Loudoun Valley, Great Oak pulling away

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

There is clear separation when it comes to the top two teams in the country and the rest of the field. Loudoun Valley VA and Great Oak CA are pulling away from the rest of the nation at No. 1 and No. 2 after the California champions dominated at the Mt. SAC Invitational last weekend, lowering their all-time course record, taking 16 seconds off the mark previously set by the 2015 Wolfpack lineup that went on win Nike Cross Nationals.  The margin of error for Loudoun Valley is smaller than that of Great Oak, which has the depth to weather a subpar effort from one of its top guys. It appears that Loudoun Valley will need to click on all cylinders to win at NXN, but the Vikings still get the nod at his point because they have a higher ceiling.

Picking the final podium spot has become difficult. Wayzata MN has been a mainstay at No. 3 nationally, but has been bumped to No. 10 after its Section 6AA win over the top field in the Heartland. Expect Wayzata to cruise to an NXN bid next month in South Dakota at NXR, but a high placing at nationals is in question with an injury to one of the Trojans’ top runners. They have depth at the back of the lineup to win the Heartland, but they need their best lineup to be competitive with the top two. Ninth-ranked Downers Grove North IL is in a similar situation – still favored to get through regionals but needs to get healthy in order to have the potential for a podium finish at nationals.

The team that moves into the third spot this week is preseason No. 7 Springville UT, which is coming off a convincing win at the Utah 5A meet over Timpanogos. Springville’s 15:26 top-five average bests 6A champion American Fork’s 15:49 average. With the 6A win, American Fork jumps from No. 28 in the rankings to No. 16.  

In the South, El Paso Eastwood TX is new to the national rankings. The Troopers leapfrog to the second-highest team in the South Region after a convincing win over regionally ranked 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, Lucas Lovejoy and College Park. 

Boys Top 30

1. Loudoun Valley VA

2. Great Oak CA

3. Springville UT

4. Loyola CA

5. Christian Brothers Academy NJ

6. Milton GA

7. Roosevelt CA

8. Carmel IN

9. Downers Grove North IL

10. Wayzata MN

11. Burnt Hills Ballston NY

12. Desert Vista AZ

13. Dublin CA

14. Fayetteville-Manlius NY

15. Jesuit OR

16. American Fork UT

17. Neuqua Valley IL

18. Timpanogos UT

19. The Woodlands TX

20. Green Hope NC

21. St. Xavier KY

22. Dana Hills CA

23. Central Valley WA

24. Bishop Hendricken RI

25. Niskayuna NY 

26. Crescenta Valley CA

27. St. Francis Mountain View CA

28. Wheaton Warrenville South IL 

29. Trinity (Louisville) KY

30. El Paso Eastwood TX