Boys Regional Rankings - 9/21/17

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

The theme for the first in-season regional rankings is: “The Cream Rises to the Top.”

Several perennial powers that looked like they might have a down year are already showing their mettle and looking like NXN challengers.

Fayetteville-Manlius NY, American Fork UT, Neuqua Valley IL, Edina MN and Southlake Carroll TX all had massive losses to graduation and are right back in the mix to potentially advance to Portland. The biggest mover is F-M, which jumps from the New York watch list to No. 2 in the region. Edina MN jumps from a shaky No. 5 in the Heartland to a solid No. 3.

American Fork moves up to No. 4 in the Southwest and actually just knocked off No. 1 Springville, the preseason favorite, by two points at the BYU Classic in Provo.

Right now the Southwest is the toughest region to rank: Springville is still the team to beat, but the lack of depth is a concern. (The team ran without one of its top five against American Fork, which was also without a top-five scorer). Desert Vista AZ is coming off of a great second-place showing at the Woodridge Cross Country Classic in California and belongs in the conversation at the top. Timpanogos UT and Mountain View CO are also in the mix. 

Some elite teams have not shown what they are capable of yet. Crater OR and Middleton WI are all waiting to get healthy. Eleanor Roosevelt CA has run its full squad just once so far, but has shown incredible speed as evident by the 2-3 finish in the Division 1 invitational race of Tyler Spencer and Raymon Ornelas at the Mt. Carmel Invite that included more than 800 runners in the division. However, the incredible depth shown by Loyola, led by six seniors, has at least momentarily bumped Roosevelt down one spot in California with Woodbridge sweepstakes champion Great Oak still on top.  

Southeast

1. Loudoun Valley VA

2. St. Xavier, Louisville KY

3. Milton GA

4. Green Hope NC

5. The Bolles FL 

South

1. The Woodlands TX

2. College Park TX

3. Southlake Carroll TX

4. Flower Mound TX

5. Lucas Lovejoy TX

Heartland

1. Wayzata MN

2. Middleton WI

3. Edina MN

4. Stillwater MN

5. Madison West WI 

Midwest

1. Downers Grove North IL

2. Carmel IN

3. Neuqua Valley IL

4. Wheaton Warrenville South IL

5. Hudson OH

New York

1. Burnt Hills-Ballston 

2. Fayetteville-Manlius 

3. Northport 

4. Niskayuna 

5. Fairport 

Northeast

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. St. John’s MA

3. La Salle RI

4. Staples CT

5. Princeton NJ

Southwest

1. Springville UT

2. Timpanogos UT

3. Desert Vista AZ

4. American Fork UT

5. Mountain Vista CO

Northwest

1. Jesuit OR

2. Central Valley WA

3. Bozeman MT

4. Franklin OR

5. Crater OR

California

1. Great Oak 

2. Loyola 

3. Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. Dublin 

5. Crescenta Valley