Boys Regional Rankings - 10/5/17 

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat 

The region with the biggest shakeup is in the Northeast. Behind clear favorite Christian Brothers Academy NJ there are seven or eight teams that all could capture the region’s No. 2 NXN spot with a great race on the right day. Two teams making debuts in the regional rankings are No. 2 Haddonfield Memorial NJ and No. 3 Bishop Hendricken RI. Haddonfield Memorial moves up based upon a solid second-place showing at the Bowdoin XC Classic behind CBA. Bishop Hendricken won the Manchester Invitational with an amazing six-second 1-5 split and beating regional rivals Lowell MA, Concord MA and La Salle Academy RI.  

The Southeast looks like a region in serious contention of securing an NXN at-large bid after the strong performance of Milton GA at the Wingfoot XC Classic. The team bumps ahead of previous No. 2 St. Xavier of Louisville KY. The St. Xavier team also had a strong showing with a win at the 51-team Greater Louisville Classic.    

The Woodlands TX maintains a hammerlock on the top spot in the South Region with a convincing win at the Nike South Preview Meet. Region No. 4 Flower Mound finished 1-2 with Alex Maier and Kirk Jarrett but the depth of The Woodlands won out. The top team in the region put six runners in front of Flower Mound’s third, along with three runners in front of region No. 3 Southlake Carroll’s top runner. 

The Heartland has five teams that appear to be in the mix for the second NXN automatic qualifying spot behind frontrunner Wayzata MN. Add Minnetonka MN to this list. The team from Middleton WI has yet to run a race that included its top seven. This group could move up the rankings if it gets its top runners healthy and peaking at the same time. 

Eleanor Roosevelt CA was the preseason No. 5 national team and Crater OR was the preseason No. 8. California and Northwest region teams have slipped in the rankings since the preseason as teams delayed showing their full hands. That finally happened Saturday at the Nike Portland XC at Portland Meadows and both teams look like they have a chance to live up to the preseason hype. Roosevelt came away with a 75-94 win over Crater as both teams ran away from the rest of the strong field. The rankings in California will sort out a bit more Saturday at the Clovis Invitational with Great Oak, Dublin, Dana Hills and Crescenta Valley all competing.  

In the Northwest, Lewis and Clark WA got big races from sophomores Wil Smith and Patrick North to go along with their already solid upperclassmen led by Carter Ledwith. The Washington team traveled to Missoula, Mont., and knocked off region rival and defending national champion Bozeman MT. Lewis and Clark won the 52-team Mountain West Classic with 52 points and a 16:12 top-five average to Bozeman’s 69 points and 16:13 average.   

The Midwest region is shaping up as a three-horse race. Neuqua Valley IL is on the rise after a narrow one-point loss to former region No. 1 Downers Grove North IL at the Naperville Twilight XC Invite. The closing of the gap between the two teams from Illinois opens the door for Carmel IN to slide into the top spot.   

Southeast

1. Loudoun Valley VA

2. Milton GA

3. St. Xavier, Louisville KY

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. El Paso Eastwood  TX

Heartland

1. Wayzata MN

2. Edina MN

3. Dowling Catholic IA

4. Middleton WI

5. Stillwater MN

Midwest

1. Carmel IN

2. Downers Grove North IL

3. Neuqua Valley IL

4. Wheaton Warrenville South IL

5. St. Xavier, Cincinnati OH

New York

1. Burnt Hills-Ballston 

2. Fayetteville-Manlius 

3. Northport 

4. Corning   

5. Niskayuna

Northeast

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

2. Haddonfield Memorial NJ

3. Bishop Hendricken RI

4. Staples CT

5. St. John’s MA

Southwest

1. Timpanogos UT

2. Springville UT

3. Desert Vista AZ

4. Mountain Vista CO

5. American Fork UT

Northwest

1. Jesuit OR

2. Crater OR

3. Central Valley WA

4. Franklin OR

5. Lewis and Clark WA

California

1. Great Oak 

2. Loyola 

3. Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. Dublin 

5. Dana Hills