all their top guys where they need to be yet. And at today’s meet they even sat out so many of their top guys.
Creekside has a good 1-6 and did extremely well in the first meet, but I would like to see them actually compete against Belen. Until then, I will have Belen ahead of them.
Wando SC has reasons to be in the top 5 right now. Solid 1-2 who went 1-2 at state in track. Transfer from NJ who is their #3. And a 4-5 who really stepped up in track and did well at the southern showcase. They also have 2 freshmen at numbers 6 and 7. Hopefully they step up next year and fill in for the 2 scorers that they graduate. If they do, this team could be in the top 5 again.
This is what happens when a school goes for the quick fix by recruiting runners from around the state and from around the country rather than developing the runners they already have at their school . . . very few coaches in Florida will have any sympathy for schools like IMG, Montverde Academy, and Cambridge Christian when their programs fall apart after a few years -- maybe if the coaches at those schools actually put in the time and the effort to coach up the runners already on their teams instead of "recruiting" in a stud or two every year they would do better in the long term.
It's going to get worse, not better. Recruiting high school athletes is how all of these powerhouses exist across all sports. Do you think that the traditional HS football powers have all of those kids in their school district? Running is just catching up to the rest of the sports, where the best athletes all find a way to compete on the same team, all facilitated by aggressive coaches.
Boys Regional Rankings - 9/22/2022By Doug Binder, DyeStat EditorLast weekend's Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Ala. provided a big reveal for the quality of pack at Jesuit of New Orleans, which split 26 seconds on five score...
They should be pretty tightly packed runners 3-7. This will be huge in the big meets.
Sorry, no offense, but it seems like your team is way out of contention to qualify for NXN. :/
And guys who run a 11:13 3200 wouldn’t make the top 7 for any of the top Southeast teams that are in contention (like Belen Jesuit Prep, Farragut, and McCallie).
