Boys Regional Rankings - 11/2/17  

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

All of the top ranked teams continue to hold onto their No. 1 spots. A few newcomers appear in the rankings, but most of the ranked teams have run near their potential in sectional and state meets, while others are preparing for those meets to begin. 

The competition is getting tighter in the Southwest. While the Utah teams lay in wait Nov. 11 for NXR and Desert Vista AZ rested most of its top seven and still qualified for the Arizona state meet this Saturday, Mountain Vista CO demonstrated it, too, is a contender. Mountain Vista won the Class 5A title at the tough Norris-Penrose course with a 16:08 top-five average and a 25-second 1-5 split. That 16:08 average is faster than the 2015 Mountain Vista team that won the state title before winning the NXR crown. Once again it appears the Southwest is going to have a strong case for an at-large bid.    

New York preseason No. 2 Northport is working its way back into the picture with an impressive performance at the Section XI Championships. Northport scored 35 points in the 53-team merge behind low stick Isaiah Claiborne. Dan O’Conner, Sean Ryan and Elijah Claiborne all finished in the top nine and if the 50-second 1-5 split closes at all, Northport could be a team to contend with in the region and in Portland. 

The preseason favorite in Iowa, Pleasant Valley, peaked at the perfect time and won the Class 4A title. Pleasant Valley is back to being a contender in the wide open Heartland, where no clear-cut favorites have emerged behind Wayzata MN. Edina MN, an NXN regular, ran well in the tough Minnesota Section 6AA meet behind Wayzata to hold the No. 2 spot this week. Wisconsin champion Middleton stays in the hunt and newcomer White Bear Lake MN is hoping its pack running and late-season surge is enough to compete with the best. 

The pecking order for No. 2 got fuzzier in the Northwest with the quality race of Bozeman at the Montana state meet. The defending NXN champions put together their best race of the year and are back in the mix as a team to watch for regionals. Last year's team had a question mark at number five that was answered at NXN. This year's team has had a considerable dropoff at four and five and doesn't appear to be challenging for a top spot in the nation. However, another step forward at NXR from the state meet could send the Hawks back to Portland. Jesuit OR continues to be the team to beat in the region, with Crater taking a step back in its last race and needs to close the spread behind its top three. Crater’s 1-5 split ballooned to 90 seconds in its win at the Midwestern district meet, up from 40 seconds previously.    

One region that does have big changes this update is the South. El Paso Eastwood leapfrogs from No. 5 to No. 2 after a convincing win over Flower Mound TX and Southlake Carroll TX. The race for the second NXN spot in the region behind favorite The Woodlands TX is tight, with several Texas teams in the mix, including Eastwood, Flower Mound, Southlake Carroll, Klein, Lucas Lovejoy and College Park.  

Southeast

1. Loudoun Valley VA 

2. Milton GA 

3. Green Hope NC 

4. St. Xavier, Louisville KY 

5. Trinity, Louisville KY  

South

1. The Woodlands TX 

2. El Paso Eastwood  TX 

3. Flower Mound TX

4. College Park TX 

5. Klein TX 

Heartland

1. Wayzata MN 

2. Edina MN

3. Middleton WI

4. Pleasant Valley IA

5. White Bear Lake MN 

Midwest

1. Carmel IN 

2. Downers Grove North IL 

3. Neuqua Valley IL 

4. Hudson OH

5. Glenbard West IL 

New York

1. Burnt Hills-Ballston  

2. Fayetteville-Manlius 

3. Northport

4. Niskayuna 

5. Smithtown   

Northeast

1. Christian Brothers Academy NJ 

2. Bishop Hendricken RI 

3. Kingsway NJ

4. Concord NH 

5. Lowell MA 

Southwest

1. Springville UT 

2. Desert Vista AZ

3. American Fork UT 

4. Mountain Vista CO

5. Timpanogos UT  

Northwest

1. Jesuit OR 

2. Central Valley WA

3. Franklin OR 

4. Lewis and Clark WA

5. (tie) Crater OR/Bozeman MT      

California

1. Great Oak  

2. Loyola  

3. Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. Dublin 

5. Dana Hills