Previewing and Ranking New York

By Rob Monroe

Tradition is the key word in New York. In particular, three programs: Fayetteville-Manlius girls. Saratoga Springs girls. And Fayetteville-Manlius boys. Those three programs have combined for 16 auto-qualifying berths at NXN  out of a possible 18 (not to mention an additional at-large berth). And what do they have to have to show for it? Fayetteville-Manlius has won every single NXN title in the regional era; Saratoga has finished second three times, third another time, fourth another time, and fifth the other time. The Fayetteville-Manlius boys have New York’s only top six finish in the last six years, and two of the region’s three top 10 finishes.

There are threats to that hierarchy this year. Saratoga Springs, for the second year in a row, has had an elite girl athlete transfer to Holy Names Academy. Fayetteville-Manlius has had an elite girl transfer to Pittsford Mendon. Holy Names Academy girls bring back most of their runners from a team that nearly made NXN last year and the aforementioned transfer from Saratoga could put them in position to challenge Fayetteville-Manlius’ seven-year streak at both the regional and national level. Other teams from other regions around the country also look primed to challenge for the national title this fall.

Threats, however, ometimes ring hollow. F-M and Saratoga (aka Stotan and Kinetic) have a history of developing or bringing in new talent to fill in the gaps better than almost anyone else. Saratoga Springs might have lost a lot to graduation and transfers, but have a tremendous group of youngsters that can contribute to keep their streak alive. Fayetteville-Manlius, while not focusing much on track in any year, focused even more this year on simply preparing for this year’s cross country campaign. Time will tell if these programs, all of which rank among the top five programs in the nation over the last six years, will be able to continue their tremendous tradition, or if they might finally succumb to the inevitable challenge of other strong teams champing at the bit for their chance to win a state, regional, or national title, or simply earn a trip to Portland.

Rankings note: Any runner who was top-5 at any of the championship meets (NXN Nationals, NXN Regionals, and their State Meet) are counted as a "scorer" even if they weren't usually a top-5 runner. The same accounting is used for "varsity" runners.

BOYS

1. Northport (Northport, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York seventh place; New York Federations fifth place

                Four scorers and five varisty runners return

2. St. Anthony's (South Huntington, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York third place; New York Federations third place

                Two scorers and four varsity runners return

3. Saratoga Springs (Saratoga Springs, New York)

                2012 NXN Nationals 12th place; NXN-New York Runner-up; New York Federations Champion

                Three scorers and four varsity runners return

4. Chaminade (Mineola, New York)

                2012 New York Federations seventh place

                Three scorers and five varisty runners return

5. Corning (Corning, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 17th place

                Three scorers and five varisty runners return

6. Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, New York)

                2012 NXN 16^th place; NXN-New York Champion and New York A State Runner-up

                Three scorers and three varsity runners return

7. Liverpool (Liverpool, New York)

                2012 New York Federations sixth place

                Four scorers and five varsity runners return

8. Syosset (Syosset, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York 14^th place; New York A State eighth place

                Four scorers and six varsity runners return

9. Collegiate School (New York City, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York tenth place; New York Federations eighth place

                Three scorers and four varsity runners return

10. Fordham Prep (Bronx, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 15^th place

                Five scorers and six varsity runners return

11. Tappan Zee (Orangeburg, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 24^th place

                Four scorers and five varsity runners return

12. Warwick Valley (Warwick, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York fifth place; New York Federations fourth place

                Three scorers and four varsity runners return

13. Pittsford Mendon (Pittsford, New York)

                2012 New York Federations tenth place

                Three scorers and five varsity runners return

14. Pearl River (Pearl River, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 12^th place

                Four scorers and six varsity runners return

15. Shoreham-Wading River (Shoreham, New York)

                2012 New York B State ninth place

                Three scorers and four varsity runners return

GIRLS

1. Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, New York)

                2012 NXN Nationals Champion; NXN-New York Champion; New York A State Champion

                Three scorers and three varsity runners return

2. Academy of the Holy Names (Albany, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York fourth place; New York Federations Runner-up

                Four scorers and five varsity runners return, plus an incoming transfer

3. Saratoga Springs (Saratoga Springs, New York)

                2012 NXN Nationals fifth place; NXN-New York Runner-up; New York Federations Champion

                Two scorers and three varsity runners return

4. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (Burnt Hills, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York fifth place; New York Federations third place

                Five scorers and five varsity runners return

5. Suffern (Suffern, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York eighth place; New York Federations fifth place

                Four scorers and six varsity runners return

6. Pittsford Mendon (Pittsford, New York)

                2012 New York Section 5 B Runner-up

                Four scorers and four varsity runners return, plus an incoming transfer

7. Miller Place (Miller Place, New York)

                2012 New York B State seventh place

                Five scorers and six varsity runners return

8. North Shore (Glen Head, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York seventh place; New York Federations fourth place

                Four scorers and six varsity runners return

9. Pearl River (Pearl River, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 13^th place

                Five scorers and seven varsity runners return

10. East Aurora (East Aurora, New York)

                2012 NXN Nationals fourth place; NXN-New York third place; New York B State Runner-up

                Two scorers and four varsity runners return

11. Bronxville (Bronxville, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 12^th place

                Seven scorers and seven varsity runners return

12. Shenendehowa (Clifton Park, New York)

                2012 New York Federations eighth place

                Four scorers and five varsity runners return

13. Cornwall (New Windsor, New York)

                2012 NXN-New York 11th place; New York Federations 16^th place

                Six scorers and seven varsity runners return

14. Northport (Northport, New York)

                2012 New York A State sixth place

                Four scorers and four varsity runners return

15. Canton (Canton, New York)

                2012 New York Federations 15^th place

                Four scorers and five varsity runners return