2019 National XC rankings/predictions

Nico Young’s team, Newbury Park, looks good to return to NXN and even place high on the podium. Along with Young obviously they have a talented freshman who ran in the range of 4:15, along with another guy in the 9:10s along with another mid 9:20s guy. The experience from last year along with an almost assuredly low stick can make them dangerous

In the Midwest, Elmhurst York returns their entire top 7 from a 3rd place NXR Midwest team, along with Wheaton Warrenville South returning 5 from an Illinois State Championship + 13th place NXN. Individually in the Midwest looking at Josh Methner from Arlington Heights Hersey, NXN and Footlocker all American last year, along with Elmhurst York’s Ethan Kern, also a NXN indv. and Footlocker Finalist.

In the South, returning NXR South champs El Paso Eastwood returns like 5 guys so expect another berth for them, but look out for perennial power The Woodlands. They return everyone from their 4th place NXR South team, and those coaches over there know how to get their guys up to Portland. Individually looking at return champ Jarret Kirk from Flowermound, and a dark horse could be Spencer Cardinal from the aforementioned The Woodlands. Ran decent PRs this track season and was top 10 at NXR South last year

In the New York NXR, FM will obliterate everyone on the boys and girls side.

On the girls side, currently, it looks like the second spot is looking to go to Saratoga Springs who will be very young and have a strong returning squad although they are losing Kelsey Chmiel. But Katelyn Tuohy-led North Rockland shouldn’t be counted out by any means. They got 4th last year at NXR and are returning all of their top 7. Their #2 and #3 will be seniors like Katelyn Tuohy, so they will have the best senior class they’ve had in a long time. So they will probably have some sense of urgency to try to challenge for that second spot.

The second spot at NY NXR looks extremely wide open this year on the boys side, since many teams that finished 2nd or below last year graduated large senior classes.

On the individuals side, Katelyn Tuohy, Claire Walters, and Brooke Rauber will be the top 3 in NY. Tuohy and Walters got top 5 at NXN last year, and it looks like they’ll do it again. Rauber got 6th at NXN last year and will probably move up to the top 5 after the graduation of Covert and Chmiel.

On the boys individuals side, it looks like Geoff Howles and Sam Otis will be the top 2 based on what happened at NXR last year.

It’s official Bang Bang knows nothing!

BunnerRunner wrote:

Nico Young’s team, Newbury Park, looks good to return to NXN and even place high on the podium. Along with Young obviously they have a talented freshman who ran in the range of 4:15, along with another guy in the 9:10s along with another mid 9:20s guy. The experience from last year along with an almost assuredly low stick can make them dangerous

Newbury Park has solid top 4 returners, but it will be very helpful for them if they find a 5th man than can close the 4-5 gap.

that* can

NXN Northwest has a variety of teams that can qualify, and there does not seem to be a current favorite. How they stack up against the rest of the nation is hard to tell. Not the powerhouse it use to be.

coachcommentsnicely wrote:

NXN Northwest has a variety of teams that can qualify, and there does not seem to be a current favorite. How they stack up against the rest of the nation is hard to tell. Not the powerhouse it use to be.

Once we get to the end of September it's not hart to tell who will dominate. That being said, we definitely know what teams have a shot at winning already.

Southwest:

Boys Teams:

1. Corner Canyon. They are coming off a 5th place finish last year at NXR SW and they return everyone except for their #5, and are adding Easton Allred. They could maybe have an outside shot of challenging for a spot at the podium at NXN depending on how healthy he is.

2. Dakota Ridge. Returns 4 of their top 5. It will be helpful to get a 5th guy up with their 4th.

Girls Teams:

Mountain Vista will win. They are returning all of their top 7 except for their #4 and #7 at NXR

Boys Individuals at NXR SW:

1. Cole Sprout

2. Easton Allred

3. Connor Ohlson

Southeast:

Boys Teams:

1. Loudoun Valley

2. Huntsville. Finished 7th last year but return 6 of their top 7.

Girls Teams:

1. Loudoun Valley. Finished 6th last year and returns their entire varsity except for their #4.

2. Hidden Valley. They finished 3rd last year at NXR and are only losing their top runner, which could make them hungry to qualify this year. Can’t count out Blacksburg though, although they are losing 2 of their top 4 (and 3 of their top 7). They qualified for NXN every year since 2013 (by getting an at-large in 2017).

Fhjjbg wrote:

Has anyone noticed how much young talent the returning squad of the Saratoga Springs girls NXN qualifying team (that finished 6th at NXN) consists of?

Although it is losing Kelsey Chmiel, it returns 5 girls from their top 7 - 1 very strong sophomore low stick Ella Kurto, 3 freshmen, and an 8th grader.

There is also another sophomore who wasn’t on that varsity squad who ran a 10:44 in the 3k New York Relays this spring.

They may be able to make a push to win NXN sometime in the future.

Let's be honest here, that's not exactly young talent by Saratoga's standards. That's just the run of the mill age of their best runners. Chmiel was an outlier running faster each year up until senior year and good for her!

#LA-sidekick wrote:

coachcommentsnicely wrote:

NXN Northwest has a variety of teams that can qualify, and there does not seem to be a current favorite. How they stack up against the rest of the nation is hard to tell. Not the powerhouse it use to be.

Once we get to the end of September it's not hart to tell who will dominate. That being said, we definitely know what teams have a shot at winning already.

I doubt it. Remember in 2017 when Jesuit was ranked top 15 in the nation all year long and then finished 5th at NXR?

End of September we will have an idea on who the top teams should be. A lot of the schools in the Nw don’t travel very far, or out of state, so it’s harder to compare.

Northeast:

Boys Teams:

1. CBA

2. Cherokee. Returns everyone except for their #5 at NXR, plus a 16:01 runner (who hasn’t raced since Olympic Conference XC), and a 4:25/9:43 runner who didn’t run in the NXR championship race.

Girls Teams:

North Allegheny will win it. They finished 3rd at NXR and didn’t get an at-large bit, but they return everyone except for their #5. All this is will likely fuel them to try to qualify.

coachcommentsnicely wrote:

#LA-sidekick wrote:

Once we get to the end of September it's not hart to tell who will dominate. That being said, we definitely know what teams have a shot at winning already.

I doubt it. Remember in 2017 when Jesuit was ranked top 15 in the nation all year long and then finished 5th at NXR?

End of September we will have an idea on who the top teams should be. A lot of the schools in the Nw don’t travel very far, or out of state, so it’s harder to compare.

Summit girls winning NXR is the safest pick. They won NXN last year without a senior.

NExt wrote:

Northeast:

Boys Teams:

1. CBA

2. Cherokee. Returns everyone except for their #5 at NXR, plus a 16:01 runner (who hasn’t raced since Olympic Conference XC), and a 4:25/9:43 runner who didn’t run in the NXR championship race.

Girls Teams:

North Allegheny will win it. They finished 3rd at NXR and didn’t get an at-large bit, but they return everyone except for their #5. All this is will likely fuel them to try to qualify.

Um not even close with the boys!

Summit could go back to back wrote:

coachcommentsnicely wrote:

I doubt it. Remember in 2017 when Jesuit was ranked top 15 in the nation all year long and then finished 5th at NXR?

End of September we will have an idea on who the top teams should be. A lot of the schools in the Nw don’t travel very far, or out of state, so it’s harder to compare.

Summit girls winning NXR is the safest pick. They won NXN last year without a senior.

Definitely!

What are your thoughts on the boys?

A few people are making honest pics, but the teams out of the blue are just kids from their own teams posting.

Just wait for the polls and September to roll around.

Lets Just be REAL wrote:

A few people are making honest pics, but the teams out of the blue are just kids from their own teams posting.

That's UNFAIR to post such a biased opinion!

By the way, watch out for Our Lady of Perpetual Bingo, from East Rutherford, NJ. NXN boys top-five all the way, bay-bee, and with God on their side, even moreso than Muslim Brothers Academy! Three of the top seven are potential sub-4 milers...or is it sub-5?