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Northeast Region Boys Preseason Rankings 2019Published by
La Salle Most Likely To Join CBA Atop Northeast By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat Boys NXR Northeast Preview Since 2010, the Nike Northeast Regional can be summarized by two things, the dominance of Christian Brothers Academy of New Jersey and parity beyond. The Colts, whose dominance spans decades, have qualified for NXN for nine consecutive years and have been joined by nine different schools. Last year, Bishop Hendricken RI joined CBA and came away with a fantastic fourth-place national finish. In 2019, look for CBA to make a 10th straight NXN appearance and be joined by another team from Rhode Island, this time La Salle Academy. The Northeast has not been awarded an at-large bid since 2012. With CBA, Bishop Hendricken and La Salle Academy all projecting into the top 15 nationally, 2019 could be the year the Northeast again gets a third team to nationals. There is a significant gap between the top three and the rest of the field and significant improvement is needed for any other team in the region to be in the at-large discussion. There will be an interesting battle in Connecticut in 2019. Xavier, Tolland, Staples and Suffield all open the season with a legitimate goal of a state championship. The pick in the state is Xavier, led by one of the top returning runners in the region, Robbie Cozean. The two-time defending champs lose three of their top four, but will take home another title and move into the regional top five with improvements at the back end of the lineup. 1. La Salle Academy RI. The Rams battled back and forth with in-state rival Bishop Hendricken in 2018 and this fall will be no different. BH won the Rhode Island state title only to be bested by LSA at the New England XC Championships a week later. Then the teams ran identical 1-5 average times (16:42) at the NXR NE but the placement of the runners in the massive field favored Bishop Henricken and the Hawks earned the NXN bid with a second-place finish and La Salle Academy settled for fourth. The teams again project to be very close, but the 1-2 combo of Max Dimuccio and Jack Mcloughlin give La Salle Academy the edge. Both Dimuccio and Mcloughlin are in the top five returning runners from lasts year's regional and the two low sticks make La Salle the pick to win the region. 2. Christian Brothers Academy NJ. The Colts once again peaked late in the season and took home titles in the New Jersey Meet of Champions meet and at NXR Northeast. The Colts return three of their top five, and five of seven, from last year's team. This is one of the deepest programs in the county, always reloads, and a 10th straight trip to Portland is projected. 3. Bishop Hendricken RI. BH improved throughout the year in 2018 and saved the best for last with a fourth-place finish at NXN. Four of the top seven from that squad have graduated, including Nos. 1 and 2. Those losses keep this team at No. 3, but this program gained valuable experience and now knows what it needs to do in order to get back to Portland. It may only take a top-three finish in the region to qualify for NXN if all three teams stay healthy and run to potential. 4. Haddonfield Memorial NJ. The 2018 season saw the Bulldawgs on the cusp of a breakthrough. They almost knocked off CBA at the NJ Meet of Champions, coming in second. They almost won a spot to NXN and finished third at NXR Northeast. In 2019 this will be a strong team once again, competing for top honors in New Jersey and in the region. The Dawgs have a solid No. 1 upfront with Martin Riddell, but with heavy graduations this team will need to see significant improvement to match, or take a step forward, from 2018. 5. Cherokee NJ. The team from Cherokee does not have the success from 2018 to build on in the same way other teams in the top five do. The Chiefs were sixth at the NJ Meet of Champions and 10th at NXR. What this team does have is a solid group of returning varsity runners, led by senior Ethan Wechlser, who is a top 10 returner in the region. The Cherokee squad had some injuries last year that held it back and could move up this list if they return a full, healthy squad. Watchlist More news |
