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Preseason Boys Top 40 XC Teams 2021Published by
Top-Ranked Newbury Park Has All The Pieces For An Historic Run In 2021 By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 2021 Boys Preseason National Rankings At the opening of a new cross country season, operated under close-to-normal conditions, the most bankable commodity in an early rankings of the top boys temas in the U.S. is Newbury Park of California. The program that won the Nike Cross Nationals title in 2019 is back and probably better than ever in 2021. That team two years ago had Nico Young. This team has both of his younger brothers, junior twins Lex and Leo, and also brothers Colin Sahlman and Aaron Sahlman. All four, plus senior Daniel Appleford, are ranked in the top 40 of the individual rankings. Coach Sean Brosnan's team is loaded and the squad will stretch its legs with its first significant effort of the season this weekend at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by Asics. WATCH THE LIVE WEBCAST Beyond Newbury Park, the Southwest region holds nine spots in the top 40 and truth be told there could be even more. Within Colorado and Utah, the competition for state supremacy is going to fierce this fall. In Colorado, Mountain Vista is the prohibitive favorite with a deep team that has yet to test itself in a major invitational. Valor Christian scored a narrow win over Cheyenne Mountain at the Liberty Bell Invitational, 53-57, but Cheyenne Mountain was not quite at full strength. Niwot of Boulder gives the state four teams in the top 13. In Utah, Corner Canyon appears to have a tightly grouped pack that can run up front in any field. But even that group could face challenges going forward against powerful groups from Farmington, American Fork, Mountain View and Skyridge. With five teams in the top 40, Utah alone has as many teams as any region besides the Midwest. What's been revealed already in the Midwest is that there are very good teams in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. It will take some bigger meets with higher stakes to truly get a measure of where teams such as York (Elmhurst) IL and Caledonia MI stand. No. 6 Columbus North, led by Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff, appears to have the advantage so far. Out west, No. 4 Jesuit OR got off to a good start last weekend at the Ash Creek XC Classic and put five scorers across the line between 15:07 and 15:48, led by Jacob Nenow. The Crusaders handled a couple of teams they expect to see at the Oregon state meet and NXR Northwest in Lincoln and Franklin. In New Jersey and New York, the action has barely started. No. 5 Ridge NJ has a great team on paper but has yet to compete. Likewise for No. 14 Christian Brothers Academy. The New York teams will get their first big competition in nearly two years at the Pre-State Invitational on Saturday. Corning-Painted Post and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake look like the leading contenders in the Empire State. In the South, Grapevine TX earns a Top 10 spot for the first time thanks to a strong showing last weekend and a 41-82 victory over The Woodlands. The Preseason Top 40 14. Christian Brothers Academy NJ 16. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake NY
Top 40 Teams By Region Southwest: 9 Midwest: 8 Northeast: 5 Southeast: 5 Northwest: 4 California: 3 South: 2 New York: 2 Heartland: 2
Top 10 Teams By Region Southwest: 4 California: 1 Northwest: 1 Midwest: 1 Northeast: 1 South: 1 New York: 1
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