Way too early predictions

If Thomas Ratcliffe does XC and not soccer, he will win footlocker.

I heard from a teammate of his he's done a 15 low in practice and a 32 10k in practice. Combine that with 52 second 400 speed and 4:07 mile + a 9:06 solo two mile, He could do it.

I think Hunter will win footlocker. It'd be nice to see someone from the southern half of the U.S. have some success, the region has been struggling for a while.

Aidan Tooker may win too! I follow him on social media, and he shows how much he really cares for the sport. I think he will definitely be in the mix

FM girls re-loads with young incoming 8th graders and strong upper class. Boys rebuild after losing 5 of top 7 to graduation including state champions in track Barber and Millar.

cool kid wrote:

If Thomas Ratcliffe does XC and not soccer, he will win footlocker.

I heard from a teammate of his he's done a 15 low in practice and a 32 10k in practice. Combine that with 52 second 400 speed and 4:07 mile + a 9:06 solo two mile, He could do it.

About the only thing impressive there is the 4:07 mile.

9:06 isn't that strong, and a 52 in the 400m is woefully slow for a 4:07 miler (unless that was your point)

I'll take a stab at all the OPs questions:

Will Great Oak girls get a team title or will FM come back to continue its reign over US girls XC?

FM will have at least 4 very good runners in the fall, and Great Oak will have at least 7. It will be a back and forth battle, and not all of Great Oak's runners will be at their best in Portland, but their depth will overcome any shortcomings to finally win the crown.

Will North Central (Spokane) maintain its streak of top 8 finishes?

Behind a tough front trio, North Central will make a strong challenge for a podium finish, but the lack of depth in their pack will push them back to their worst finish to date: #9.

Will York return as a top team?

As a top team? No. But they will be in the running for an At-Large invite behind a strong Midwest duo of Sandburg and Carmel.

Will Utah boys teams have another great year?

Yes, Utah will have at least one team in the top 8 and two teams in Portland.

Will NY girls bring more teams to NXN than Cali?

Maybe. New York will get three, and California will either get two or three.

Will Cali boys win the individual titles at both NXN and Footlocker?

California will have neither a boys team or individual champion or runner-up at either race, but will have a pair top five finishes in both.

Well, taking a look at what Andrew Hunter just did at the Dream Mile (4:02) that is where Grant Fisher was at this time last year. If you delve deeper into Hunter's history, it becomes apparent he is a much more strength oriented runner with some decent mileage background.

So under the assumptions of:

No injury

Some great base training, most likely some quality 70 mile weeks

No illness

Andrew Hunter is the OBVIOUS favorite for 2015 footlocker. I could see him in sub 14'00 5k shape is he chooses to run a 5k during indoors 2015.

Oh, forgot to include my picks for top five individuals

Hailing from the East: Andrew Hunter (VA)

Hailing from the Midwest: Benjamin Veatch (IN)

Hailing from the West: Austin Tamagno (CA)

And, finally, our heroes from altitude: Casey Clinger (UT) and Paul Roberts (CO)

I think any of those 5 have a shot to win either national race.

NC does return five from a third place team at NXN. So with that, I would assume that they would be contending not only for a podium finish, but for a national title. The only thing against them has to be that they have had a lackluster track season. Janke has run well, but hasn't broken 9:00 in the 3200m. The rest of the team has been stuck back in the 4:30s. Not sure if there have been injuries, but for a team that should be hoping for a national title, they need some more 4:15-25 runners. But, NC tends to perform much better during XC than track.

As far as individuals, I would pick Hunter and Clinger as they two to beat at FLN and NXN.

Great Oak will run great mid season, but will not improve. they will finish second, maybe third, at NXN. FM reloads and wins again.

Like said earlier, NC returns 5 from a third place finish. They will at least keep the streak alive.

York will be lucky to make it to NXN.

Utah will be strong, maybe not as strong as the past.

NY gets one more team than Cali this year.

Tamagno is the only Cali runner that has a chance at a title. He will be in contention in whichever race he chooses to compete.

I haven't looked enough at overall national teams to give a good prediction yet.