Northwest Picture Still Murky Heading Into NXR

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

Loudoun Valley VA maintains its almost two-year hold on the No. 1 national ranking heading into the first round of NXR competition (as well as the Virginia state meet). On the strength of its depth and consistency, Great Oak CA jumps American Fork UT to the No. 2 spot. Bishop Hendricken RI and Fayetteville-Manlius NY round out the five-team top tier of teams with national title and podium potential at NXN.

The region with the biggest quagmire heading into NXR is the Northwest. The team from Kamiakin WA, ranked No. 14 nationally, has led the region all year. Kamiakin took care of business and won the  Class 3A Washington state championship with a top-five average of 15:57. However, behind Kamiakin it gets really interesting. Class 4A champion Tahoma had a 16:00 top-five average, followed by second-place Central Valley (15:58), Camas (16:02) and Lewis and Clark (16:03). All of them are within striking distance.

In Oregon, Central Catholic and Jesuit tied with 93 points each in the 6A championship and Central Catholic won on a tiebreaker. Those two teams separated themselves from the rest of the state and demonstrated they are ready to compete with the best in the Northwest. To make matters more complicated, it has been a stellar year in Idaho with three very competitive teams -- Rocky Mountain, Timberline and Idaho Falls. All three go to the starting line on Saturday with dreams of being the first team from the NXR host state to qualify for NXN.

It has been a strange year in the Midwest region, w hich is uncharacteristically lightly represented in the Top 30. Michigan teams continue to be a question mark as to whether or not they will travel to NXR. The race might not include any teams from Ohio given the state meet there was postponed to the day before the NXR race. Will any Ohio teams choose to run on back-to-back days? Wheaton Warrenville South IL remains the class of the region at No. 6 nationally. Behind WWS, Hersey IL returns to the top 30 after a second-place finish at the Illinois state meet.

North Allegheny won the AAA title in Pennsylvania over LaSalle College and Downingtown West in convincing fashion. Led by Zach Kinne and Daniel McGoey, North Allegheny has the 1-2 punch to compete with anyone but will need to close the 1-5 gap to compete in the stacked Northeast.

Mounds View MN debuts in the Top 30 after a second-place finish in the Minnesota state meet, narrowly losing to Edina and topping Wayzata. These three teams project very close to each other as the top three teams heading into the Heartland Regional.

The South had a shakeup in the rankings after The Woodlands knocked off top seed Flower Mound in Class 6A race at the Texas state meet. The teams had an identical 15:28 1-5 team averages with The Woodlands taking home the title and Flower Mound ending up third despite a resurgent performance for Alex Maier. Southlake Carroll overwhelmed the back of Flower Mound’s lineup with a 38-second 1-5 spread and took home second place.

Just missed the cut: Carmel IN, Plymouth MI, Central Catholic OR, Jesuit OR, Haddonfield Memorial NJ, North Allegheny PA.

Boys Top 30     

1. Loudoun Valley VA

2. Great Oak CA

3. American Fork UT

4. Bishop Hendricken RI

5. Fayetteville-Manlius NY

6. Wheaton Warrenville South IL

7. Claremont CA

8. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

9. The Bolles School FL

10. La Salle Academy RI

11. Newbury Park CA

12. Dakota Ridge CO

13. Dana Hills CA

14. Kamiakin WA

15. Edina MN

16. Corner Canyon UT

17. The Woodlands TX

18. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake NY

19. West Ranch CA

20. Weddington NC

21. Mountain Vista CO

22. Central Valley WA

23. Tahoma WA

24. Hersey IL

25. Severna Park MD

26. Lewisville Flower Mound TX

27. Southlake Carroll TX

28. La Costa Canyon CA

29. Skyridge UT

30. Mounds View MN, Wayzata MN (tie)